Thursday, January 20, 2011

Books I Love - By These Ten Bones by Clare Dunkle


A mysterious young man has come to a small Highland town. His talent for wood carving soon wins the admiration of the weaver's daughter, Maddie. Fascinated by the silent carver, she sets out to gain his trust, only to find herself drawn into a terrifying secret that threatens everything she loves. There is an evil presence in the carver's life that cannot be controlled, and Maddie watches her town fall under a shadow. One by one, people begin to die. Caught in the middle, Maddie must decide what matters most to her-and what price she is willing to pay to keep it.

Okay, I’m a sucker for all things Scottish, but this book goes beyond the setting and time (medieval) and grabs your attention. Although you can find out what the “evil presence” is by looking at the Amazon summary, I suggest you don’t and let the story unfold. It’s worth it.

The main character, Maddie is an extremely likeable girl. She’s not your standard snarky female teen character; instead she’s sincere, genuine, and clever. I’ve researched Scottish history (yes, for fun) and I think Dunkle does a great job of recreating a medieval Scottish village, all the prejudices, superstitions and fears that such a community would have held.

This isn’t one of those super hyped, new books, but I’m glad I picked it up. I’ll definitely check out the other books she’s written.

18 comments:

  1. That sounds really interesting - will have to keep an eye out for it. Always nice to read about the history of the country you live in!

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  2. Sounds like a fun book and like you, I don't like to ruin the surprises so I'll avoid the amazon summary:)

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  3. It lands on my TBR pile. You researched Scottish history for fun? You are the woman after my heart dear Demitria!

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  4. Sounds very interesting-- Love the cover!

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  5. This sounds so good. I do like snark, but the main character sounds pretty good. I am going to have to check out this book!

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  6. The cover is gorgeous and I love characters who aren't snarky. I'm definitely going to put this on the TBR list. Thanks for the review :)

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  7. It'll have to go on my goodreads list. It seems the only way to keep track of what I want to read.

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  8. This sounds right up my alley--I love all things medieval! And here I thought I was being all original with my 'Books I Love' post. :O)

    Oh, and I just wanted to let you know that I nominated you for the Stylish Blogger Award, so if you accept blog awards, you can pick it up at http://amanda-the-aspiring.blogspot.com/2011/01/special-post-stylish-blogger-award.html =)

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  9. To start with, the cover and title are fantastic. The story sounds great too. I'll have to add this to my TBR list. Thanks for a great review.

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  10. That cover is wonderful. I will add this to the list!

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  11. Thanks for the review. I love Scotland too (my dad was born there and it would have been his birthday today)
    Ann

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  12. sounds like a good one. i'll have to check it out.

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  13. It's so important to have a really likeable mc - and so difficult to get right.

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  14. Thanks for sharing this! I will check it out. There is no way that I'll be looking at the Amazon summary.

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  15. Love anything with a sexy guy in a kilt..Does the mysterious carver wear a kilt?

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  16. I'll keep an eye out for that one.... sounds intriguing!

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  17. I hope you all do check it out...I've started to read some of her other books too. I think she's an excellent writer...

    Roberta - The carver doesn't wear a kilt, but everyone else in the village does. That's one of the things that makes him mysterious, he's a Scot travelling with an Englishman...unlikely back then.

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