Bone's Gift

Ghosts of Ordinary Objects #1

by Angie Smibert

In this supernatural historical mystery, twelve-year-old Bone possesses a Gift that allows her to see the stories in everyday objects. When she receives a note that says her mother's Gift killed her, Bone seeks to unravel the mysteries of her mother's death, the schisms in her family, and the Gifts themselves.

In a southern Virginia coal-mining town in 1942, Bone Phillips has just reached the age when most members of her family discover their Gift. Bone has a Gift that disturbs her; she can sense stories when she touches an object that was important to someone. She sees both sad and happy--the death of a deer in an arrowhead, the pain of a beating in a baseball cap, and the sense of joy in a fiddle. There are also stories woven into her dead mama's butter-yellow sweater--stories Bone yearns for and fears. When Bone receives a note that says her mama's Gift is what killed her, Bone tries to uncover the truth. Could Bone's Gift do the same? Here is a beautifully resonant coming-of-age tale about learning to trust the power of your own story.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Mystery, Young Adult, Magical Realism, Fantasy, Childrens

256 pages, Hardcover

First published March 20, 2018

About the author

I was born in Blacksburg, a once sleepy college town in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. I grew up thinking I wanted to be a veterinarian; organic chemistry had other ideas. But I always had stories in my head. Eventually, after a few degrees and few cool jobs—including a 10-year stint at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center—I wrote some of those stories down.

I'm the author of several young adult novels, including MEMENTO NORA, THE FORGETTING CURVE, and THE MEME PLAGUE. I’ve also published many short stories, for both adults and teens.

You can also catch me blogging as part of the LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY WRITERS (leaguewriters.blogspot.com).

www.mementonora.com
www.angiesmibert.com

Reviews

[Dianna (SavingsInSeconds blog) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the heading — ghosts of ordinary objects — and couldn’t wait to settle down into these pages. What an extraordinary treat it was!

Laurel “Bone” Phillips is a 12 year old girl in an Appalachian coal mining town. Big Vein is similar to Walnut Grove in a way, and the characters in this story are similar to Little House on the Prairie, despite the 1940s setting. In the midst of WWII drafting, Bone’s life is turned upside down when her father goes off to war. However, Bone is fighting her own internal battles.

The supernatural themes in this story are so well done, especially since this is geared toward middle grade readers. As Bone’s gift develops, she becomes more confident and self-aware. The idea of objects holding memories is beautiful. Why can’t I find any books like this with adult characters?!

I would love to see a book about Willow and the rest of the Reeds!

Bone is a realistic, precocious character with more than a bit of spunk. After “meeting” her family, it’s clear that she comes by her sass naturally! Her curiosity is reminiscent of Scout from To Kill A Mockingbird. I love that most of the adults in Bone's family are so supportive of her. It's the type of book that children will relate to, even without having a paranormal ability.

Author Angie Smibert did a great job of including natural Appalachian history in the story plot. This setting is the perfect location to find characters who believe in “Gifts” and other superstitions. If you visit the mountainous area of the Tennessee/North Carolina/Virginia borders, you’re likely to hear some of those tales for yourself! Storytelling is such a vital part of the heartbeat in this area. It’s wonderful that some of those stories were actually recorded as part of an effort to save this history. If you’re interested in reading more fictional books that detail the writers’ project, check out The Sea Keeper’s Daughter by Lisa Wingate.

I can’t wait to read more in this series!

[Michelle Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was surprised by how much I liked this story and how strongly I felt about some of the characters. A worthwhile read.

[Kayla Honaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

OH MY GOD!? I don’t know if it’s because this story is based in Appalachia or what but this one really got me. You hear so many stories living in WV that I think sometimes you forgot to listen for the meaning behind them. This book is a must read, it’ll have you really listening again.

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bone’s Gift is set in southern Virginia coal-mining town. The year is 1942. The USA has just entered WWII. Bone, her real name is Laurel Phillips, is 12 years of age and she has a gift similar to the gift others in her family have. Not everyone believes in the gifts her family has and not all those who do believe consider them gifts. For example, Bone’s Aunt Mattie, believes they are the devil’s work. Bone lives with her father, Baynard, until he enlists in the Army. Her mother died years ago from influenza. When her father heads off to the army, Bone is forced to go live with her Aunt Mattie, cousin Ruby, and Uncle Henry. Ruby is aware of the gifts, but she follows her mother’s lead and is not very nice to Bone at first. In fact, Bone really only has a few friends, her best friend being Will. Will does not speak. He can speak, he has just chosen not to speak. Instead he writes his thoughts on papers. She has two other friends, Jake and Clay, but in no time, Will and the other boys leave school to become miners and help support their families. This leaves Bone with Ruby and her friends who also are rude to Bone. Bone has family across the river, which she likes to visit, but Aunt Mattie has refused to let her go there. Nothing has been the same since Bone’s mother death.
The main theme of the story is how Bone uses her gift, the ability to see how true situations played out in her head when she is touching an object. Bone desperately wants to know what really happened to her mother and she can do so by “asking” the yellow sweater of her mother’s that she wears often. She is just scared to really know how her mother died. Was if the flue or do the gifts really kill as her Aunt Mattie believes they do?

This is the first book in the Ghosts of Ordinary Objects series. The end of the book showed images of two more books being released in the next two years. Lingering Echoes will be released in 2019 and The Truce will be released in 2020. This book is indicated for grades 5-6 and ages 10+. I agree with this indication.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kid with magic powers has to deal with dumb adults who deny the evidence. But it's also a historically sound meditation on family and community and weaving together a past despite the pain it evokes, and how adults aren't perfect and can be loved anyway.

[Wendy Easter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for young readers

[John Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life without a mother in wartime coal country isn't easy. Shortages and the draft, coupled with a need for increased coal production, create additional stress for all. In addition, numerous families in the area lost kin during a mine disaster a few years ago, including Bone's best friend Sam. Her family has a gift that manifests itself around the age she is now. Rumor has it that her mother's gift, that of identifying an ailment early on and treating it, was a major cause of her early death during an influenza outbreak a few years ago. Regardless of whether that's true or not, it's the main reason she's forbidden from visiting her grandmother and is harassed by her super religious aunt and her cousin Ruby.
When her father is drafted, he issues an edict. She must leave the boarding house where they've lived since her mom died and live with her aunt until he returns from the war. Her uncle who is still affected by his experiences during World War One, understands her pain and sneaks her off to visit her grandmother who lives on the other side of the river and is a plant healer, able to understand more about the healing properties of each plant as she works with them.
Bone's own gift seems more like a curse as she sees things and events when touching inanimate objects. The more this happens, the more agitated her aunt becomes. When events reach a crisis point, it's the love and understanding of those who believe her that saves the day. Filled with magical realism, historical fact and peopled with very real characters, this is a joy to read and perfect for any library collection.

[Kayla Zabcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

80%

"These ordinary objects bore witness to the lives unfolding and dissolving in front of them, and if the moment was charged enough, the object took it all in like a silver plate in a photograph. But she was the only one who could see it."

I almost did not finish this book, because I found Aunt Mattie to be an insufferable bitch and I couldn't stand how everyone in Bone's family just accepted it and even allowed Bone to be placed with this raging maniac of a woman. I did finish it, despite how awful Aunt Mattie was.

This book takes you back in time, and it made me feel nostalgic for an era that my parents weren't even alive for - a time when going to the movies was a major event, when neighbors were neighborly, and people were connected to their communities. You can still find this dying lifestyle in small rural towns, but urbanization is slowly killing it and people don't appreciate it as much as they should (though maybe they are starting to, judging by growing internet interests in cottagecore, gardening, nature, and connectedness).

Anyways, it's a book about growing pains with a touch of magic, and I'd definitely be interested in seeing Bone grow with her gift and in her life. It kind of had "Anne of Green Gables" vibes, but she was less annoying than Anne, and the magical aspect of seeing an object's memories really took it to the next level.

"That's exactly what Forever Boy was afraid of. Things change. People leave. All when everything was perfectly good before. Almost everything."

"I'll tell you a secret about grown-ups, Bone. They get scared and hurt the same as children. Only most don't throw a fit and have done with it. They hold on to the hurt and the fear - and it festers. And it comes out in peculiar ways."

[Cindy Dobrez · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has everything I love in stories...characters you care about, mystery, family dynamics...and storytelling. One of the historical fiction details is a WPA worker who is collecting folktales from the locals. Objects in our homes often spark stories. Storyteller Donald Davis advises members of his storytelling classes to describe their grandmother's kitchen. You'll start with the color and curtains and other details, but you will quickly get to an event that happened in that kitchen and you'll have a story. For Bone, in Smibert's book, she holds an object and sees the past...what happened with that object. Her mother's sweater, featured in the incredible cover art, is a big trigger and leads to a mystery surrounding her mother's death. Life in this 1940s Virginia coal-mining town is fully realized and the secondary characters are special, too. I can't wait for the next book in this trilogy. Bone's Gift is something special.

[Katelyn Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so much more than I expected! I can’t wait to read the other two books in the series. 12-year-old Bone is growing up in a rural Virginia mining town as the US armies are entering WWII. Bone has a gift of seeing stories of the past by touching random objects. Many of her family members have special gifts too, but others struggle to understand them, like Bone’s Aunt Mattie.

I became so wrapped up in Bone’s story and truly loved the complexity of each character. I would love to use this as one of our library book club choices and talk about some of the local folktales shared in this book (Jack Tales, Forever Boy, and Cherokee legends), as well as the importance of storytelling and the history of the Virginia Writer’s Project. Recommended for fans of Appalachian literature, the rich history of storytelling, and unique historical fiction.

[J.H. Diehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

BONE’S GIFT is a classic fantasy tale of a girl’s coming of age, as she discovers what makes her special, and searches for truth about the circumstances of her mother’s death. Set against the backdrop of Appalachia during WWII, Bone’s story is filled with rich details from her own life and times, and fascinating regional versions of archetypal folk tales. For as much as Bone seeks to uncover her family story, she is also a locally renowned storyteller. Bone’s voice, Smibert’s cast of characters and her well-researched, rich setting, will leave you ready for the next installment in this trilogy.

[Danielle Boise · Rating 5 out of 5]

"These ordinary objects bore witness to the lives unfolding and dissolving in front of them and if the moment was charged enough, the object took it all in like a silver plate in a photograph. But she was the only one who could see it."

"Bone's Gift" takes place in the early fall of 1942 in the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia at Big Vein, a coal mining town. This is where we are introduced to 12-year old Laurel Grace Phillips, known as Bone and get the first glimpses into her "Gift."

Bone comes from a long line of people, on her mother's side, who have special Gifts that have the ability to help people and animals in need.

Bone is helping Miss Spencer curator local stories, folklore that make up the region and mine towns like Big Vein in hopes of maintaining the oral history before it's disappears. While Bone is enjoying helping out Miss Spencer, she has alternative motives. She is trying to learn more about her mother and gain some insight into her recently discovered gift.

As the war draws near, Bone's father enlists, leaving her in the care of her Aunt Mattie, a vile woman. Cinderella's step mother was closer to a saint than this woman. At least she liked her own children. Mattie is a hard woman, not liked by many, including her own family.

There is a lot of emotions running the full spectrum in this book - from the purest of love to the depths of jealousy, rage and despair. There is a tenderness in Bone and how she experiences the world, through a series of losses and with a particularly cruel turn towards the end.

I ended up reading the second book in the series first, just happenstance. I'm glad I went back and read this book. The characters have such life to them, even in death. It's really a beautiful story.

[A.L. DeLeon · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, a trigger warning - there is a scene in this book that could be difficult for readers who have experienced similar trauma.

This had promise, it could have been a great story but fell short of that for me. Bone's Gift had too many threads that were introduced passively and touched on heavy and real subjects such as religious abuse, child abuse, mental health, and racism. All are topics that need to be handled in a way that showcases their wrongness and simultaneously empowers those affected by them. I think Bone's Gift could have used more finesse, especially given the target audience.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous sense of place/time: Appalachia during WWII, as tomboy Bone tries to figure out who she is (her Gift), and whether her mother's Gift is what killed her. Her father doesn't help, and her Aunt works against her, but it was nice that the community supports each other. I never did figure out why her Aunt was so set against the Gifts in the family, and why the family didn't figure out that the Aunt's gift was with things mechanical.

[WKPL Children's/YA Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Miss Lori read the first in this series of books by Angie Smibert and is looking forward to reading the next book asap! I am a sucker for "extra" abilities and the main character and her family deal with "gifts" in different ways. It is an emotional read. The main character deals with much and counts on her family to support her (some of which REALLY do!!....and some just don't).
Great read for middle schoolers.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book of three in a trilogy set in World War II. Part of my family came from (US) coal country, and it made me smile when the afterward contained an explanation of the correct way to pronounce Appalachia. It had a little bit of a Judy Blume vibe, if Judy Blume were writing books about adolescents with psychic powers instead of more typical identity crises and maturation issues. Trigger warning for scenes of child abuse.

[Jen Bojkov · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is mainly a work of historical fiction, but the family in the story has special gifts- like being able to tell what is wrong with a person or animal by touching them, or being able to find ore in a mine, or being able to see the healing properties in plants, etc. set during WWII- this is the story of Bone- how she discovers her gift and the story of what happened to her mother. I would call it magical realism- with a dash of mystery thrown in.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a beautiful story that blends supernatural powers with historical fiction. It was a satisfying read with plenty of mystery and development of character. This book tackles family dynamics after a tragedy. Poverty, segregation and World War II are also a part of the backdrop. I look forward to the additional books to follow.

[Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

How on earth was this book not more popular than 70-something reviews?! This book is golden. I've got the next in the series on hold at the library, and can't wait to pick it up!

Bone is such a sweet, beautiful, complex narrator. Navigating through her life and the traumas she is working through gets right to the MG level of teaching compassion and seeing the world through another's eyes.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is something enchanting about this book. I absolutely loved it! It's basis is in, local to me and historically accurate, Appalachia during WWII. It mixes in a bit of mystery, some unique and well developed characters and tops the whole thing with a cool super power. There is nothing not to love! I was excited to learn this is a trilogy. I've already purchased the second book!

[Nichole Hollingsworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magical realism and Appalachian culture? Yes please. I liked te concept of Gifts in this book and te struggle between Bone's subt and her uncles and grandmother was well done. The WWII backdrop also added more depth and gravity to the situation.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this one. It did feel like it ended rather abruptly, but I discovered after the fact that it is the first in a series. Guess I’ll have to read the others to see where the story goes.

[Deborah Hoover]

I loved Lingering Echoes which I read first. The setting of Appalachia West Virginia and the Scots culture combined the unique concept of the storyteling of the region both open new areas of interest for readers. LOVED it.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It felt overly simple to me; the mystery that Bone was trying to solve seemed utterly obvious almost from the beginning. It also made no sense that all the adults in the book alternated between basically telling her the answers to being shocked by the answers she found.

[Jillian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't get into this book too much and didn't find that the characters were easy to keep track of. There were a lot of side characters that didn't matter. It got kind of boring and I was okay to be done with it.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy heartfelt story of a young girl trying to find answers to family mysteries. How her mother died and the mysterious “gifts” some of her family members possess. Set in the southern Appalachian mountains, the story also weaves in folklore and family stories.

[Ari · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this! A very simple read. I loved Bone she was such a sweetheart!!

[Kinsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise and focus on stories, but slow plot bogged down by mature themes that I wonder if young readers will stick with it

[Robin McCann · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an adult I could figure out the ending but I liked the story. Good for all age middle school readers. Mystery with a bit of a supernatural twist. A mix between Saranormal and Chime.

[Lou · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review coming soon.