Laura Ruby (1) (1977–)

from Laura:

Not nearly as captivating and seamless as Margo Lanagan or Maggie Stiefvater in terms of magical realism, but compelling enough to propel me through this book over the weekend.

Favorite quotes:

"There will be boys who will tell you you're beautiful, but only a few will see you."

The field should have had rich green grass springing up around the horse's knees, it should have been wild with bluebells and violets and larkspur, bayberry and lily and clover, but the field burned gold in the thin light of the moon, and Finn wondered why the grass and the flowers seemed to be dying. Surely that was a trick of the eye or the mind or the fact that Petey Willis was warm against him and smelled like a million things you'd want to eat and this was jumbling his thoughts, confusing him, making it hard to pay attention to anything but her.

Miguel's voice boomed in his head. Any minute now, a cat will jump out in front of you and you're going to feel like a dumbass. And just when you relax, the ax murderer will chop off your head. Surprise cat, then head chop. Always in that order.

She was too delicate for that strong, scratchy voice, as if her birdlike outside was just a pretty little tale she liked to tell, and the true story was something she kept deep down inside.

And then her body popped like a kernel of corn, and with that came the boys who followed her down the street, making comments about it and discussing which piece of it they preferred most and what they wanted to stick where, but when she turned around, they told her she was wrecking the view.

The rain stopped, leaving the air thicker than it had been before it started, both soupy and charged.

...he had eaten her food as if he had been taking Communion...… (more)

Brilliant. Bloody, fucking brilliant.

Finn O’Sullivan watched helplessly as his older brother Sean's girlfriend, Roza, was kidnapped near a cornfield in Bone Gap. Finn could not get a clear look at the man's face, and has trouble describing him to the police. Everyone else in the small town just assumes that Roza blew out of town just as she had blown in nearly a year prior. Sean and Finn, who have already been abandoned by their mother and live alone on a farm outside of town. Sean is an EMT and everyone in town thinks very highly of him. Finn had a difficult time measuring up. He is often teased and sometimes bullied for is odd ways. Several months before her kidnapping Roza showed up on the O'Sullivan farm, beaten, tired, and silent. She is polish, but that is about all the boys were able to ascertain about her past. Roza moved into a spare room at the O'Sullivan house, and over time she and Sean fell in love. Both Sean and Finn were devastated by her abduction/disappearance. Finn wants desperately to save Roza in order to "save" his brother.

My goodness this book is beautiful. Artfully written with just the right touch of magic. Magical realism at its absolute finest. Bone Gap appears to be an average small town in the Midwest, but horses appear out of thin air and the corn "speaks." Bone Gap is the retelling of a story old as time. I viewed most of this book as a retelling of the Persephone/Hades myth - given the hints dropped about spring, growing things, pomegranates, etc. It's so much more than that, though. Bone Gap is an intense look at beauty - both the inner and outer kind. A dangerous man, who is, in fact, not a man, kidnaps Roza for her beauty, wanting to maker her his own. He takes her through the gap in the world to another place. She is only able to save herself in the end by disfiguring her face. She gladly does this because she loves Sean, loves life, loves her grandmother, Bone Gap, and Finn, and wants to get back to those things. This is a breathtaking story about the beauty of the world and what the world can take from us. All of the characters were very well developed and the plot moves a long a nice pace. While I do not see this book appealing to all audiences, those who enjoy fantasy or magical realism will love this book. I cannot wait to see more work from Laura Ruby.

Also - feminism for the win! I love that Roza ultimately saves herself. Both Roza and Petey are strong female characters! Gorgeous!

Grade Range: 9-12
Genre: Magical Realism
Literary Merit: Excellent
Characterization: Excellent
Recommendation: Highly Recommended… (more)