Bone Dance [Paperback]

Martha Brooks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 16, 2005

“Life is full of surprises, and sometimes the good and the bad get all bunched up together.” Alexandra’s beloved grandfather said this often. But nothing could have prepared her the death of her father – a man she never knew – and his legacy – a cabin on prairie land near an ancient Native American burial ground. It is at the cabin that she meets Lonny, who seems more troubled than Alexandra. Lonny’s stepfather had once owned that very same cabin and land and always wanted it to go to Lonny. But Lonny, tormented by guilty memories and disturbing visions, refused to take it. Who would have thought it would it end up in the hands of a city girl like Alexandra? He tries not to like her, but is drawn to her nevertheless.

As their story unfolds, Lonny and Alex are haunted and guided by spirits that draw them to the land and to each other in this moving and tender tale about two unforgettable teens.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"All things are bound together. All things connect." As far as Alexandra is concerned, that quote, attributed to Chief Seattle, doesn't do enough to explain the strange way that the good and bad in life always seem to get tangled up together. Her father, a man she's never even met, dies and leaves her with a cabin on a prairie, near an almost-forgotten Native American burial mound. What secrets await her there? And, as if she doesn't have enough to worry about, Alex meets Lonny LaFreniere there; he is haunted by even more ghosts than she is. Martha Brooks weaves a subtle tale of land, love, belonging, and forgiveness. Alexandra and Lonny are smart, real characters: they are both careful to protect themselves, and that's what makes their blossoming relationship especially moving. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In what PW called an "elegantly wrought tale" that combines fragments of Native American culture, myth and ceremony, two teenagers, strangers to one another, are drawn to an ancient burial ground. Ages 12-up. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books (September 16, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888993366
• ISBN-13: 978-0888993366
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,264,507 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Confusing Visions, February 17, 2007

By 

A. Luciano (Lowell, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bone Dance (Paperback)

Alex has never known her father. He left when she was born, leaving her mother and her Aunt Francine and her grandfather to take care of her. She was especially close to her grandfather all of her life. He was a spiritual man, speaking like the Native Americans did of the spirits in the land and its objects. Then he died, leaving Alex lonely, although he still visits her in the very vivid dreams she has.

Shortly after she turns seventeen, Alex finds out that the father she never knew has died. Furthermore, he has left her seventeen thousand dollars and a piece of land near a lake with a cabin on it.

Lonny lives with his stepfather on the land next to Alex' cabin. His stepfather usd to own the land Alex's father bought, and was disappoined when Lonny didn't seem to want it. He has bad feelings about the land, though. His mother died years before, and Lonny still thinks it was his fault, for digging up the bones of ancient Native Americans from a burial mound close to Alex's cabin. He also has strange dreams like Alex, dreams in which the Native Americans from the burial mound come out of the ground again.

In the middle of the summer, Alex finally comes to the cabin, to live there alone for a week and try to come to terms with her father's death and the fact that although she never met him, he left her this land. Lonny also has issues of his own to work out. Will the two of them be able to help each other?

I liked the parallelism of Lonny's and Alex's lives, especially the relationship each of them had with his or her single parent. I sometimes found myself lost in the story, though. It wasn't always clear what was a vision or a dream and what was reality, to I had trouble sorting out the plot sometimes.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this one immediately!, February 20, 1998

By 

Terri Windling (Devon, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bone Dance (Library Binding)

This is one of most magical, moving, beautifully written novels I've read all year. I recommend it highly to adult readers as well as teenagers. It's a little gem.

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book!, April 16, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Binghamton, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bone Dance (Hardcover)

This book was beautiful, and I have to say that Martha Brooks is one of my favorite authors. The strong sense of connection is part of what makes this book so good- and as a teenager, I have to say that Alex and Lonny are characters that I don't find at all hard to relate to. All in all, I loved it.