1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ruby,
Laura. Bone Gap. New York: Harper Collins
Publishers, 2015. ISBN 978-0-06-231760-5
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Finn
and Sean O’Sullivan are brothers living in their family home when Roza appears
in their barn. They take care of each other and Sean falls in love with Roza.
The mystery continues when Finn witnesses her kidnapping, but no one believes him
as he has always been known as “Spaceman”. Finn maneuvers through parallel
universes in this fantastical journey of magic realism in search of Roza.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
The story is set in a realistic, rural Midwestern
town with sprawling farms, and a community where the people know everyone and
everything. This is a nod at the cultural attitude concerning small town
America. The gossip and assumptions about the arrival of Roza and her
disappearance are perceived as nothing short of the expected in the small town of
Bone Gap as the author's voice speculates, “The way they knew that Bone Gap had gaps just wide enough for people to slip through, or slip away, leaving only their stories behind."
The mundane, “small town” ideology is distinguished from the kidnapper’s bizarre and illusory techniques. The parallel universe becomes a reality, as this could be the only explanation to the horrifying imprisonment. Author Laura Ruby vividly captures Finn moving through to the next universe, “It took a second for him to register the cold and the damp leaching into his sneakers. He moved through the field, the plants turning from corn to wheat to thick grasses back to corn. The sky overhead brightened, and turned from black to blue like the healing of a bruise.” It is with this intensity of purpose that Finn's character is shown as impenetrable and resourceful, determined to expose the truth. The escape through the corn intensely resonates his determination, “The fields--wherever they were, whatever they were, whatever they were--had gone darker, the grass yellowing under their feet, the rides rusting, the candy apples moldering, the smell of rot and wet and damp assaulting her nostrils. …They threw themselves into its lush green arms and it drew them in, hiding and sheltering them, delivering them from one world to the next.”
The mundane, “small town” ideology is distinguished from the kidnapper’s bizarre and illusory techniques. The parallel universe becomes a reality, as this could be the only explanation to the horrifying imprisonment. Author Laura Ruby vividly captures Finn moving through to the next universe, “It took a second for him to register the cold and the damp leaching into his sneakers. He moved through the field, the plants turning from corn to wheat to thick grasses back to corn. The sky overhead brightened, and turned from black to blue like the healing of a bruise.” It is with this intensity of purpose that Finn's character is shown as impenetrable and resourceful, determined to expose the truth. The escape through the corn intensely resonates his determination, “The fields--wherever they were, whatever they were, whatever they were--had gone darker, the grass yellowing under their feet, the rides rusting, the candy apples moldering, the smell of rot and wet and damp assaulting her nostrils. …They threw themselves into its lush green arms and it drew them in, hiding and sheltering them, delivering them from one world to the next.”
The
author is relentless, pushing the pace forward from one realm to the next
gripping the reader by the intense depiction of the characters’ eerie
realities. The plot weaves in and out revealing Roza’s horror filled days and
Finn’s quest to find her in alternate chapters. Roza’s aching fear of the
kidnapper and her overwhelming anxiety are reminiscent of fairy tales as the
author’s voice discloses each step of her dilemma, “The man hadn’t come, but he
would, and just the thought of that same question--do you love me yet? --that
bland smile, those stony eyes scraping up and down her body made her shiver.”
The reader is suspended in this fantasy as Roza is moved around from suburbia
to a castle, always questioning if she will be defiled by her captor.
Friendship
dominates the theme of good conquering evil as it is revealed through the
characters’ relationships, appearances and the driving force of their survival.
Ruby shows readers how credible young women characters’ looks may determine the
course of their lives. Roza is beautiful and loved by all who meet her,
including the obsessive kidnapper compared to Petey who believes Finn only
loves her because he can see her “bee face”. Ruby exposes how we are judged by our
appearance and how our qualities can be discovered going beyond the obvious. As
Finn expressed, “He thought about telling her what he had seen, how many faces
she had. But maybe he was seeing things again. And it was nothing he could
explain.”
Young adult readers will be enthralled by this National Book Awards and Michael L. Printz Award winning book as they are
propelled into the dark magic and unknown realms as Ruby lets slip the demon
qualities of the captor, his obscure world, and the quest for survival as good
does overcome evil in this magical journey.
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
National Book Awards Winner 2015
Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year Winner 2015
Michael L. Printz Award Winner 2016
Sequoyah Book Award Nominee 2017
“Ruby weaves powerful themes throughout her stunning
novel: beauty as both a gift and a burden; the difference between love and
possession; the tensions between what lies on the surface and what moves
beneath; the rumbling threat of sexual violence; the brutal reality of
small-town cruelties. She imbues all of it with captivating, snowballing magic
realism, which has the dual effect of making the hard parts of the story more
palatable to read while subtly emphasizing how purely wicked and dehumanizing
assault can be. But in Ruby's refined and delicately crafty hand, reality and
fantasy don't fall neatly into place. She compellingly muddles the two together
right through to the end. Even then, after she reveals many secrets, magic
still seems to linger in the real parts of Bone Gap, and the magical elements
retain their frightening reality. Wonder, beauty, imperfection, cruelty, love,
and pain are all inextricably linked but bewitchingly so.” -- Booklist, January
01, 2015
“The author defies readers' expectations at every
turn. In this world, the evidence of one's senses counts for little;
appearances, even less. Heroism isn't born of muscle, competence, and desire,
but of the ability to look beyond the surface and embrace otherworldliness and
kindred spirits. Sex happens, but almost incidentally. Evil happens, embodied
in a timeless, nameless horror that survives on the mere idea of beauty. A
powerful novel.” -- School Library Journal, December 01, 2014
“Like in so many classic small-town stories, the town
of Bone Gap becomes an integral character. Its collective judgment influences
each main character; its magic is both the question and the answer to this very
complex, emotional puzzle. Through understanding the importance of trust, Ruby
defines the essence of love. As with any love story, there are romantic scenes,
but they are tastefully done. Ruby uses profanity sparingly in order to make
her dialogue realistic. The real magic in Bone Gap is the discovery of love, an
idea many stories misrepresent but Bone Gap explores with the utmost honesty
and truth.” -- Voice of Youth Advocates, February 01, 2015
5. CONNECTIONS
Have
students read the news and interviews with the author, Laura Ruby at http://www.lauraruby.com/news.php
Have
students compose a poem only using quotes from Bone Gap.
Discuss
safety and the prevention of abduction. Explore several resources such as: Kidpower:
Kidpower Safety Tips: Protecting Children
from Stranger Abduction/Kidnapping at https://www.kidpower.org/library/article/safety-tips-kidnapping/
National
Center for Missing and Exploited Children:
Child Sexual Exploitation and
Watch
the free, multimedia Internet safety presentations from NetSmartz online for
tweens and teens. http://www.netsmartz.org/Presentations
Invite
a police officer to review risks to tweens and teens and preventative measures.
