The Bone Houses - Emily Llloyd-Jones

By

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

It's not often that a YA fantasy really has me invested all the way through or stands out (when you read so many they all start to seem the same), but this one did, and I really enjoyed it. It's about Ryn, the daughter of the gravedigger, who is in charge of protecting her family and the village from bone houses, essentially walking skeletons of people who weren't properly buried. Suddenly there's an influx of bone houses coming out of the forest and attacking, so she and a mapmaker travel to find the source of the magic to protect everyone.

It's hard for me to pinpoint why this one worked for me so well while most fantasy leaves me feeling ambivalent. But it was the perfect level of creepy without being pure horror, and I really liked the setting and our trio of travelers - a gravedigger girl, a mapmaker boy, and a dead goat.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008)

By
⭐ 6.5/10 (Originally written by Tim) Watched this for the first time because we wanted a comedy, and it was fine. I laughed a couple times, mostly at Paul Rudd, whose character was amazing. Otherwise its just a 2000s raunchy comedy. These Apatow movies are way too long for comedies, and the feel-good endings take too long to get to. I liked the idea of a fake NBC show that Kristen Bell stars in, and those clips made me laugh. Jason Segel is fine, and he fits the depressed guy thing they are going for here. I will never understand why the two women in this movie are so beautiful and the two guys are pudgy idiots. I guess I do understand, given the target audience for these movies. Another thing, they clearly were in Hawaii for filming a bunch of this, but then there are a couple scenes that are clearly using a green screen for the background. Pretty weird, since I assume they were in Hawaii, so maybe reshoots? Felt kinda cheap. Anyways, good for a couple laughs, don't ever nee...
Read more

July Reading Favourites

By
Image
Look at that cover! This is a YA horror book written by a trans Canadian author that knocked my socks off. A small town has secrets it's trying to hide, and after the death of a boy and a newcomer arriving, things start slipping out of control. It's a book about being trans or queer and living in a small town, and how a community creating a facade of a perfect town can backfire. Also maybe closing your eyes to anything that's "not your business" is not good actually! It's violent and full of rage, and I loved the way it played with time and perspective. Check the triggers, but if you're interested in reading it, I'd recommend going in blind without looking at reviews or a longer description! This is a short book of essays about ableism and disability justice, specifically relating to technological advances for disabled people. Most of the essays focus on a different type of technology for different disabilities (prosthetics, hearing aids, cures for aut...
Read more

Magdalene's Favourite Books of 2024

By
Image
In 2024 I read another ABSURD amount of books, and I will not be commenting on what that says about me, my decisions, or the state of my mental health. So I'm just going to go straight into my favourite books of the year! I've posted about a lot of these in my monthly faves, but now you get to see which ones made it to my favourites of the year list! They're in no particular order. A Pacific Islander-inspired fantasy with unique, refreshing vibes. Hanalei returns to her home island, Her childhood best friend is looking for a dragonfruit to heal his mother, and Hanalei will use her connection with the seadragons to help. Lucier has a pretty simple way of writing, but the story was fun and beautiful, and it really took me on an adventure. Sid is a Korean adoptee living in a very white town that is over a crack where magic can get through. One day a Guardian falls, releasing magic and zombies, and it becomes a fight to survive. This is such an interesting blend of fantasy and ...
Read more