Book review: The Bones Beneath my Skin by TJ Klune
Genre: Modern fantasy
Release date: February 4, 2025
Goodreads rating: 4.27
My rating: 4.5
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I have to admit that I was late to the game in discovering TJ Klune. I picked up The House in the Cerulean Sea just last year and LOVED it! So I jumped at the occasion to delve into The Bones Beneath My Skin as soon as it was released last week!
The Bones Beneath My Skin follows Nate, a NY journalist who returns to his family cabin following a family tragedy. There, instead of finding respite, he is greeted by a gun-toting man named Alex and a peculiar young girl named Artemis Darth Vader. It becomes clear to Nate rather quickly that Artemis is not a regular child, and that Alex will do anything to keep her safe. Before he knows it, Nate gets dragged into an ‘out-of-this-world’ adventure.
Like when I first read The House in the Cerulean Sea, I was amazed here again at how Klune turned what felt like a regular setting and cast of characters into something fantastical.
The story evolves in two parts: the first half of the book focusses on character development and the second part takes the reader on an adventure. In both, Klune delves into the themes of belonging, human connection, identity and the meaning of family.
I found the characters to be very well developed, and found that I was invested in the outcome for all. Although the book has several warm cozy moments like The House in the Cerulean Sea, it delves into some darker themes such as murder, suicide and torture. You don’t come out of the book with the same warm fuzzy feeling as House in the Cerulean Sea, but it is a memorable story and cast of characters in itself.
I gave it 4.5 stars instead of 5 simply because I’m not a fan of explicit language, which is used if a few scenes, but overall, I highly recommend this book!