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To the Bone
This gripping, shocking, and exquisitely crafted survival story reveals the truth of America's colonial history in a powerful new way—visceral and breathtaking.
After the long journey from England, Ellis arrives in America full of hope. James Fort is where a better life will begin for where she will work as an indentured servant to Henry Collins and his pregnant wife, gain financial security, and fall deeply in love with bold, glorious Jane Eddowes.
But as summer turns to fall, Ellis begins to notice the cracks in this new life—the viciousness of the colonists toward the Indigenous people and the terrifying anger Henry uses to control his wife and Ellis—leaving her to wonder if she has sentenced herself to a prison rather than a new home.
Then winter arrives and hunger grips the Fort. Ellis is about to learn that people will do whatever it takes to survive.
To the Bone is a riveting story of survival and horror that forcefully overturns the mythos of the American settler. It will stay with you, forever.
After the long journey from England, Ellis arrives in America full of hope. James Fort is where a better life will begin for where she will work as an indentured servant to Henry Collins and his pregnant wife, gain financial security, and fall deeply in love with bold, glorious Jane Eddowes.
But as summer turns to fall, Ellis begins to notice the cracks in this new life—the viciousness of the colonists toward the Indigenous people and the terrifying anger Henry uses to control his wife and Ellis—leaving her to wonder if she has sentenced herself to a prison rather than a new home.
Then winter arrives and hunger grips the Fort. Ellis is about to learn that people will do whatever it takes to survive.
To the Bone is a riveting story of survival and horror that forcefully overturns the mythos of the American settler. It will stay with you, forever.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 10, 2024
53 people are currently reading
12136 people want to read
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June 18, 2024Hi Everybody!
I am here to give content warnings! Please like to boost and feel free to add content warnings in the comments that I missed.
Cannibalism, murder, domestic abuse, racial slurs, racism, violence related to colonialism, pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, child death, body horror, blood, gore, starvation, food-withholding.
This is a tough book. It contains intense subjects. It deals with a historical truths that are difficult and traumatic. I hope that I've handled it in a way that is both honest and cathartic, but the most important thing is for readers to take care of themselves and be safe <3
I am here to give content warnings! Please like to boost and feel free to add content warnings in the comments that I missed.
Cannibalism, murder, domestic abuse, racial slurs, racism, violence related to colonialism, pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, child death, body horror, blood, gore, starvation, food-withholding.
This is a tough book. It contains intense subjects. It deals with a historical truths that are difficult and traumatic. I hope that I've handled it in a way that is both honest and cathartic, but the most important thing is for readers to take care of themselves and be safe <3
September 22, 2024
look it sucks that everyone starved and had to resort to cannibalism to survive and everything but they really should have just stayed in England
July 23, 2025
I read the audiobook on Libby! I loved the narrator's voice
Wow, I mean really, really an unexpected WOW. I had no idea what I was getting into. I have never seen this book anywhere, I don't even know how I stumbled upon it (I do a lot of book research while we watch TV after dinner) but To The Bone by Alena Bruzas is a new favorite. I am the *exact* audience for this book.
- historical setting
- religious oppression
- sapphic yearning and desire
- coming-of-age
- the dog "Spider" lives! (it's important to know that because there is a rough scene)
- colonization of Indigenous territories
- I like the author's intentional thoughtfulness with historical accuracy in regards to racist/offensive language concerning Indigenous peoples
- starvation/cannibalism
This book does not hold back! Gruesome, violent, graphic, shocking....more soon!
Wow, I mean really, really an unexpected WOW. I had no idea what I was getting into. I have never seen this book anywhere, I don't even know how I stumbled upon it (I do a lot of book research while we watch TV after dinner) but To The Bone by Alena Bruzas is a new favorite. I am the *exact* audience for this book.
- historical setting
- religious oppression
- sapphic yearning and desire
- coming-of-age
- the dog "Spider" lives! (it's important to know that because there is a rough scene)
- colonization of Indigenous territories
- I like the author's intentional thoughtfulness with historical accuracy in regards to racist/offensive language concerning Indigenous peoples
- starvation/cannibalism
This book does not hold back! Gruesome, violent, graphic, shocking....more soon!
August 26, 2024
I am torn between giving this three and two stars. It’s a truly heartbreaking book and I don’t think I wasted my time with it. There were quite a few things I liked, such as the relationship between Jane and Ellis. It felt realistic and there’s nothing I love more than realistic relationships.
The characters, on the other hand, didn’t seem as real to me. Maybe if they’d been described in more detail or if Ellis had talked about them more, I would’ve felt attached to them. As it is, I find them alright, but not interesting at all.
The length of the book is proportionate to its contents though, so I was happy that it didn’t drag too much and was a quick read.
Now my main issue with the book is that I feel it lacks a certain depth that I would’ve liked from a book about colonialism. Yes, the things talked about were heartbreaking and truly touched me, but it wasn’t anything new. There were no groundbreaking narratives or perspectives as I would expect from this kind of topic. This didn’t make me dislike the book, I simply think its potential wasn’t used to full extent.
Well, since I’d like to end this review on a positive note, I’d like to mention the writing, which I enjoyed immensely. It’s actually so fitting for a book set in that time and was easy to read.
I might consider reading another book by this author, that would depend on the contents.
The characters, on the other hand, didn’t seem as real to me. Maybe if they’d been described in more detail or if Ellis had talked about them more, I would’ve felt attached to them. As it is, I find them alright, but not interesting at all.
The length of the book is proportionate to its contents though, so I was happy that it didn’t drag too much and was a quick read.
Now my main issue with the book is that I feel it lacks a certain depth that I would’ve liked from a book about colonialism. Yes, the things talked about were heartbreaking and truly touched me, but it wasn’t anything new. There were no groundbreaking narratives or perspectives as I would expect from this kind of topic. This didn’t make me dislike the book, I simply think its potential wasn’t used to full extent.
Well, since I’d like to end this review on a positive note, I’d like to mention the writing, which I enjoyed immensely. It’s actually so fitting for a book set in that time and was easy to read.
I might consider reading another book by this author, that would depend on the contents.
November 14, 2024
Do not be fooled by the high rating, I did not have a good time.
.
.
June 21, 2024
bumping to 5 stars now that i've had a few days away from this heartbreaking story
August 24, 2024
This was an interesting book. It was hard for me to get into it because I wasn’t really invested in any of the characters (I was thinking about Spider but I knew a dog wouldn’t fare well in the Starving Time). I understand it was a horrific time (and this book does deliver on the horror) but it was horrific in more layers than this novel touched upon. I’m left feeling a bit unsettled after reading this which feels like the perfect reaction to a book depicting colonization. Ellis was an interesting choice for a narrator. I felt like her limited perspective shined more light on the tragedy of her own life than it did the tragedy of colonizers stealing land, food, and lives from the indigenous people. While Ellis’ story was tragic I didn’t think it was the biggest tragedy. I will say her limited perspective did lend more horror and dread to the tone. Ellis became an indentured servant in the colonies after her mother and sister died and she hopes to find her father who left and didn’t return.
November 10, 2025
3.75/5 stars
September 23, 2024
After the death of her mother and sister, a young girl named Ellis seeks a position as an indentured servant to a married couple traveling to James Fort. Once there, she hopes to find her father who settled in the colonies a few years back. However, Ellis soon wonders if she has trapped herself in a prison rather than a new life. Master Collins begins to show a growing controlling abusive nature towards herself and Mistress Collins. The viciousness of the colonists towards the indigenous population is making tensions brew and the surrounding area increasingly more dangerous. The only bright spot in this new life is Jane, the bold and beautiful girl she has begun to fall in love with. But with winter coming, a deep hunger grips the fort. And now they must all do what it takes to survive.
I’ve noticed a recent trend towards colonial era stories and it’s a little worrying. I don’t fully trust white authors to handle the subject matter appropriately. However, I think Alena did a solid job. She was able to inspire sympathy for the horrors our main character faced without painting the colonists in a positive light. The suffering Ellis faced was solely at the hands of her own people. Ellis comes from a very poor and uneducated background. She doesn’t know what her indentured contract entails as it is hidden from her. She is lowest on the pecking order, relying solely on leftovers for food. She is treated as property. But she is still a colonizer. She still lacks an understanding of the selfishness of her people as even she dreams of owning land in this new country. At the end of the story I still felt firmly on the side of the Powhatan, as they were never the villains of the story. It was the hubris and violence of the European settlers that caused their own suffering.
Well researched historical fiction will always hold a place in my heart. Alena provides a selected bibliography at the end of To the Bone that lists a few of the sources she consulted in her research. Her author’s note is a must read as it delves deeper into the real historical figures she based her characters off, as well as the events that inspired the story. She points out a few verbatim quotes she used in her dialogue that came from primary accounts as well. Even without these resources you could still pick up how well researched this is just by the language used in the prose. There were many terms I had to look up because I’d never come across them before, only to learn that they were 15th century vocabulary. How cool!
This story is horrifying. It details the violence of colonization, the plight of indentured servants, life in the colonies as they tried to uphold the same religious, classicist, sexist social hierarchies from back home. I could totally see this being an assigned reading in school because of how educational it was.
I’ve noticed a recent trend towards colonial era stories and it’s a little worrying. I don’t fully trust white authors to handle the subject matter appropriately. However, I think Alena did a solid job. She was able to inspire sympathy for the horrors our main character faced without painting the colonists in a positive light. The suffering Ellis faced was solely at the hands of her own people. Ellis comes from a very poor and uneducated background. She doesn’t know what her indentured contract entails as it is hidden from her. She is lowest on the pecking order, relying solely on leftovers for food. She is treated as property. But she is still a colonizer. She still lacks an understanding of the selfishness of her people as even she dreams of owning land in this new country. At the end of the story I still felt firmly on the side of the Powhatan, as they were never the villains of the story. It was the hubris and violence of the European settlers that caused their own suffering.
Well researched historical fiction will always hold a place in my heart. Alena provides a selected bibliography at the end of To the Bone that lists a few of the sources she consulted in her research. Her author’s note is a must read as it delves deeper into the real historical figures she based her characters off, as well as the events that inspired the story. She points out a few verbatim quotes she used in her dialogue that came from primary accounts as well. Even without these resources you could still pick up how well researched this is just by the language used in the prose. There were many terms I had to look up because I’d never come across them before, only to learn that they were 15th century vocabulary. How cool!
This story is horrifying. It details the violence of colonization, the plight of indentured servants, life in the colonies as they tried to uphold the same religious, classicist, sexist social hierarchies from back home. I could totally see this being an assigned reading in school because of how educational it was.
July 17, 2024
It's been almost a month since I've read this and I'm still not sure how to write this review.
Don't get me wrong, I did love how dark it progressively grew, and I really liked and appreciated reading this from the MC, Ellis's, POV, but at the same time, I'm not sure if the author's writing style works for a historical fiction novel.
I absolutely loved Alena Bruzas's debut, which is a contemporary novel. But for To The Bone, I wanted a lot more description of the time period that this took place in. I think if you're very familiar with very early colonial America (1600s) then this would work better for you and you might not need a lot of details with the setting, community values, politics, etc.
And while I do think that the minimalist writing style actually works really well with Ellis's POV as an uneducated indentured servant (meaning that she doesn't understand the ins and outs of her society well enough to explain to the reader what's actually happening on a deeper level), it's sort of difficult to critically understand certain aspects of the novel, like the relationships between people and the stratifications within the society (family vs. family, women vs. men, children/teens vs. adults) and of course, between two distinct societies (settlers vs. Native Americans).
Maybe another POV would've helped? Maybe Jane might have a different take on events and people since she's from a more privileged background. And from there, the reader can compare and contrast and understand what's truly going on.
But then again, being in Ellis's extremely limited POV really did help with the horror and psychological thriller aspects of the novel. So that part worked out really well.
I also have conflicting thoughts on the use of "salvages" instead of "savages." The author explains this at the end. And I get it, the author isn't Native. While my ancestors were colonized, I'm not Native either, so I have no say in this. I'd like to hear an Indigenous reader's take on this though.
For a quick read, I had a good time with this, so this wasn't all bad. I'm still interested in the author's future projects, but I might stick to her contemporary stuff.
Thank you to Rocky Pond Books and NetGalley for this arc.
Don't get me wrong, I did love how dark it progressively grew, and I really liked and appreciated reading this from the MC, Ellis's, POV, but at the same time, I'm not sure if the author's writing style works for a historical fiction novel.
I absolutely loved Alena Bruzas's debut, which is a contemporary novel. But for To The Bone, I wanted a lot more description of the time period that this took place in. I think if you're very familiar with very early colonial America (1600s) then this would work better for you and you might not need a lot of details with the setting, community values, politics, etc.
And while I do think that the minimalist writing style actually works really well with Ellis's POV as an uneducated indentured servant (meaning that she doesn't understand the ins and outs of her society well enough to explain to the reader what's actually happening on a deeper level), it's sort of difficult to critically understand certain aspects of the novel, like the relationships between people and the stratifications within the society (family vs. family, women vs. men, children/teens vs. adults) and of course, between two distinct societies (settlers vs. Native Americans).
Maybe another POV would've helped? Maybe Jane might have a different take on events and people since she's from a more privileged background. And from there, the reader can compare and contrast and understand what's truly going on.
But then again, being in Ellis's extremely limited POV really did help with the horror and psychological thriller aspects of the novel. So that part worked out really well.
I also have conflicting thoughts on the use of "salvages" instead of "savages." The author explains this at the end. And I get it, the author isn't Native. While my ancestors were colonized, I'm not Native either, so I have no say in this. I'd like to hear an Indigenous reader's take on this though.
For a quick read, I had a good time with this, so this wasn't all bad. I'm still interested in the author's future projects, but I might stick to her contemporary stuff.
Thank you to Rocky Pond Books and NetGalley for this arc.
Want to read
May 6, 2024eARC secured! 🤩 Can't wait for this to ruin my soul. Adding to my TBR pile for now since the release date's pretty far away... might read it in July or August.
July 6, 2024
I chose to read this because I love historical fiction set during the Colonial time period and this one caught my attention as it takes place during The Starving Time at Jamestown in the early 1600‘s. It‘s not a romance by definition although the Ellis‘ romantic feelings for Jane are quite prominent for a good half of the story. But then the story pivots completely to something more akin to horror. The end is pretty dark for what I would expect from YA, but I guess this is understandable as The Starving Time was awful for both the native population as well as the settlers in different ways.
I loved the historical part of the story and I also enjoyed the dark horror second half. But I didn't like the romance parts at all. Also:
The main character Ellis has a tendency to pull her hair out and pinch her own arms fairly constantly throughout, and this just ruined the story for me. It isn't that Ellis had this issue that bothered me as much as how often it happened and how much page space it took up. Granted, Ellis had a hard life. But it just felt strange to me that Ellis would have enough gumption to defy the cultural norms of the time and to be so outward with and sure of her feelings for another girl, while being so incredibly unsure of herself in all other aspects. Perhaps I'm judging Ellis unfairly, but it made it a disjointed read for me. It seemed like an incongruent characterization.
I read from an advanced digital copy that I received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review. On sale date is September 10, 2024.
I loved the historical part of the story and I also enjoyed the dark horror second half. But I didn't like the romance parts at all. Also:
The main character Ellis has a tendency to pull her hair out and pinch her own arms fairly constantly throughout, and this just ruined the story for me. It isn't that Ellis had this issue that bothered me as much as how often it happened and how much page space it took up. Granted, Ellis had a hard life. But it just felt strange to me that Ellis would have enough gumption to defy the cultural norms of the time and to be so outward with and sure of her feelings for another girl, while being so incredibly unsure of herself in all other aspects. Perhaps I'm judging Ellis unfairly, but it made it a disjointed read for me. It seemed like an incongruent characterization.
I read from an advanced digital copy that I received from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a review. On sale date is September 10, 2024.
July 24, 2025
4.5/5
Came back to amend my original review from a 4.0 to 4.5 star. I originally listened to the audiobook and loved it so much I immediately bought the hardcover and added it to my bookshelf of favorites. Not only do I fully intend to read this again but it’s a book I think of often. I read many novels and the ones that pop into my brain on a regular basis are few and far between! Additionally, the author’s afterword is really well done, I’m so glad she includes it in both the audio and physical book.
Came back to amend my original review from a 4.0 to 4.5 star. I originally listened to the audiobook and loved it so much I immediately bought the hardcover and added it to my bookshelf of favorites. Not only do I fully intend to read this again but it’s a book I think of often. I read many novels and the ones that pop into my brain on a regular basis are few and far between! Additionally, the author’s afterword is really well done, I’m so glad she includes it in both the audio and physical book.
September 22, 2025
Well, that was bleak.
December 4, 2024
4 stars only bc I can’t handle animal death
May 14, 2024
WOW, THIS WAS DARK. This is an extremely dark, upper YA book about Jamestown. The cover is gorgeous, but don't let it fool you into thinking this is a sapphic historical romance. This is a harrowing historical fiction book that happens to feature sapphic characters. (Which, tbh, is actually really nice to see and worked well with the themes of the story.)
The characters and their relationships aren't necessarily the focus, but the whole book has this foreboding sense of doom that Bruzas conveys really well. Ellis, our main character, was wonderfully written and that was a standout to me. If the book had a sharper sense of focus or if the characters were developed slightly more, it'd have been an easy 5 stars. That said, I think because it was teetering between a YA story with an adult tone, it lost a bit of the depth it could have had if it was more firmly written for one of those age brackets.
This was a short and easy read with really beautiful prose. It works well if you know of Jamestown in 1609-1610 or if you're completely unaware. Definitely recommend this!
Thank you so much to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review!
The characters and their relationships aren't necessarily the focus, but the whole book has this foreboding sense of doom that Bruzas conveys really well. Ellis, our main character, was wonderfully written and that was a standout to me. If the book had a sharper sense of focus or if the characters were developed slightly more, it'd have been an easy 5 stars. That said, I think because it was teetering between a YA story with an adult tone, it lost a bit of the depth it could have had if it was more firmly written for one of those age brackets.
This was a short and easy read with really beautiful prose. It works well if you know of Jamestown in 1609-1610 or if you're completely unaware. Definitely recommend this!
Thank you so much to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review!
May 11, 2024
I’m not sure how to feel after reading this. I appreciate the author’s note at the end and understand what she meant to do with this story, but I’m not sure it translated that way for me. I mean this as no disrespect to the author whatsoever - these were just my opinions and thoughts whilst I read.
To the Bone did display the horrifying realities of colonial life, but as for the indigenous tribes side of the story and effectively communicating the brutality indigenous people faced from colonizers — it was really lacking for me and may have even created the opposite result. Since our protagonist is an indentured servant girl, we barely hear/learn of the trading between tribes and colonizers, and we also don’t hear much (we do hear some in the beginning but it fades out pretty quickly) of how the colonizers attacked and brutalized the natives. Most of the scenes with indigenous folks are of the tribes committing violence toward the forts and killing what readers are led to believe are “innocent” people. We only get two short scenes of a positive interaction between Ellis and a native woman. In the author’s note, she writes that we should not vilify the indigenous people for defending themselves and their land and their resources; however, her novel does not really make an effort to humanize the indigenous people and almost *does* invite readers to blame them as equally as the colonizers for the violence and brutality.
I will say, had I known this novel was written by a white woman beforehand, I would not have requested the arc. I’m not convinced this story is necessary, nor is it a white person’s place to narrate indigenous oppression. While there are some valuable parts of this, such as the elaboration on The Starving Times for history buffs, I think the question “Why am I writing this?” should be seriously thought over. From my vantage point, the author’s note stating her “why” and the “why” I concluded from the story do not align.
To the Bone did display the horrifying realities of colonial life, but as for the indigenous tribes side of the story and effectively communicating the brutality indigenous people faced from colonizers — it was really lacking for me and may have even created the opposite result. Since our protagonist is an indentured servant girl, we barely hear/learn of the trading between tribes and colonizers, and we also don’t hear much (we do hear some in the beginning but it fades out pretty quickly) of how the colonizers attacked and brutalized the natives. Most of the scenes with indigenous folks are of the tribes committing violence toward the forts and killing what readers are led to believe are “innocent” people. We only get two short scenes of a positive interaction between Ellis and a native woman. In the author’s note, she writes that we should not vilify the indigenous people for defending themselves and their land and their resources; however, her novel does not really make an effort to humanize the indigenous people and almost *does* invite readers to blame them as equally as the colonizers for the violence and brutality.
I will say, had I known this novel was written by a white woman beforehand, I would not have requested the arc. I’m not convinced this story is necessary, nor is it a white person’s place to narrate indigenous oppression. While there are some valuable parts of this, such as the elaboration on The Starving Times for history buffs, I think the question “Why am I writing this?” should be seriously thought over. From my vantage point, the author’s note stating her “why” and the “why” I concluded from the story do not align.
October 21, 2024
This book mixes aspects of historical fiction and horror and made for a quick and thrilling read. While I definitely was glad the book veered off from Ellis obsession with Jane, it takes a quick and startling turn into one of the darkest times in Jamestown history, the starving time.
November 6, 2024
To the Bone by Alena Bruzas is outstanding in just about the most depressing way. I will definitely be reading more from this author!
July 29, 2024
This one was tough for me.
I really liked the historical aspects of the story. The author’s afterword is also terrific – it explained so much of what was actually true in the story!
Where I struggled was with our main character. While I understood her lack of education, I found her hard to read. She seems to have trouble grasping the most simple concepts and, even more challenging, just…repeated herself over and over again. Sometimes it was in words, other times it was in actions. She grew a little tedious.
I found myself wishing the author had just given us a historical text rather than a novel.
I learned a lot, though, and I’m appreciative of that.
• ARC via Publisher
I really liked the historical aspects of the story. The author’s afterword is also terrific – it explained so much of what was actually true in the story!
Where I struggled was with our main character. While I understood her lack of education, I found her hard to read. She seems to have trouble grasping the most simple concepts and, even more challenging, just…repeated herself over and over again. Sometimes it was in words, other times it was in actions. She grew a little tedious.
I found myself wishing the author had just given us a historical text rather than a novel.
I learned a lot, though, and I’m appreciative of that.
• ARC via Publisher
August 20, 2024
Damn…this book definitely nails body horror and gore, but it completely misses the mark by wanting the readers to feel sorry for the colonizers stealing Indigenous land during the 1600s.
November 6, 2024
2 stars 🌟
RTC!
- will definitely have to ruminate with my thoughts on this one, while it wasn't incredibly entertaining, the authors note at the end was really interesting and I think I would still recommend this book still as alena bruzas is a good author
RTC!
- will definitely have to ruminate with my thoughts on this one, while it wasn't incredibly entertaining, the authors note at the end was really interesting and I think I would still recommend this book still as alena bruzas is a good author
May 27, 2024
~~Thank you to Edelweiss, NetGalley, and Penguin Random House for the ARC!~~
This book is horrifying in the best way possible.
I don't know how this keeps happening lately. I keep getting ARCs to books I wasn't highly anticipating at first, but then I read them and end up absolutely loving it. I'm certainly not complaining; if anything, I love it when books blow my initial expectations away.
Anyway, the book is brutal and doesn't hold back on showing all the harshest, most gruesome aspects of colonial America. This story definitely isn't for those who are sensitive to certain subject matters, particularly to cannibalism, the (historically accurate) usage of slurs against Native Americans, the sheer amount of body horror and death count, it's certainly not a happy, go-lucky story. But it's books like these that need to be told, because so many of us in the US are too unaware of the crimes/horrors committed by the early colonists. Bruzas also wrote it in such a beautifully horrifying manner that is simply incredible.
The characterization was also amazing. Ellis is so easy to sympathize with, as she is constantly abused by her employer and lives in such an awful sentiment, but the narrative doesn't absolve her of her flaws and crimes neither. She does some truly awful things in the story, but she does it out of desperation and survival, too. It makes her so dynamic yet easy to root for despite the circumstances. The relationships she shares with other characters, particularly Jane, Henry, and Mistress Collins are all well done, and the shifts and unfolding they do throughout the story were some of my favorite parts.
I wish I could say more, but it's so much better if you go into this knowing little as possible, even if you know your colonial history.
This is just a fantastic read, and I'm so glad I was able to read it!
This book is horrifying in the best way possible.
I don't know how this keeps happening lately. I keep getting ARCs to books I wasn't highly anticipating at first, but then I read them and end up absolutely loving it. I'm certainly not complaining; if anything, I love it when books blow my initial expectations away.
Anyway, the book is brutal and doesn't hold back on showing all the harshest, most gruesome aspects of colonial America. This story definitely isn't for those who are sensitive to certain subject matters, particularly to cannibalism, the (historically accurate) usage of slurs against Native Americans, the sheer amount of body horror and death count, it's certainly not a happy, go-lucky story. But it's books like these that need to be told, because so many of us in the US are too unaware of the crimes/horrors committed by the early colonists. Bruzas also wrote it in such a beautifully horrifying manner that is simply incredible.
The characterization was also amazing. Ellis is so easy to sympathize with, as she is constantly abused by her employer and lives in such an awful sentiment, but the narrative doesn't absolve her of her flaws and crimes neither. She does some truly awful things in the story, but she does it out of desperation and survival, too. It makes her so dynamic yet easy to root for despite the circumstances. The relationships she shares with other characters, particularly Jane, Henry, and Mistress Collins are all well done, and the shifts and unfolding they do throughout the story were some of my favorite parts.
I wish I could say more, but it's so much better if you go into this knowing little as possible, even if you know your colonial history.
This is just a fantastic read, and I'm so glad I was able to read it!
April 2, 2025
When people hear the term "American colonial life," what often comes to mind are heartwarming, nostalgic tales of childhood books. But the true stories from those untamed lands were sometimes horrifying and chilling.
In this book, we follow the journey of Ellis, a teenage girl from England, as she travels to America in hopes of finding her father, who had left home years before. However, life on the frontier proves brutally harsh—especially when winter arrives, and people resort to unthinkable measures just to survive.
This is a dark tale set in the early days of American settlement. The author’s simple yet effective writing style perfectly suits Ellis’s voice—young and uneducated, yet compelling. The plot moves swiftly, though not always easy to follow.
Thank you Netgalley and Rocky Pond Books from Penguin Young Reader Group for providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting release date : 10 September 2024
In this book, we follow the journey of Ellis, a teenage girl from England, as she travels to America in hopes of finding her father, who had left home years before. However, life on the frontier proves brutally harsh—especially when winter arrives, and people resort to unthinkable measures just to survive.
This is a dark tale set in the early days of American settlement. The author’s simple yet effective writing style perfectly suits Ellis’s voice—young and uneducated, yet compelling. The plot moves swiftly, though not always easy to follow.
Thank you Netgalley and Rocky Pond Books from Penguin Young Reader Group for providing copy of this ebook. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Expecting release date : 10 September 2024
July 11, 2024
i loved alena bruzas' debut novel and was so excited (and a lil scared) when i received the arc. to the bone is beautifully haunting and frankly disgusting at times. i never thought i would read a book about the early colonization of america from the colonizer's perspective and enjoy it, but Bruzas handles it amazingly and with such nuance that you know she put her all into the research. this book is already amazing and even better (or worse depending on how you look at it) when you find out how much is based on real people
June 2, 2025
This is a very dark, stark story about the attempt to colonize Jamestown and during their "Starving Time."
Ellis is a young women, tied to a family she needs to care for. A wife and husband she needs to cook and clean for. She left little behind her so this new life is her new life. But it's a misery. Her master, the husband, is terrible. He has little patience for disobedience but he also makes up infractions in order to hurt Ellis. Ellis, not sensing danger quick enough, has a crush on Jane. They take small moments to steal kisses, even though Master Collins (the husband), says she can't see her anymore.
But the whole story has an underlying menace woven though the whole story. Little things go on around Ellis that she can't always understand what it means, but we the reader typically do. As food starts to disappear, Ellis is still getting some food and isn't as concerned as she should be. The turn is quick, how dark the story slides. The food disappears, the crops fail, and those in the small village slowly realize they need to eat everything. Absolutely everything. This almost turns into a horror story, it becomes so dark. I was glad this was a short story because it got rough. I did this as an audio book and the narrator did a great job of making the story feel as dark and lonely as Ellis slowly begins to feel. Eye-opening and dark, I appreciated this story based on truth but I'm not sure of the right audience. The author's note was so good, I'm glad it was included.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
Ellis is a young women, tied to a family she needs to care for. A wife and husband she needs to cook and clean for. She left little behind her so this new life is her new life. But it's a misery. Her master, the husband, is terrible. He has little patience for disobedience but he also makes up infractions in order to hurt Ellis. Ellis, not sensing danger quick enough, has a crush on Jane. They take small moments to steal kisses, even though Master Collins (the husband), says she can't see her anymore.
But the whole story has an underlying menace woven though the whole story. Little things go on around Ellis that she can't always understand what it means, but we the reader typically do. As food starts to disappear, Ellis is still getting some food and isn't as concerned as she should be. The turn is quick, how dark the story slides. The food disappears, the crops fail, and those in the small village slowly realize they need to eat everything. Absolutely everything. This almost turns into a horror story, it becomes so dark. I was glad this was a short story because it got rough. I did this as an audio book and the narrator did a great job of making the story feel as dark and lonely as Ellis slowly begins to feel. Eye-opening and dark, I appreciated this story based on truth but I'm not sure of the right audience. The author's note was so good, I'm glad it was included.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
October 9, 2024
“so they stuck their hands out and they opened their mouths and they said feed me feed me feed me while i steal your land and kill you.”
written to “demonstrate the violence and tragedy of colonization,” to the bone is a stark, intimate story set during the starving time in jamestown.
i still don’t know how to feel about this book. it’s very well-researched, with an underlying sense of creeping dread, but i think bruzas’ choice of narrator restricts the scope of the story too much given her goal in writing it. ellis is an uneducated indentured servant, so her perspective is necessarily limited and often focused more on the personal tragedy of her life rather than the larger tragedy the settlers—ellis included—are inflicting on the native americans. bruzas manages a lot of nuance despite those limitations, but i think footnotes, or maybe a second POV, would have been helpful to further explore some of the themes she touches on.
i’m also not sure how i feel about the writing style, which leant itself to the horror aspects of the novel but sometimes felt overly simplistic for historical fiction.
i can’t say i enjoyed to the bone, but i do think it was a worthwhile, compelling read about a horrific chapter in history.
thank you to netgalley and rocky pond books for the eARC!
rating: 3.5/5.0 stars, rounded down
September 16, 2024
Jesus fucking Christ.
This was a YA read but a tough one. Content warnings for many things, including domestic abuse and cannibalism. Tougher still was reading the afterword and learning that several of the characters were based on real people (with minor changes to events for narrative purposes) and the real Starving Time that occurred in Jamestown at this time in history. I appreciate the author's attempt to humanize the colonialist to an extent as people such as Ellis who are powerless young women with nobody in the world left to rely on and therefore travelling as indentured servants with a young couple, and Jane and Rowan, young people who are in better circumstances than Ellis, but still seeking to make a life for themselves. And then we have the figures in charge, whose entitlements-based reliance on the Indigenous people to feed them has dire consequences for this colony in particular.
This is a very dark book but an important one to dive into the lives of someone like Ellis at this time in history and how she is an observer to some horrendous events.
This was a YA read but a tough one. Content warnings for many things, including domestic abuse and cannibalism. Tougher still was reading the afterword and learning that several of the characters were based on real people (with minor changes to events for narrative purposes) and the real Starving Time that occurred in Jamestown at this time in history. I appreciate the author's attempt to humanize the colonialist to an extent as people such as Ellis who are powerless young women with nobody in the world left to rely on and therefore travelling as indentured servants with a young couple, and Jane and Rowan, young people who are in better circumstances than Ellis, but still seeking to make a life for themselves. And then we have the figures in charge, whose entitlements-based reliance on the Indigenous people to feed them has dire consequences for this colony in particular.
This is a very dark book but an important one to dive into the lives of someone like Ellis at this time in history and how she is an observer to some horrendous events.
August 13, 2024
Ellis’s father left her family and then her mother and sister passed away. Ellis becomes an indentured servant for Henry and Blythe Collins. They take her with them when they move to a new world. The group of settlers they have joined are promised many things and are not happy with the hard work and living situation.
Life of an indentured servant is very hard. There are so many chores to do. Some days they don’t even get to eat. Ellis makes a friend named Jane. Jane is naïve and childish. They fall in love. Life is cruel in so many ways. Everyone is fearful of the Indians, who do not want them there.
I thought this story was well written and brought up many historical facts. The author does a good job of keeping the story flowing. I think the characters were developed quite well. If you enjoy reading about history during the 1600s then give this book a try!
Life of an indentured servant is very hard. There are so many chores to do. Some days they don’t even get to eat. Ellis makes a friend named Jane. Jane is naïve and childish. They fall in love. Life is cruel in so many ways. Everyone is fearful of the Indians, who do not want them there.
I thought this story was well written and brought up many historical facts. The author does a good job of keeping the story flowing. I think the characters were developed quite well. If you enjoy reading about history during the 1600s then give this book a try!
September 14, 2024
I really thought this was going to be a great book. I love historical fiction, especially when horror is thrown into the mix, but this really just missed the mark for me. I understand why the book was written the way it was, but the writing was too choppy and disjointed, even though that was the point. Plot points were brought up and never went anywhere. I found it to be so slowly paced that it took me five days to read less than 300 pages. I was unimpressed with the way the Indigenous people were written in this book. The real horror is how people can become monsters when tragedy strikes. Idk…. This was very disappointing and I should have DNF’d it.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange of an honest review.
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