Book Issue #2 — Bones and All

Not your typical love story…

I was invited to a Bones and All movie premiere where they also have a “Readers and Eaters” discussion post-film. So of course, I sat down and devoured the book in a couple of days (pun intended).

Bones and All can be categorized into several genres: thrillers, romance, and coming of age would be the 3 I’d choose. But it’s definitely atypical of all three.

Bones and All is a story revolving around Maren, a 16-year-old who’s struggling with her identity, sense of belonging, and her horrific need to eat people that show love to her. (You read that correctly.)

Her first “eating” was when she was just a toddler, a memory she barely recalls, but knows happened. This uncontrollable need weaves in and out of her childhood, making it impossible for her and her mother to stay in one town for long.

On her 16th birthday, Maren finds a note from her mother that she’s leaving—that she can no longer live a life on the run. After some grieving, she finds herself heading off on an adventure to look for her father and a future.

Maren is clever, brave, and unexpectedly charming. These traits seem to attract the attention of quite a few people along her journey. As she figures out how to survive on her own, she’s also experiencing life and coming out of her shell, as her childhood required her to be very sheltered and isolated.

As time goes by, she starts to meet other eaters and learns that everyone has different morals and deciding factors when it comes to their cannibalism. As an eater who is still unraveling the shame, guilt, and denial of her needs, she’s at least comforted by the fact that she’s not the only one.

Verdict

I gave this book 4/5 stars on my Goodreads. This book shares the same structure as many other thriller YA novels, where the climax and ending are wrapped up within the last 20 pages. This structure often leaves me feeling unsatisfied (especially as someone who enjoys a good long series). However, Camille DeAngelis executes this well, and the ending still feels purposeful and satisfying.

Behind the horror topic, Bones and All tells the story of a young girl coming to age in a beautiful way. It indirectly discusses deeper emotions and hardships that girls and women face in their lives, and uses symbolism to connect topics and genres seamlessly.