''Bone Gap'' is a young adult novel by

Laura Ruby Laura Ruby is the author of twelve books, including ''Bone Gap'', winner of the 2016 Printz Award and finalist for the 2015 National Book Award. ''Bone Gap'' is a coming-of-age mystery about a kidnapping in a small Midwestern town, and it incorp ...

, published on March 3, 2015, by

Balzer + Bray HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Co ...

. It won the 2016

Michael L. Printz Award The Michael L. Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognizes the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". It is sponsored by ''Booklist'' magazine; administered by the ALA's y ...

Reception

''Bone Gap'' is generally well received by critics, including a starred review from ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'', who said the novel is "cleverly conceived and lusciously written." '' Booklist'''s Sarah Hunter referred to the writing style as "refined and delicately crafted." She highlighted how "Ruby weaves powerful themes throughout her stunning novel" and "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." Jennifer M. Brown, reviewing for '' Shelf Awareness'', discussed how "Ruby probes the meaning of beauty and perception, steadfastness and fickleness in surprising ways as she builds the tension to a climax. She balances supernatural elements with timeless coming-of-age questions that come with intimacy." Brown concluded by saying, "Readers will devour this in one sitting."

Awards and honors

References

External links

''Horn Book Magazine'' review

''School Library Journal'' review
{{Michael L. Printz Award Winners Novels set in Indiana 2015 children's books Balzer + Bray books