Confusion. Sweetness. Magic. A Review of Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Title: Bone Gap
Author: Laura Ruby

Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps—gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza went missing, the people of Bone Gap weren’t surprised. After all, it wasn’t the first time that someone had slipped away and left Finn and Sean O’Sullivan on their own. Just a few years before, their mother had high-tailed it to Oregon for a brand new guy, a brand new life. That’s just how things go, the people said. Who are you going to blame?

Finn knows that’s not what happened with Roza. He knows she was kidnapped, ripped from the cornfields by a dangerous man whose face he cannot remember. But the searches turned up nothing, and no one believes him anymore. Not even Sean, who has more reason to find Roza than anyone, and every reason to blame Finn for letting her go.

As we follow the stories of Finn, Roza, and the people of Bone Gap—their melancholy pasts, their terrifying presents, their uncertain futures—acclaimed author Laura Ruby weaves a heartbreaking tale of love and loss, magic and mystery, regret and forgiveness—a story about how the face the world sees is never the sum of who we are.

When I first started this book I was very interested in the story right away.  I wanted to know about Finn and why he behaved the way he did.  I wanted to know who Roza was and what happened to her.  It had my attention.  But then I got confused because things got a little odd.  What I didn't know what that Bone Gap is magical realism.  It put magical/mystical events into a otherwise very realistic story.  And it threw me for a loop.  Ok ok, if I had read the summary better or paid more attention to reviews I might not have been as caught off guard! But I was.  Once I realized that I could let go of trying to fit everything into a realistic world and my confusion went down.  I will admit it never fully went away, but it didn't interfere with my enjoyment any more! 

Now with that out of the way - I did like Bone Gap.  What I liked were the characters.  I loved Finn.  He was so real because he hurt so much because of Roza.  You could just feel it in him.  I wanted him to find peace and answers.  It was hard to watch him struggle so much.  By the end I felt I understood him so much more, and he understood himself! 

I also really loved the character of Petey (Priscilla).  She was probably my favorite character.  I liked how she was strong, but yet you could see that she struggled with accepting herself at times - or more I think accepting what others (Finn) thought of her.  I wanted to hug her at times, but I also knew she was the kind of girl that would've hated that! 

Because I liked these two characters so much I liked the book.  I'm a very character driven reader, and for this book containing the magic it does - I needed to care about the characters or I would've stopped reading it.  Thankfully I didn't because I got to witness Finn and how incredibly sweet he is to Petey.  Or how Roza , even in difficulty, remain sweet and kind.  I got to feel the closeness of Bone Gap and share in its magic.  

In the end: Read it.  Just be more prepared for the magic than I was!