Review Detail

When Roza disappears from Bone Gap, no one is surprised. After all, it's not the first time someone had left Sean and Finn O'Sullivan. Their own mother left them, ran off to Oregon with a new man and never looked back. That's just life for the O'Sullivan boys. But Finn knows Roza didn't run away. She was kidnapped but no one will believe him. He witnessed Roza being taken away but he can't remember the man's face. Finn is determined to prove himself to everyone. He'll find that man and he'll find Roza.

This book was very different from anything I've read so far this year. It was a slower read because it left me with the feeling that if I read it too fast, I would miss out of a clue that would tell me what was going on. It was definitely the kind of book that's hard to review because you don't want to give anything away.

The characters were what drove the plot. Finn was the main character but we also got POVs from his brother Sean, Roza, and another girl, Petey. Finn was seen as strange by the people of Bone Gap, but he was their strange boy. His desperation to prove to everyone, and to himself, that he wasn't crazy, that he had seen a man kidnap Roza was understandable and his frustration and anger at not being believed was justifiable. I really liked the developing relationship between him and Petey. They were really good for each other, even with the misunderstandings they would have. I liked Petey, her annoyance whenever someone would call her by her real name "Priscilla", her insecurity, everything about her.

Finn's brother Sean got less page time but he was still an interesting character. Giving up his dream of medical school to stay to care for his little brother when their mother walked away, falling for Roza, losing her, not knowing how to relate to Finn. There were times I wanted to scream at him to just talk to his brother but I could tell he was hurting. Roza's story was the one I read the slowest, looking for the clues as to where she might be, who had her, what was going on. I really enjoyed the flashbacks with her, how she came to America from Poland, how she met Sean and Finn, how she came to love them.

As I said, it's hard to talk about the plot without giving anything away. I enjoyed the mystery of it and how it played out. It could be a little confusing at times but by the end, everything made sense. The writing style really fit the tone of the book.

I do think this will be one of those loved it, hated it, or not quite sure how to feel books. There were definitely parts I did enjoy but also parts that were confusing so right now, I fall into the 'not quite sure' group.