Bone Jack
Material type:
- 9781783440054
- YA/F/CRO
Item type | Current library | Call number | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
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Colombo Children's Area | YA/F/CRO |
Available
Order online |
CA00019666 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Ash's dad has returned from war, close to a breakdown and lost in a world of imaginary threats. Meanwhile, Ash's best friend Mark is grieving and has drifted away into his own nightmares. Ash's only escape is his lonely mountain running, training to be the stag boy in the annual Stag Chase. But dark things are stirring. Ash begins to wonder if the sinister stories about the Stag Chase are true. Could Mark and Dad be haunted by more than just their pasts?'Bone Jack is a powerful and beguiling YA novel' - Telegraph'Dark, magical, and mysterious, Bone Jack captured me and carried me away' - Rebecca Stead, author of Liar and Spy and When You Reach Me 'A marvellous debut. Don't miss this book!' - Susan Cooper, author of The Dark is Rising and Ghost Hawk'Haunting and compelling. An outstanding novel' - Phil Earle, author of Being Billy and Heroic'An extraordinary modern fantasy with never a wasted word' - Imogen Russell Williams, Metro
£6.99
Excerpt provided by Syndetics
Reviews provided by Syndetics
Publishers Weekly Review
In this haunting debut set in the mountains of England, a teenager trains for an ancient annual tradition while dealing with everyday troubles that include an ex-military father with PTSD and a best friend who's growing increasingly strange. Thirteen-year-old Ash Tyler is all set to perform as the stag boy in the Stag Chase, a dangerous race that originated as a pagan rite, in which he'll have to evade the pack of runners chasing him. But as the race approaches, ghosts of races past, wolves appearing where they've no right to be, and the manifestation of Bone Jack-a mysterious nature spirit-all hint that something deadly is brewing. Worse, Ash's friend Mark believes that sacrificing the stag boy is the only way to heal the land and end the drought. As the boundaries between reality and myth blur, British author Crowe crafts a tense, atmospheric tale steeped in folklore, where the setting itself comes alive. It's a quick but memorable read, and a fascinating take on the power of belief and healing. Ages 10-up. Agent: Joanna Swainson, Hardman & Swainson. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Haunting, ominous, and mesmerizing, this is a fantasy that captivates. Set in the English countryside, the story weaves medieval myths into a contemporary tale about war and its effects. Fifteen-year-old Ash Tyler is preparing for the annual Stag Chase. As he trains, he remembers all the times he ran this land with his father, and he wonders when his father will come home from war. When Ash's father finally returns, Ash cannot believe his eyes. His father is so different-a mere shell of a man. More determined than ever, Ash vows to run and win the race for his father. Legend has it that when the land is sick, the old ways return. Ash witnesses eerie visions in the hills and encounters a mountain man named Bone Jack. Ash researches myths and finds that Bone Jack is believed to be a magical creature who can appear as a human or as birds. Ash becomes increasingly on edge as he is warned off the race by his ex-best friend Mark. Mark has taken to the forest, killing birds and repeating old stories of bone and blood. Mark believes the land is broken and Nature is ailing. Old magic is returning, and old ways require blood sacrifice and the killing of a youth, the stag. Crowe is a masterly storyteller whose lyrical prose will enthrall young readers. VERDICT A page-turning and atmospheric offering for middle graders who crave dark fantasy.-Pamela Thompson, Col. John O. Ensor Middle School, El Paso, TX © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.Booklist Review
Ash has been training for months for his village's annual Stag Chase, the modern iteration of an ancient ritual to usher in a prosperous season. This year, Ash will be the revered Stag Boy, leading a pack of Hound Boys on a chase around the mountains. He should be elated, but he's struggling with both the return of his PTSD-afflicted father and his ex-best friend Mark's eerie descent into a violent, weird obsession with both the pagan roots of the Stag Chase and a mythical being, Bone Jack, who monitors the gateway between life and death. Crowe cultivates an unsettling atmosphere with ghostly apparitions, threats of violence, and descriptions of grotesqueries, such as a rotting stag head and a cape of crow carcasses. Amid the looming danger, Crowe leaves plenty of room for meaningful conversations about family, loyalty, and mental illness, particularly pertaining to Ash's father. Though this might seem like just another ghost story, there's subtle depth here, too, and teen fans of both horror and literary fiction will find lots to like.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2016 BooklistHorn Book Review
Crowe taps into Welsh and British folklore in this story of two boys struggling with grief. Ash and Mark used to be best friends, but that was before Mark's bereaved, debt-laden father killed himself and Ash's father returned from military service with PTSD. Now, Ash is busy training for the Stag Chase, an annual race and ritual hunt in which he'll play the coveted part of the quarry, and Mark one of the hound boys who chases him. But as he trains, Ash learns that Mark plans to use this ancient rite of blood sacrifice to bring his father back from the dead--and that Ash's own life may be at stake. The boys' pain, the drought-blighted land, and the imagery of Bone Jack, guardian of the boundary between the living and the dead, combine with increasing intensity, resulting in an extended paean to friendship and familial love, the land and its history. Crowe is particularly effective in evoking the sensory elements of the natural world--a "lash of tingling heat" as a nettle brushes against a hand; the look of the "leathery remains of a frog"; or the "thin shriek [of] some tiny mammal taken by owl or stoat or fox." Reminiscent of David Almond's work in its sensuality and mysticism. deirdre f. baker (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.There are no comments on this title.