Book review – Bone Crier’s Moon (Spoiler Free)

“I picture the shark’s grotesque face. I see her trying to wring the life out of Ailesse. She isn’t majestic like the alpine ibex or beautiful like the peregrine falcon. She isn’t even charming like the fire salamander. I won’t mourn to see her dead.

But does that mean she deserves to die?”

• Title: Bone Crier’s Moon
• Author: Kathryn Purdie
• Genre: YA Fantasy
• Pages: 480 pages
• Publication date: March 3, 2020
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

I finally caved in and decided to get an Owl Crate. Owl Crate is a subscription box (or a one time box) that has a theme for each month. It comes with a YA book and some randomness to go along with it. For April, the theme was Full Moon Magic. When I didn’t get a book about werewolves, I was actually surprised and kind of happy.

As you can see from the pictures, I got a lot with the book. I got some wooden moons, a pin, a notebook, a puzzle, and a tote bag. Was it worth the $41.11 (including shipping and tax)? Eh? Maybe.

I hadn’t heard of Bone Crier’s Moon before I opened the box. It has an interesting premise where this nation of women serve the gods by ferrying the dead. They kill specific animals and receive the animal’s abilities by wearing a bone from that animal around their neck. For example, killing an owl will help someone be able to see better in the dark. These abilities help them ferry.

However, before they can ferry the dead, they have to complete a rite of passage. To do so they must prove their dedication to the gods by killing their amouré, the love of their life. For Ailesse, this all goes downhill when she gets kidnapped during her rite of passage.

I like the clash of cultures in this book. It pins two characters against each other who don’t like or know much about the other’s culture. What they do know is biased from their own life. It shows how we should consider others and their backgrounds more before we judge them.

This book has twists that I could predict though. Some I could tell something was going to go wrong, because there were two hundred pages left, and others I could tell by subtle details. Was this book completely predictable though? Not really. There were a few I couldn’t predict.

The major part that confused me was Ailesse’s character. At the beginning, she is a strong woman that lets no one stand in the way. But she loses that strength in a few chapters. She then seems like a different character completely. Her feelings change in a way that doesn’t make sense to me. I would explain more, but I don’t want to spoil it.

Because of that, the only character I connected with was her best friend, Sabine. I found her part of the story much more fascinating than Ailesse’s. She also was relatable since she doesn’t believe in herself much, which I’m sure everyone has experienced before. She doesn’t see herself as an important person to go to, the main character. But she also doesn’t let that fact stop her.

Overall, this book has an interesting and unique plot. I’m interested to know more about what happens to Sabine. I don’t know how long this series will go on for, but I do know the second book comes out next year. I’d recommend the first book if you like worlds with different, clashing cultures and relatable characters like Sabine.

Score: 7.5/10
Average rating on Goodreads: 3.78/5