“She had to hold on to that, the idea that she could do something real. Her entire heart was focused on the fleeting moment of clarity when she saw magic and understood it, when she’d held it in her grasp and felt its pulse thrumming through the living world, stronger than the hum of the pickup-truck engine in her ears. She’d slipped her fingers under the tissue of God’s muscle and manipulated the hand, cupping her farm close and keeping safe the people within it. She’d brought life forward from dormant seeds. It was more than a magic trick. More than listening to a story told to her. She could tell one back and give it a new ending. One of breath and new life. One of survival” (Kilcoyne 2022, p. 247).
I bought this book directly from the author at a library event last year, but haven’t had a chance to read it until now. I wasn’t sure what to expect, as I mostly committed the cardinal sin of picking this book up because the cover was cool. That being said, the contents ended up being just as great, with beautiful prose and a spooky, atmospheric story I couldn’t put down once I started.
Wake the Bones tells the story of Laurel Early, who has just returned to her rural small town home after deciding to drop out of college. Upon arriving home, however, Laurel soon finds herself haunted by the ghosts of her past. Her mother died years ago after being entranced by a mysterious devil, and the same entity is now coming after Laurel. After enlisting the help of her childhood friends (and the boy she may or may not be in love with), Laurel seeks to end the curse on her family’s land once and for all.
This book has absolutely beautiful prose, and is full of a surreal sense of unease. It wasn’t necessarily a horror story (more akin to magical realism), but it left me with an incredibly suspenseful feeling after every chapter. I also love that the book is set in rural Kentucky, as it really adds to the sense of mystery and intrigue in Laurel’s small town. It’s really cool knowing that someone local to me has a book that almost won the William C. Morris award for debut novels. Even better, I got to meet the author in person when I bought the book.
I also really loved the LGBTQ+ representation in Isaac and Garrett, who were my favorite part of the story. Though it can be an overdone trope for LGBTQ+ couples in YA literature to face homophobia, it is a very real circumstance for those living in rural areas. Isaac’s struggle to find acceptance in a town that doesn’t understand him is extremely relatable, and I’m glad Elizabeth Kilcoyne chose to include his journey here. I was so glad to see him and Garrett get a happy ending, even if they had to move to a big city to do so.
Another interesting aspect of this book is how it handles grief. In Kilcoyne’s author note, she mentions that this book was once known as the “big grief book.” I don’t know her personal life, but it seems as though Kilcoyne might also have lost a loved one for whom she has complicated feelings. As someone who has experienced grief in the past, I could strongly relate to Laurel’s complicated feelings regarding her home and her family. Finding the balance between your roots and your future ambitions can be tough, especially for someone who has lived in a small town their entire life. I found Laurel’s situation to be very relatable, and I loved how personal her story felt.
My only real gripe with this book is that a lot of it felt open-ended, but this also ended up being kind of a positive. There were many questions I wish had been answered, such as what happened to Ricky in the end. At the same time, leaving things open-ended makes it more fun to discuss the story with others and speculate what everything means. Kilcoyne definitely seems like the type of author who wants to let the reader figure things out, and she doesn’t do any hand-holding throughout the story. Like I said, this is both a negative and a positive, as it can leave the reader frustrated while sparking a lot of discussion.
Overall, I really enjoyed the vibe of this book. It was sometimes hard to understand what was going on, and there were many times I had unanswered questions. Despite this, however, I felt myself relating strongly to all of the characters, and really caring about their plights and fates. As I mentioned, I also really enjoyed the atmosphere created in this book, as it was both creepy and whimsical. I’ve always loved magical realism, and this book definitely scratched that particular itch. I’m curious to see what Kilcoyne writes next, as I think she has an excellent writing style and a lot of potential. I’m happy to have a signed copy of this book in my collection, and even more happy that the book is heavily rooted in Kentucky culture.
Reference:
Kilcoyne, E. (2022). Wake the bones (First edition). Wednesday Books.
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