October’s Book Pick: The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
[ID: A book with a gilt and floral golden skull on the cover with a black background. The book sits on a bed of loose book pages and a gray wooden floor. It’s surrounded by small white pumpkins, pine cones, golden fake flowers, autumn leaves, and book confetti. To the right “Oct Read” is spelled out in scrabble tiles.]
Happy Fall, bookish friends! I’m pleased to announce that the #ChronicallyIconicBookClub has selected THE BONE HOUSES by Emily Lloyd-Jones as our October read!
THE BONES HOUSES is a YA fantasy with chronic pain representation (by a disabled author) that follows a grave-digger, a mapmaker, and a particularly unusual goat as they attempt to break a curse that keeps bringing the dead back as living corpses.
If you would like to buy this book and support the book club, you can find buy links in my bio. A full description and content warnings are in the comments. Please note that this book does have zombie-like creatures and is more horror-esque than the books we’ve read previously.
We will discuss this book at the end of October via a private group chat on Instagram. Comment here or on Instagram if you'd like to join!
[ID: A golden illustrated skull made up of flowing floral curlicues against a black background. The words The Bone Houses” and “Emily Lloyd-Jones” are spelled out in white font against the skull.}
The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones
Representation: character with chronic pain written by a disabled author
Summary: Seventeen-year-old Aderyn ("Ryn") only cares about two things: her family, and her family's graveyard. And right now, both are in dire straits. Since the death of their parents, Ryn and her siblings have been scraping together a meager existence as gravediggers in the remote village of Colbren, which sits at the foot of a harsh and deadly mountain range that was once home to the fae. The problem with being a gravedigger in Colbren, though, is that the dead don't always stay dead.
The risen corpses are known as "bone houses," and legend says that they're the result of a decades-old curse. When Ellis, an apprentice mapmaker with a mysterious past, arrives in town, the bone houses attack with new ferocity. What is it that draws them near? And more importantly, how can they be stopped for good?
Together, Ellis and Ryn embark on a journey that will take them deep into the heart of the mountains, where they will have to face both the curse and the long-hidden truths about themselves.
Content/trigger warnings: Animal death, death, violence, corpses, zombie-like creatures.