Bone's Gift by Angie Smibert July Book of the Month

My eldest daughter has reached an age where we can really share our love of books, at twelve she's become interested in a lot of novels that I've read before, although she hasn't managed to successfully get me reading the Harry Potter series. However, because she's always been so grown up, I feel I'm able to let her read more diverse books. Her current read is actually the first Game of Thrones novel.

I was recently given the chance to review Angie Smibert's latest story, Bone's Gift, I'd say it is tale aimed more at teenage children but as a lover of genres like YA, after reading the back of the book I became eager to give this book a go after my daughter had made her way through the pages.

In a southern Virginia coal-mining town in 1942, Bone Phillips has just reached the age when most members of her family discover their Gift. Bone has a Gift that disturbs her; she can sense stories when she touches an object that was important to someone. She sees both sad and happy--the death of a deer in an arrowhead, the pain of a beating in a baseball cap, and the sense of joy in a fiddle. There are also stories woven into her dead mama's butter-yellow sweater--stories Bone yearns for and fears. When Bone receives a note that says her mama's Gift is what killed her, Bone tries to uncover the truth. Could Bone's Gift do the same? Here is a beautifully resonant coming-of-age tale about learning to trust the power of your own story.

Upon reading the blurb, I'll be honest I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this story as much as I first anticipated due to the historical nature of the book but . . . lets just say I became pleasantly surprised but I'll leave you with my daughter's thoughts on this supernatural novel.

Bone's gift is a beautiful book about a young girl discovering her ability to see the past of objects she touches. However along this path she chases the word of a note that says, "the gift killed your mother."

THE GIFT KILLED YOUR MOTHER

She read the words over and over again.

What was the Gift? Is that what she felt when she touched things? And how could it have killed her mother? ...

She tore one edge and stopped. She couldn't do it. The paper, the story behind it tugged at her. What did it mean? She needed to know what happened to her mother.

My favourite part of this tale is that not just the objects have secrets. I think these will be explored more in later sequels (which I'm excited to read) but it makes you wonder.

Something else that makes you wonder is the concept of a gift. In a sense, we all have gifts even if they aren't as obvious as being able to sense illness for example. It could be as big as opera singing or as subtle as being able to whistle like a bird. If you think about it that way, we all have our own gifts.

One of my favourite characters has to be Ruby and I am particularly excited to find out more about her  because although some of her past has been revealed I think we will see some more of Ruby's secrets.

Another character I like is Will. His backstory is touched on but since he is close to Bone, I think more will be unveiled about him later on. Thinking about it, I think Will is my favourite character so far because although he doesn't speak he appears very caring and understanding.

In conclusion, this book explores a charming idea and a beautiful culture. I am sure Bone has much more to reveal and I imagine we'll have a hard time waiting for the next instalment.

This is a story definitely surrounded by mystery, folktales and legends. Bone's Gift is intriguing and for me a great piece of historical fiction and that is something you won't hear me saying very often at all.

Detailed descriptions and plenty of emotion are packed into this book and I, like my daughter, am very much looking forward to subsequent books in the series.