Bone Gap

I wanted to read Bone Gap because it promised midwestern magical realism - whispering corn fields that hide pathways to other worlds, gossiping townsfolk, disappearing girls and a beautiful boy who sees beauty in an entirely different way. It delivered on that promise in droves, and also surprised me with its thoughtfulness, and with a twist on one (or some) of my favorite myths.

Finn O'Sullivan is a clever answer to the type of characters that frequently show up in Young Adult books. He and his brother Sean are literally without parents - after their father died, his mother took off with a new love and left them to fend for themselves - and they're both smart, good-looking and well-liked by the town, but in different ways. Sean is the muscular savior who always wanted to be a doctor, Finn is the spacey heartthrob who literally has no understanding of his appeal (and I do mean literally, that turns out to be quite important).

Because this book when its not about supernatural beings who steal people into the Underworld, its about how we see each other, and what beauty truly is. Roza, the lost girl who shows up in the O'Sullivan barn, lives a life through Poland to the United States to someplace that no one can reach, and through it all people don't actually sees her. They see her beautiful face, and it overpowers her strength and compassion. It was hard to read about what Roza went through. It's hard to be reminded of what women have to go through on a day to day basis. Petey, or Priscilla, is on the opposite side of the spectrum as Roza - as she is deemed the “ugly” girl - and in much the same way assumptions are made about her and her relationships because people don't actually see her.

But Finn does. Finn is sweet and adorable and awkward and he's not supposed to be a hero. But he is because he won't quit - he won't stop looking for Roza, he won't stop loving Petey, or trying to make his brother happy, or make a better life for himself. You understand why he is loved, but not quite trusted. When he finally decides to step forward and take matters into his own hands, its because he understands that he sees things the way no one else does, and that's he why he's the only one for the job.

Laura Ruby's writing is subtle and clever, the interludes of Petey's poems and Finn's “essays” are funny and touching. She creates characters and a setting that are tactile and real, but are still are lifted by magic. There's a bitterness in Roza's portions of the story that is hard to swallow, and the scenes where she is first kidnapped are so surreal in comparison to the more earthy magical realism of the town of Bone Gap, that the first half the book feels a little disjointed. But it all comes together really beautifully. This book is incredibly unique not just for being a damn good read, but also the message it has and the way it tells it.

Certainly see why it's Printz worthy. The small town corn setting rang very true (minus the magical realism), and I was delighted when it was revealed to be IL, because I felt like I knew that town! I liked that Roza got to define her ending and it wasn't wrapped up in a marriage plot, though her freedom from men narrative could easily have ended that way with lesser writers. Not sure I loved Finn's diagnosis twist, but it made sense to story.

Review also on bookblubbs.wordpress.com:

Finn takes on the role of protagonist, inflicted with a strangeness about him, he is nicknamed as “Sidetrack,” “Moonface,” etc. He is a very handsome boy, and though the girls in his school may be very attracted to him, they are put off by his permanent spaced-out disposition. The brother, Sean, is a silent yet unmoving force. This brings about a certain kind of stubbornness, either for coping or the way his personality is shaped through the people in his life, but it does give a good dimension to his character. The town they live on is as normal as one might think, save for a very mystical aspect to it. We are introduced to two other main characters, but I suppose I'll save them for the actual book. They're fierce women and clever in their own right.

Without going into details, Bone Gap delivers and surprises to the delight of the reader. I went in expecting one kind of book and ending up with another. The world-building is not much. Set in the modern day, the real world has already been shaped for us. Ruby brings her own little spin to the world through fantasy elements, supernatural perhaps, and the townspeople she creates. Magical realism is subtle in the very beginning (save for the ending) and the author does a great job intertwining it in a way that is unexpected.

Nicely done.