The Bonemender [Paperback]

Holly Bennett (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005

Gabrielle is a bonemender of extraordinary talent. Between her work as a healer and her duties as one of the royal family of Verdeau, her life is busy, comfortable and predictable—until the day a stranger arrives at her gate, desperately seeking help for his injured friend. To Gabrielle's wonder, they are Elves, a people not seen in Verdeau in many years. And they bring news of a coming invasion that threatens the freedom of the entire Krylian basin, human and Elvish alike.

As Verdeau arms for war, Gabrielle must mobilize the bonemenders and prepare herself for the nightmarish work of battlefield healing. But what awaits her on that bloody field is worse than anything she has imagined. And what is she to do with the love in her heart?

(20050901)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–When Gabrielle meets Féolan and Danaïs, who are elves, Danaïs has been horribly gored by a boar. A trained healer, she tends to him with no thought of their differences. When her father, the king of Verdeau, meets with Féolan, he learns that their mutual ancient enemy, the Greffaires, plan an invasion. As Verdeau begins to gather allies to fight the coming menace, Gabrielle begins to fall in love with Féolan. But how can she be with someone who lives hundreds of years? And what is the secret that her mother has carried about Gabrielle's past? Will the elves break their centuries of solitude and help the human armies defeat the Greffaires? This is a multilayered story filled with romance, brutal battles, elves, a bit of mystery, and great characters. Bennett has created a new world with people (and elves) who have problems, flaws, and heart. Gabrielle is a wonderfully strong young woman who defies convention as she is not content to simply be a royal princess. Bennett is definitely a fantasy writer to watch.–Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. Gabrielle is a bonemender and daughter to the king of Verdeau, and she has long given up the prospect of marriage; she is too devoted to her work as a healer. When a stranger arrives needing help for a seriously wounded friend, Gabrielle's comfortable life changes: the stranger is an Elf, part of a group of creatures thought to exist only in legends, who bring news of a coming invasion from the people beyond the mountains. Gabrielle and the Elf Feolan cannot help but fall in love, but between the duties of war and their own different natures (Feolan will live hundreds more years than Gabrielle), it's doubtful that they can ever be together. This war-torn romance unfolds amid descriptive scenes of battle: the pounding momentum of the war carries readers through the slower moments, while the happy ending rewards those looking for gentler things. Although a plot device whereby Gabrielle turns out to be half Elf, therefore averting the potential tragedy of a doomed romance, will be seen by readers long before its actual revelation, the romantic payoff here is still high. Krista Hutley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551433362
• ISBN-13: 978-1551433363
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,454,395 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great story, April 2, 2006

By 

Elizabeth Slater (North Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Bonemender (Paperback)

This is a wonderful story combining humans, elves, healing, friendship, prejudice, war, and love. Féolan and Danais, elves, trust their lives in the hands of a human healer, Gabrielle, when Danais is attacked by a wild boar. Gabrielle is a bonemender - a healer with unusual abilities, not seen in most humans. While recovering, Féolan approaches Gabrielle's father, the King, with some distressing news - the people of a neighboring country are mounting forces for an attack. Not sure whether or not to trust the elves, scouts are sent to evaluate the situation - never to return. The country starts preparing for war, including the bonemenders, while Feolan and Danais continue on their journey. But Gabrielle and Féolan's hearts are torn now that they are no longer together. How will either of them survive the upcoming battles? I am not usually a fan of the war/battle stories but it isn't the focus of this story. I thought this a delightful young adult story written well. Next up is The Bonemender's Oath.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, July 17, 2006

By 

NicolaBrizzie "Nicola" (British Columbia, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bonemender (Paperback)

When I picked up this book I was unsure whether I would enjoy it. The plot line was generic, a younge woman who is extraordinary with no real reason for it, but I thought that would leave room for interesting twists curtesy of Mrs. Bennett. I was sorely, sorely disappointed.

Let's start with the characters themselves; Gabrielle the protagonist is a boring character. She is a princess, an extraordinary bonemender, compassionate, unprejudiced, strong willed and strong minded, has a wonderful voice and is exremely beautiful. Therein lies the problem. Instead of giving us a multifaceted character that grows and learns to overcome their faults and problems Mrs. Bennette gives us a perfect character with a great lack of faults, or none at all to be honest. It is a lazy way to create a character as if to say "Here is the lead, have your pick of stuff to like about her." I was not rooting for Gabrielle I could not relate to her at all. I relate to quirks and faults.

Fealon and Danais are the elves. Feolan falls in love with Gabrielle and their romance is stilted and unbelievable. As is most of the book and their conversations.

Danais is the reason they meet Gabrielle when he is gored by a boar, very early in the story. This, which should have been interesting as Danais struggles for his life read as; oops blood. Good luck! Found a girl with crazy healing skills. HE LIVES! (Unessesary healer babble) It obvious that he will live. Gabrielle can do anything!

The most interesting character was Tristan, Gabrielle's younger brother. He was much more multifaceted and the only character I invested in.

I did not care about the characters, I did not care what happened in the convinent and loose ending and if one is not invested enough in the book to care for the characters and their future than the book isn't much good.
Over all: Generic, overdone plot, Flat characters, Slow climax, stilted speech. Boring story. I won't be reading the sequal.

One and a half stars out of five.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Easy read for elementary students, but beyond that age, not very enjoyable., January 4, 2009

By 

H. Shin (IL, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Bonemender (Paperback)

From the moment I started reading this book until the end of the book, I could predict everything that was going to happen; In other words, this book was too full of cliches for my liking. I personally love fantasy, and I hoped to read some fresh materials, but this book definitely did not bring anything new.

Starting with Gabrielle's mysterious birth to the generic plot line, I felt like I was just reading a poorly-written (and sappy) romance novel. I honestly could not read more than 50 pages per day because of the sappiness in some parts.

Overall, the story is extremely simple, very easy to follow (and foreshadow), and cliche, so I would only suggest elementary school kids or ESL students to read this book.