Bone Gap, by Laura Ruby

I know I’m late to the party with this one, but what a good book. It seriously took my breath away. Definitely a book that makes me dizzy with happiness as a reader and despairing as writer because there is no way I could do this. Not in a million, trillion years.

So basically, the best kind of book.

The story is multi-perspective. It contains magical realism and lyrical language. It treats love (both romantic and familial) as powerful and unexplainable. Also allusions to the Persephone myth abound throughout the narrative – even some I didn’t know about. Intrigued yet? If not, can I politely ask what’s wrong with you?

Bone Gap is a town that people disappear from all the time. In fact, many of the characters have the express goal of getting out of town and never looking back. So when beautiful, mysterious Roza disappears most of the town think nothing of it. But Finn, who’s older brother is in love with Roza, knows that she didn’t leave on purpose. She was kidnapped. He saw it, but he can’t remember the face of the man who took her away. As Finn falls in love for the first time and tries make sense of the increasingly confusing experiences in his life (corn speaks to his best friend and a magical horse appears in his barn one night, for example) he doesn’t give up hope that he will find a way to bring Roza back. And Roza, who we hear from regularly throughout the story, she is just trying to survive a captivity that becomes more and more bizarre over time.

The words are beautiful. The story is tight. The emotions are raw.

What more could you want? This book deserves all the hype it’s received so far, and more.