Set in the rural farm town of Bone Gap, Illinois where the mysterious Polish Roza disappears from Bone Gap just as curiously as she arrived leaving 16 year old Finn feeling responsible for letting her leave with a strange man. While the people of Bone Gap including his older brother Sean don't believe him and feel certain she ran away, Finn must cope with his feelings of guilt over the knowledge that he allowed her to be kidnapped and becomes determined to find her.
The long version:
The best young adult novel I've read this year (granted the year is early, but still, I feel strongly on this subject).
What an original voice with a gorgeous sense of nature-inspired, highly visual imagery and thoughtful, layered characters. Ruby is a master at creating suspense both in terms of plot and character revelations. The writing is assured, absent of wasteful language or plotting.
She's able to create a realistic work of literary fiction and infuse it with elements of magical realism by being careful and measured with the fantasy elements. She plants the seeds slowly, convincingly, so that when it all comes out you're both prepared and engrossed and it doesn't come off as jarring or nonsensical or silly.
Ruby has done her homework on all sorts of subjects, from beekeeping and botany, to small farm town culture and life in rural Poland. That eye for detail creates rich settings, transporting the reader to places both real and fantastical. Yet she exercises restraint incorporating her knowledge into the plot and characters.
Stunning in its originality. I kept wondering about her potential influences (Alice Hoffman, Twin Peaks) yet still found her work to be entirely her own. I would be happy recommending this book to teens and adults alike.
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