Editorial review
Them Bones
By Alex Atkins
Alex Atkins’ novel, Them Bones, is a captivating coming-of-age story that pulses with the frenetic energy and burning passion of young and all-consuming love. Set during the late 90s and early 2000s, the story follows th...
Reviewed by CANREADS
Alex Atkins’ novel, Them Bones, is a captivating coming-of-age story that pulses with the frenetic energy and burning passion of young and all-consuming love. Set during the late 90s and early 2000s, the story follows the powerful connection between Shane, a homeless youth, and Laney, a girl suffering under a complicated and abusive living environment. When Shane is offered the opportunity to stay at her house, a fiery and ill-fated romance blossoms between them, one which threatens to burn them both.
Atkins expertly explores the often impatient and impulsive desires of new love, alongside the devastating impact of family abuse and drug dependency. With engaging language and multiple character POVs, the novel tells a story both incredibly intimate and large in scale, connecting readers to an unforgettable web of characters within the narrative. This, along with intense fatalistic themes and ominous foreshadowing interspersed throughout, makes it a highly engrossing story that leaves the reader desperate to find out what happens next.
While the story does cover complicated themes, such as age-gap relationships, drug abuse and its consequences, and the sexualization of a minor, the author is able to deftly balances these darker issues with moments of levity and hope, keeping the story from becoming too burdened by its own graphic and dark nature.
Them Bones is a must-read for those who love star-crossed, doomed romantic tales, and gritty murder mysteries. With her expert employment of snarky banter, mature themes, and passionate prose, Alex Atkins delivers a gripping addition to the romance genre.
—CANREADS VANCOUVER BOOK REVIEW