Every Bone a Prayer
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3.3 • 18 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
"Blooms has taken the voice and names of Appalachia, tended, and evolved them, and created a book that is at once haunting and hopeful."—NPR
Praised by BuzzFeed, Good Housekeeping, POPSUGAR, Bustle, and more!
Misty's holler looks like any of the thousands of hollers that fork through the Appalachian Mountains. But Misty knows her home is different. She may be only ten, but she hears things. Even the crawdads in the creek have something to say, if you listen.
All that Misty's sister Penny wants to talk about are the strange objects that start appearing outside their trailer. The grown-ups mutter about sins and punishment, but that doesn't scare Misty. Not like the hurtful thing that's been happening to her, the hurtful thing that is becoming part of her. Ever since her neighbor William cornered her in the barn, she must figure out how to get back to the Misty she was before—the Misty who wasn't afraid to listen.
This is the story of one tough-as-nails girl whose choices are few but whose fight is boundless, as her coping becomes a battle cry for everyone around her. Perfect for fans of Southern coming-of-age stories like Where the Crawdads Sing and If The Creek Don't Rise, Every Bone a Prayer is a beautifully honest exploration of healing and of hope.
Praise for Every Bone a Prayer:
"Haunting and healing, Every Bone A Prayer is a powerful debut that will leave its mark on readers' hearts."—Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
"This is a book and a writer I highly recommend."—Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard out of Carolina
"This is the kind of book we need to set literary expectations for a new decade. It's so textured, so layered with love and so wonderfully terrifying, intimate and magical."—Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir
"Searing and soothing, honest and elusive, Every Bone a Prayer is a gift. It's the pure truth, told slant."—Alix E. Harrow, author of The Once and Future Witches
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Blooms's haunting and magical debut follows 10-year-old Misty and her family and neighbors through a summer of trauma in her Appalachian holler. Misty's favorite companions are crawdads, who speak to her and her friend and neighbor William, a boy her age with whom she explores a barn owned by their landlord, Earl, who is rumored to have killed his wife. Misty is contacted by a strange voice she calls "the garden," which tells her more about Earl's crimes. Then, one night, William takes Misty to the barn and sexually assaults her. Misty's sadness over William's betrayal is unbearable to her, and she learns how to slip out of her skin. When she returns to her body, she's accompanied by the "persistent ache of being born." As Misty explores her relationship to her body and tries to get past her pain, she open herself to the voices around her and learns more about the fate of Earl's wife. Blooms succeeds in building an enchanted world and teasing out the truth of what happened in Misty's holler, as seen through an evocative child's point of view. Blooms's powerful tale makes for visceral, sometimes uncomfortable reading, and it's well worth it.
