{"id":246,"date":"2024-09-02T11:33:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-02T11:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=246"},"modified":"2024-09-02T11:33:00","modified_gmt":"2024-09-02T11:33:00","slug":"starred-book-review-bones-picked-clean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=246","title":{"rendered":"STARRED Book Review: Bones Picked Clean"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Bones Picked Clean<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

by Jen Poteet<\/p>\n

Genre:<\/strong> Literary Fiction \/ Appalachia \/ Myths & Mythical Creatures<\/p>\n

ISBN: <\/strong>9781960522078<\/p>\n

Print Length:<\/strong> 164 pages<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Reviewed by Samantha Hui<\/em><\/p>\n

An Appalachian love story that explores the truth of cryptids and complexity of the human spirit<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jen Poteet\u2019s Bones Picked Clean <\/em>is a love letter to nature and Appalachia. The story interweaves idiomatic expressions and superstitions into fresh, new characters who feel familiar to the reader yet completely, charmingly unique. The book offers a sympathetic look at the brutality of nature that also gives back in return and, similarly, the disappointment of some people who ultimately serve a meaningful purpose in our lives.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Just because your heart was meant for something other than what someone else planned for you, did not make you useless.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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In the woods of Appalachia, this story begins and ends with Chicory living in Granny\u2019s house on Dark Holler Lane. Chicory is whip smart, kind, and fusses over the ones she loves in the same way her Gran did for her. <\/p>\n

Chicory wards off evil in the ways passed down to her from Gran: pouring salt in doorways, burying hair, nailing railroad spikes on the corners of properties. Her peculiarities draw her to her equally unique friends: Hawk, a boy from the Cherokee tribe who loves as hard as he fights; bookish Loretta who was forced to be a caretaker too early in her life; and Emory, who is fascinated by cryptids and fiercely loyal to nature and his loved ones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018But just take care, and listen what I tell you. These woods, they are a tricky sort, and for all their bounty, there is just as much around here can make you sick. So, you learn what not to take and what not to eat as well.\u2019\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

At one point, Chicory is described as feeling as empty as a skeleton with its \u201cbones picked clean.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> The image is despairingly violent, but there is also a sense of natural reciprocity. Though the body has died, it has returned back to nature, having fed its wild animals. <\/p>\n

This book deals with cycles and returns. The evil that has been wronged will seek revenge in turn; life moves to death back to life and so on; the summation of all the successes and failures in life will bring Chicory exactly where she needs to be at that time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAkin to the cycle of life and death, time moved in a cyclical nature with the seasons.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Each chapter is titled with a different idiom or catchphrase such as \u201cThere\u2019s a Fox in the Henhouse,\u201d \u201cBeggars Can\u2019t Be Choosers,\u201d and \u201cOut of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire.\u201d In the way that Gran passed down sayings, superstitions, and practices to Chicory, with each chapter, it feels as if the reader also learns a new message. <\/p>\n

Additionally, the characters have chance encounters with cryptids that the characters refer to as \u201cMoon-Eyed People\u201d or \u201cNot Deer.\u201d Though these dangerous creatures attack the characters and recur throughout the story, they are regarded as another kind of wild animal as opposed to major threats in the plot. I enjoyed this detail, because it suggested that even these dangers have a place in the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of those creatures followed the Trail of Tears feeding off the pain and sadness of the People. What had been done to them was so awful, that no matter where one\u2019s feet were planted, that ground had been stolen, and those who came to understand that, felt deeply the pain and sadness.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bones Picked Clean <\/em>is a tenderly written ode to Appalachian life that can be enjoyed in a single sitting. The chapters are poetic in their brevity, and the characters are charming and sympathetic. Together, Chicory and her friends navigate a tumultuous world that guarantees nothing but hardship, but ultimately offers the hope of connection and love.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Thank you for reading Samantha Hui\u2019s book review of Bones Picked Clean <\/em>by Jen Poteet! If you liked what you read, please spend some more time with us at the links below.<\/p>\n

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The post STARRED Book Review: Bones Picked Clean<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bones Picked Clean by Jen Poteet Genre: Literary Fiction \/ Appalachia \/ Myths & Mythical Creatures ISBN: 9781960522078 Print Length: 164 pages Buy from Amazon Buy from Bookshop Reviewed by Samantha Hui An Appalachian love story that explores the truth of cryptids and complexity of the human spirit Jen Poteet\u2019s Bones Picked Clean is a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}