Title: The Kneebone Boy
Author: Ellen Potter
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Genre: Paranormal/MG/YA(? Could fit in either age group, really. I just found it in the YA section of my library.)
Page Count: 280
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Cover Rating: 5 out of 5. I love the people on the front--they fit the characters in the story perfectly, and I do mean perfectly. (At least in my mind.) The colors are dark, which fits the whole atmosphere of the story, and the way the three siblings are looking straight at you matches their attitude. It's also creepy; notice that there are feet dangling down from the tree and that the cat has five legs.
Inside flap:
The Hardscrabble children are weird.Otto doesn't speak.Lucia is shamelessly candid.
And Max likes to sit on the roof of their house.
Life in a small town can be pretty boring when everyone avoids you like the plague. But after their father unwittingly sends them to stay with an aunt who's away on holiday, the children take off on an adventure that ends in a peculiar season village where legend has it a monstrous creature lives who is half boy and half animal . . .
My expectations: Because of the cover, because of the intriguing blurb, and because I love Author Bio on the back flap, I expected a lot out of this book.
It went beyond my expectations.
It went beyond my expectations.
About the book: Love. The characters are great, plot moves fast, and there's just something wonderfully mysterious about the whole book--it has a kind of charm that doesn't come up very often in YA literature.
The writing style is funny and quirky, and one of the more interesting things about it? The author actually states that she's breaking writing rules several times. There are instances where she'll explain that her English teacher told her NOT to do this and that, and then she'll proceed to do those very things. Usually, they would get in the way of the story, but the way it's presented is just so funny.
The writing style is funny and quirky, and one of the more interesting things about it? The author actually states that she's breaking writing rules several times. There are instances where she'll explain that her English teacher told her NOT to do this and that, and then she'll proceed to do those very things. Usually, they would get in the way of the story, but the way it's presented is just so funny.
- Plot:
There's a lot of mystery in this book. Their father goes off to--supposedly--paint portraits of royalty, their mother walked off one day and disappeared, people avoid them, and there are a lot of questions to be answered. At the beginning it also says the protagonists in the story hired the author to write it; that in itself marks it as something a little more individual.
The only thing I didn't really like is the ending. It's not bad, per se, but it's strange. I would have rated The Kneebone Boy a 5 out of 5 if the ending was different.
The only thing I didn't really like is the ending. It's not bad, per se, but it's strange. I would have rated The Kneebone Boy a 5 out of 5 if the ending was different.
- Characters:
Lucia (pronounced lu-CHEE-a) is my favorite character, aside from Otto. She's headstrong and determined, she's got lots of spunk, and she's strong when she needs to be.
Otto was quiet, but he was smart under that silence and a very intriguing character--the questions that come up at the beginning of the story are Why does he wear a scarf all the time? Why doesn't he speak? What does he really know about their mother? and it all serves to pull the reader in further.
Otto was quiet, but he was smart under that silence and a very intriguing character--the questions that come up at the beginning of the story are Why does he wear a scarf all the time? Why doesn't he speak? What does he really know about their mother? and it all serves to pull the reader in further.
Max was a great kid. Usual little-brother attitude, with his need to impress and show his older siblings that he can actually do things, but he was well-meaning and I he was very perceptive about many things.
- Setting/Elements:
I love the setting in this book. It's strange, a little creepy, and mysterious which I love.
Other: Nothing. The ending was a bit strange, but, as far as I can recall, there were no references, there was no language, (if there was it was mild) and there isn't any violence.
Do I recommend this book? Yes! I highly recommend this book.
