This lyrical debut verse novel immediately reaches out to touch your heart with its original imagery and evocative language. It is a poignant exploration of grief and loss, which the spiky central character is navigating in a space both comforting and challenging.
Bones is twelve, living in a ground floor apartment with Nonna Frankie while her mum is far away working in the mines. Her close friend Aiko has recently deserted her for a new friend, the mean Edie, who has given Bones her nickname. We never do find out what her real name is and it is not important.
Yes, Bones loves bones, she’s a weirdo, an outsider. She collects animal skeletons, and sketches them in her notebook. While wandering in the wetlands near her place she finds a bird skeleton and wishes it were alive. To her surprise it animates and Bird becomes a friend and comfort to her even though it is only a skeleton. But Bird wants to be released, doesn’t want this half-life that is no real life. Bones struggles to accept this need, to find a way to solve the problem and then finally to find the courage to do what must be done.
It soon becomes obvious that Bones has been in deep mourning this whole time for her younger brother Nico, who died almost a year ago. Each person in her life is seen through this prism of grief and loss. Bird and Nico become inextricably intertwined in Bones’s mind in a delicate interplay of emotions and memories. Each poem is a delicately shaded reveal, gradually building understanding until Bones has her breakthrough.
And maybe that’s just how it is:
Everything comes and goes
But along the way there is magic and
You have to hold on to the light of those memories.
It’s these memories that can create
Light
In the dark.
This is a very accessible story for young readers. Bones and her new friend Tenny, do normal things that children will recognise and identify with. The magical element of Bird adds an extra layer of meaning but also its fun. Who wouldn’t want a talking bird skeleton hiding in their room? This mixture of magic, science, exploration, and new friendships neatly balances the serious issue of grief and loss. Children aged 9+ will enjoy this rich and nuanced story which deserves a place in every school library.
‘Night slides in with its warm-scented breath,
