Shannon's Library

LET’S GET EXCITED ABOUT THIS BOOK!

Ever since her parents died, Ryn has been scraping out a meager existence trying to take care of her siblings. She works as a gravedigger in her family’s graveyard. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don’t always stay dead. The risen corpes are known as bone houses, and legend says that they’re the result of an old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker arrives in the village, the bone houses attack with a new ferocity. Together, Ryn and Ellis embark on a journey that will take them into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the deeply buried truths about themselves.

Keep reading below for my full review!

Shannon’s Rating — PG-13

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LET’S TALK ABOUT THIS BOOK!

“NOTHING STAYS BURIED FOREVER.”

Way back when and a long time ago…the Anglo-Saxons referred to a living human body as a “bone house” – spelled, “ban-hus” and pronounced “bahn-hoos.” They would also describe the body as a “bone-hall,” a “bone-vessel,” a “bone-dwelling,” and a “bone-enclosure.” Also interesting, the human mind was called a “ban-huses weard” meaning “a guardian of the bone house.”

Personally, I think we should bring this terminology back. Instead of saying, “My body feels sore today,” we should instead say, “My bone house feels sore today.” If we wake up with the flu, we should say, “My bone vessel is running a fever and feels achy. I better take some Tylenol.” What do you think? Sounds cooler this way, right? No? Just me?

Well, regardless of how you feel about bringing “bone houses” back into our every-day conversations, I hope you will all agree with me that “The Bone Houses,” by Emily Lloyd-Jones, is a super fun Halloweeny book! In fact, it’s the number one novel I recommend to people when they ask me for a semi-spooky book to read in October!

“The Bone Houses” is a young-adult fiction story with just enough creepiness to keep you on the toes of your feet, but not too creepy or gory to be disturbing. It is a zombie story with a mystical side – more in line with a fairytale than say, “World War Z,” or “The Walking Dead.”

This story has action, it has intrigue, it has mystery, it has heart, and yes, it has a little romance. But most important of all, it has an endearing zombie goat that will wiggle its way into your heart – decaying flesh and all! Is it weird to say that the zombie goat is my favorite character??

If you haven’t read, “The Bone Houses,” I highly recommend reading it before October is over. Of course, you can read it any time of the year but there’s something extra fun about zombies around Halloween!