Authors(s): Breeana Shields
Publication Date: May 21, 2019
Edition: Hardcover, ebook; 400 pgs
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Kindle - Barnes & Noble - iBooks - Kobo - The Book Depository
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
Tour Schedule
Week One:
5/21/2019- BookHounds YA- Excerpt
5/21/2019- Rhythmicbooktrovert- Review
5/22/2019- Smada's Book Smack- Review
5/22/2019- Jheartlovesbooks- Review
5/23/2019- The Pages In-Between- Review
5/23/2019- Two Chicks on Books- Excerpt
5/24/2019- A Dream Within A Dream- Excerpt
5/24/2019- Shelf-rated- Review
Week Two:
5/27/2019- Character Madness and Musings-Spotlight
5/27/2019- Lifestyle of Me- Review
5/28/2019- Some Books & Ramblings- Review
5/28/2019- Starlight-Reads- Review
5/29/2019- Eli to the nth- Review
5/29/2019- Book-Keeping- Review
5/30/2019- Jena Brown Writes- Review
5/30/2019- The Suburban Lifestyle- Review
5/31/2019- AURELIA LEO- Excerpt
5/31/2019- Confessions of a YA Reader-Excerpt
Week Three:
6/3/2019- Two Points of Interest- Review
6/3/2019- Savings in Seconds- Review
The Summary
"I was absolutely swept away by the world of The Bone Charmer." – Kendare Blake, #1 NYT Bestselling author of Three Dark Crowns
In Saskia’s world, bones are the source of all power. They tell the future, reveal the past, and expose secrets in the present. Each village has a designated seer who performs readings for the townsfolk, and in Midwood, the Bone Charmer is Saskia’s mother.
On the day of her kenning—a special bone reading that determines the apprenticeships of all seventeen-year-olds—Saskia’s worst fears come true. She receives an assignment to train as a Bone Charmer, like her mother, and even worse, a match-making reading that pairs her with Bram—a boy who has suspicious tattoos that hint of violence.
Saskia knows her mother saw multiple paths for her, yet chose one she knew Saskia wouldn’t want. Their argument leads to a fracture in one of the bones. Broken bones are always bad luck, but this particular set of bones have been infused with extra magic, and so the break has devastating consequences—Saskia’s future has split as well. Now she will live her two potential paths simultaneously. Only one future can survive. And Saskia’s life is in danger in both.
My Review
A unique magic system that governs all, and a tradition that dictates one's whole life, The Bone Charmer by Breeana Shields is one book that you won't want to put down. We follow 17 year old Saskia, the daughter of her town's Bone Charmer, a position of great power as the Bone Charmer tells the people of their past, present, or future. Saskia is coming up to her "kenning", the time that all 17 year olds in her world are told their fate through a bone reading. And as Saskia is from a long line of Bone Charmers, she is revolting against her fate, begging the questions, can you change what has been pre-determined?
The magic system is the strongest part of the book, with everything in Saskia's world hinging on bones. The bones of both animals and ancestors are used in everything from healing to breaking. Those with the magic to utilize the bones are given the highest honor, while many without magic have jobs that help support the focus on bones. But besides the oddity of utilizing bones for all magic, the author also makes the magic a commodity; those that are wealthy are able to afford the best ingredients for all bone magic, and those who are poor are often considered "leftovers", those who are either not able to afford a "kenning" or who's path is not clear. This hierarchy makes the society even more believable because the magic comes with a price.
Besides the actual story, the structure of this book is interesting as well. Saskia, who is fighting so hard against what she knows her mother will choose for her, breaks one of the finger bones of her grandmother, used as a powerful ingredient in her kenning. This causes her life to split into two paths: the one her mother wants---Saskia to train as a Bone Charmer and embrace her magic, and the one Saskia wants---a quiet life as a tutor, letting her magic die. The reader gets to follow both Saskias, seeing the divergence and melding of each path. This, as I mentioned earlier, calls into question Saskia's ability to change her fate. Which path will be the ultimate victor, and what will that victory do to Saskia's soul?
While there is romance down both paths, ultimately we follow Saskia and her agency, trying to figure out her place, work against the danger down each path, and ultimately discover her true purpose. Of course, this is the first book in what looks to be a series, if not at least a duology, so don't expect a nice ribbon-tied ending. Saskia is just starting to learn who she is, and where she belongs, and I can't wait to read what happens next!
A great addition to the fantasy genre, you can pick up your own copy of The Bone Charmer by Breeana Shields, in stores now!
Final Rating
Excerpt
Chapter One
Tomorrow my future will be decided
by my dead gran’s finger bones. It’s how my whole life has been determined—with
bones and blood and snapping flames. When I was five days old, my mother
dangled me over a stone basin that was heavy with the shoulder blades of an ox
and pierced my heel with a sewing needle. I’m not sure how many drops of blood
splashed into the basin. One? Two? Ten? It doesn’t matter. It was enough blood
to infuse the bones with my essence. Enough blood to tell my mother anything
she wanted to know about the next few
years of my life.
It’s
always been a prickly thing between us, her insight and my ignorance. And the
other way around, too. The bones can’t show her my heart.
I creep
down the stairs toward the sharp scent of sage incense, a sure sign my mother
is consulting the bones about one thing or another. It’s almost impossible to
sneak up on her, but I can’t resist trying. Maybe if I know what she’s up to,
I’ll have some hint about what the morning will bring.
The deep
voice that resonates from below surprises me so much that I nearly forget to
avoid the creaky fifth step. My mother isn’t alone—one of the townsfolk must
have arrived for a last-minute reading before the kenning tomorrow. I sag against
the wall, disappointed. I don’t care about knowing any future except my own.
Yet the
sound of bone scraping against stone propels my feet forward. When I reach the
bottom of the staircase, I peek around the corner.
My
mother sits in the center of the room across from one of Midwood’s most
prominent farmers, Mikkel Hemming. A stone basin rests on the floor between
them, filled with a handful of animal bones that, from the looks of them, are
probably cheaply prepared and not especially powerful. A casual reading then.
Nothing like the ceremony and solemnity that always permeates the kenning. My
mother isn’t even wearing her Bone Charmer robes.
“Thank
you for seeing me on short notice,” Mikkel says.
“The
moment I touched the soil this morning, I knew I better come see you. I’m
worried it’s too wet for planting asparagus.”
“It’s no
trouble at all,” my mother says. She pricks Mikkel’s index finger with a needle
and squeezes a few drops of blood onto the bones. Then she uses a bit of flint
and a stone to light a small fire in the basin.
The room
tilts and I squeeze my eyes shut. Minutes seem to pass and then, beneath my
closed eyelids, I see Mikkel at the door, his hat clutched in one hand. I
startle as I hear his voice in my head, thanking my mother for her time. My
eyes fly open, but to my horror my mother is still at the beginning of the reading—tipping
the bones onto the rug in front of her.
My
throat closes.
This
hasn’t happened in years—this unsteadiness around the bones, as if the magic is
like a dog on a lead, determined to reach me whether I want it or not.
And
I don’t.
About the Author
Breeana Shields is an author of fantasy novels for teens including The Bone Charmer, Poison’s Kiss, and Poison’s Cage. She graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in English.When she’s not writing, Breeana loves reading, traveling, and playing board games with her extremely competitive family. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, her three children, and two adorable, but spoiled dogs.
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