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Camille DeAngelis
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Bones & All Paperback – March 22, 2016

by Camille Deangelis (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 206 ratings
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Now a major motion picture from Luca Guadagnino starring Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet and Mark Rylance, screenplay by David Kajganich!

Maren Yearly is a young woman who wants the same things we all do. She wants to be someone people admire and respect. She wants to be loved. But her secret, shameful needs have forced her into exile. She hates herself for the bad thing she does, for what it's done to her family and her sense of identity, for how it dictates her place in the world and how people see her--how they judge her. She didn't choose to be this way.

Because Maren Yearly doesn't just break hearts, she devours them. Ever since her mother found Penny Wilson's eardrum in her mouth when Maren was just two years old, she knew life would never be normal for either of them. Love may come in many shapes and sizes, but for Maren, it always ends the same--with her hiding the evidence and her mother packing up the car.

But when her mother abandons her the day after her sixteenth birthday, Maren goes looking for the father she has never known, and finds much more than she bargained for along the way.

Faced with a world of fellow eaters, potential enemies, and the prospect of love, Maren realizes she isn't only looking for her father, she's looking for herself.

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  1. Print length
    304 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Griffin
  4. Publication date
    March 22, 2016
  5. Reading age
    14 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    5 x 0.5 x 8 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    1250046521
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1250046529
  9. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

2015 Alex Award Recipient!

“[DeAngelis] successfully blends metaphor with the macabre…genuinely entertaining…Delicious fun.” ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A commentary on young women's sexuality, reliance on self, and being about who you are rather than where you came from...This novel is unique, edgy, and not to be missed!” ―RT Book Reviews, 4.5 Stars, "Top Pick"

“Maren's loneliness makes her a vulnerable and completely believable protagonist...DeAngelis doesn't shy away from Maren's dark nature but manages to keep her sweet...giving us a portrait of a young girl who wants to fit in.” ―Library Journal

“One look at Bones & All's startling first page, and there's no going back. This is a coming-of-age journey with shocking revelations, disturbing passion, and deep truths about being a girl in this world. Camille DeAngelis is a wildly imaginative, welcome new voice in YA fiction.” ―Nova Ren Suma, author of The Walls Around Us and Imaginary Girls

“A dark and mesmerizing vision of adolescent desire--this book will devour you.” ―Robin Wasserman, author of The Waking Dark and The Cold Awakening series

“A powerful story of a young woman learning to embrace her deepest secrets, and her darkest needs.” ―Chevy Stevens, bestselling author of Still Missing, Never Knowing and Always Watching

“DeAngelis has invented a fierce new form of human predator.” ―Alissa Nutting, author of Tampa and Unclean Jobs for Women and Girls

“A spellbinding book full of horrors wrapped in sweetness and longing and finding one's way in the world, or maybe it's the other way around.” ―Carolyn Turgeon, author of Mermaid

“A dark and delicious tale full of unexpected twists that will keep readers turning the pages.” ―John Searles, bestselling author of Help for the Haunted and Strange But True

“From its opening, grab-you-by-the-gut paragraph to its chilling, perfect ending, I was captivated by the story of Maren Yearly, a character unlike any I've ever encountered before. Bones & All is a riveting, utterly original, and unexpectedly tender exploration of one of the scariest things in the world: growing up.” ―Elizabeth Little, author of Dear Daughter

About the Author

Camille DeAngelis is the author of several novels for adults―each of them as full of impossible things as The Boy From Tomorrow―as well as a travel guide to Ireland and two more books of nonfiction, Life Without Envy: Ego Management for Creative People and A Bright Clean Mind: Veganism for Creative Transformation. Her young adult novel Bones & All won an Alex Award from the American Library Association in 2016. She lives in Washington, DC.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Griffin; Reprint edition (March 22, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250046521
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250046529
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5 x 0.5 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 206 ratings

About the author

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Camille DeAngelis

Camille DeAngelis

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Camille DeAngelis is the author of Immaculate Heart (St. Martin’s, 2016), the Alex Award-winning Bones & All (St. Martin’s, 2015), Petty Magic: Being the Memoirs and Confessions of Miss Evelyn Harbinger, Temptress and Troublemaker (Crown, 2010), and Mary Modern (Crown/Shaye Areheart, 2007), as well as a first-edition guidebook, Moon Ireland (Avalon, 2007). Her book of practical philosophy, Life Without Envy: Ego Management for Creative People, was published by St. Martin’s Griffin in September 2016.

She is a graduate of New York University (B.A. in Fine Arts, minor in Irish Studies, 2002) and the National University of Ireland, Galway (M.A. in Writing, 2005). A longtime vegetarian, Camille went vegan in April 2011, and in June 2013 became a certified vegan lifestyle coach and educator through Victoria Moran’s Main Street Vegan® Academy. Originally from New Jersey, Camille now lives in Somerville, Massachusetts. She is a board member of the Writers’ Room of Boston.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
206 global ratings
Great but gruesome
5 Stars
Great but gruesome
This book is really good it’s a big gross but if you have an weak stomach I suggest you don’t read there are some pretty gross scenes in this book overall the book is really good!
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Top reviews from the United States

Danielle
5.0 out of 5 stars Right in your feels and your bones.
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2023
Verified Purchase
I originally bought this book because I saw it was being turned into a movie. When I started reading it, it took me to another place. It's thought-provoking and makes you feel in the moment. Would definitely recommend.
2 people found this helpful
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JenCoBu's a JohnWilsonOrchestra Admirer
5.0 out of 5 stars Pleased & All
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2021
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The novel arrived in excellent condition and in a timely fashion. I want to get the jump on Luca Guadagnino's film that just wrapped filming in July 2021 and, for now, is slated for release in 2022.
Thanks, guys! If there's another book I'm searching for, and you have it, I'll choose you again.
Later. :)
Jen
3 people found this helpful
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Faith
5.0 out of 5 stars Great but gruesome
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2022
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This book is really good it’s a big gross but if you have an weak stomach I suggest you don’t read there are some pretty gross scenes in this book overall the book is really good!
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Faith
5.0 out of 5 stars Great but gruesome
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2022
This book is really good it’s a big gross but if you have an weak stomach I suggest you don’t read there are some pretty gross scenes in this book overall the book is really good!
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4 people found this helpful
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LNH
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read.
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2023
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Read it in 1 night. Was good but geared more towards the teen to 20ish age range.
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Sarah
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
Reviewed in the United States on January 25, 2023
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Great book!
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Kaylee Morris
5.0 out of 5 stars I couldn’t put this book down!
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2022
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This book is so interesting from start to finish. I loved it!
3 people found this helpful
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Alexa
3.0 out of 5 stars The story could have been meatier
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2022
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I’m not sure why so many reviews loathed ‘Bones and All' and felt it deserves a single star. The story is interesting, although not fully realized. Many of the main characters are intriguing, but they suffer from an underdevelopment typical in YA fiction. The imagery is good.

It's not an excellent book, but it's a fairly good one if you can overlook its major narrative issues (more details below) and fill in the blanks with your own imagination, much like the protagonist herself. I can see why Luca Guadagnino thought this has the potential to be a movie. And I expect a great adaptation. The story's atmosphere and set-up made me think of Badlands, Kalifornia, and other weird movies where people drive cross-country and cause mayhem.

I've also seen a number of negative reviews about the writing. I actually found the author's use of language to be one of Bones and All's high points. I enjoyed the author's use of metaphors, similes, and dream sequences to convey Maren’s thoughts and feelings. Maren lives vicariously through novels, so it makes sense for her to substitute authentic relationships with daydreams.

The biggest problem is the spotty narrative. The main characters' motivations either don't make sense (i.e., they wither into plot devices) or aren't fully realized. Key information about being an eater is missing. And some characters are more developed than others.

To start, the author never explains how eaters chew through bones to devour an entire body in less than 10 minutes. I understand why people are frustrated. It's one thing for the author to give her readers the agency to fill in the blanks, but it's another thing to avoid explaining the story's central mechanic. At one point, a four-year old eats a grown man with "milk teeth," which again draws attention to a magic that is never explained. (In a YouTube video, DeAngelis says there is a magical component to the cannibalism, so I'm confused about why she ignored it entirely. This seems like an after-the-fact explanation.)

However, the missing details about being an eater bothers me less than the rushed final act. Many important plot points, deaths, and locations are jammed into the final third portion of the book. It's a striking contrast to the reasonably paced first act, which covers less ground. By the final chapter, I felt pretty emotionally detached from Maren; I didn't care what happened to her, because I never felt like I really knew her. For someone so internal, Maren is difficult to relate to, even at her most human. Ironically, the ending kills off the best and most likable character.

'Bones and All isn't as meaty as it could have been (oops) for a coming-of-age story about cannibals-slash-eaters. The author leaned too heavily into spinning a dark fairly tale (including a little old lady who read exactly like a storybook character) without giving us remotely enough magic and gore.
17 people found this helpful
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James Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars Compelling
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2022
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Looking forward to the forthcoming movie.
One person found this helpful
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Kimberly
5.0 out of 5 stars Buen libro!!!
Reviewed in Mexico on October 10, 2022
Verified Purchase
Ha venido un día antes sin plástico de protección pero en buena calidad, es de buen tamaño y es justo lo que esperaba, estoy feliz con mi compra!!!
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Kimberly
5.0 out of 5 stars Buen libro!!!
Reviewed in Mexico on October 10, 2022
Ha venido un día antes sin plástico de protección pero en buena calidad, es de buen tamaño y es justo lo que esperaba, estoy feliz con mi compra!!!
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Giorgia T.
5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant surprise
Reviewed in Italy on October 21, 2022
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this. It was a not so hidden metaphor of the feeling of being different, especially growing up. Was a pleasant surprise for me. Cannot wait to watch the movie!
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