Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

I enjoyed this one! Cathedral of Bones is just what you would expect from a middle grade: quirky characters, imaginative world, and a light-hearted plot that keeps moving.
I think anyone within the target audience range will be sure to enjoy this magical novel featuring mythical creatures, not just dragons, and a magic community. There were also some cliché middle grade tropes and lines/scenes I’ve seen too many times to enjoy. HOWEVER, it was easy to read and the world is absolutely enjoyable to be in.
Review to come on YouTube

While I enjoyed this book, it was definitely a lot darker than I was prepared for. As a middle grade teacher, this is not a book I would recommend for 12-14 year olds. This book would probably have a lot of success in the YA Fantasy market and being a series.

In Cathedral of Bones, the author has crafted a tale filled with tentacles, different planes of existence, elder gods, and mind-blowing cosmic powers, but grounded in a coming-of-age story of friendship and family, sacrifice and forgiveness.

I enjoyed that there were several thematic questions that were posed while reading this book, to encourage readers to think critically about these things in their own life:

-How does one move on from trauma/grief?
-Can one be redeemed after a horrific act?
-Can a lie ever be more ethical than the truth?
-What does it mean to be “truly” human?
-What is our significance in the greater universe and how does our understanding of that affect our actions?
-Is family more important than friendship? -Is it moral to sacrifice few for many?

Although this book is marketed as middle grade I would caution teachers and parents in picking up this book for anyone under the age of 14.

CW: murdered family, necromancy, human experimentation(with graphic detail), drug abuse, profanity and dark, disturbing imagery.

This was one of the more unique books I’ve read in awhile. Overall I did enjoy it and would be interested to see if this book becomes part of a larger series.

I loved Alice and Simon’s relationship throughout this book and some of the writing was truly beautiful but I still feel like the attitude towards anxiety medication was not addressed well. He was having literal panic attacks and taking pills for them and having him throw them away like he does because is irresponsible when so many people feel a stigma for taking them (myself included when I first started). That’s not a good look for young readers. I know a lot of people think this is too old for middle grade but as a librarian I think it’s age appropriate for 8-9th graders and early teens on the higher end of middle grade who want more high fantasy with a Lovecraftian horror introduction. I still feel so conflicted bc I loved the story but I just don’t know how to feel about the depiction of mental illness (especially as a demon that can be conquered without medication?)

Cathedral of Bones was an interesting world to delve into for a time. It was fascinating to follow main character, Simon's path from child to a very magical adult, but I felt the story was clunky at times. There were elements of the world that seemed to be missing, pertinent pieces of magic knowledge were not explained, and even understanding his parents and their role in the world was confusing. It had a bit of a rushed and forced storyline. Overall, it had great elements about friendship and trying to tangle with an unknown magic, but I feel more of the world and magic needs to be explained.

In Cathedral of Bones, Simon is the wimpiest Animist in Eidenel — his powers are so weak, he’s been relegated to work in the mailroom. This is frustrating since his absent mother and reclusive researcher father were both successful Animists — until an accident left Simon’s twin sister dead when she and Simon were 10 years old. Now Simon is determined to prove he’s got what it takes to be a real Animist, so when he spies a letter from a town in peril seeking an Animist to help it rid itself of a monster, Simon decides to take the mission himself. But the monster turns out to be quite different from what Simon expected — and she opens a door to Simon’s past that will lead to all kinds of revelations.

So there is a lot happening in this book, and not all of it is well explained. I like the magical world building (though I would have liked more of it), and Simon and his new friend Alice are both nuanced, interesting characters to explore Eidenel with. The problem I keep running into is: Who is this book for? It’s marketed as middle grades, but there’s a lot of violence, gore, and ethical murkiness that I wouldn’t casually toss the way of most middle grades readers. And while Simon is technically 14 years old, he reads a lot older — it feels more YA than middle grades, especially with the genuinely creepy note of horror running through it. (It’s got what to me felt like a very Lovecraft vibe going on.) And there’s so much going on but also so many questions left hanging — it feels like a long, twisty trek that doesn’t end up leading anywhere. And now I’m all over the place and not getting anywhere, too, so I’ll sum up: There’s interesting stuff happening in this book, but ultimately, it didn’t come together for me.

Brief Review:

Fourteen-year-old Simon Frost wasn’t very successful in his training as an Animist, so he has ended up in a boring job sorting mail for the Foundation in the fantasy city of Eidendel. One day, a letter from the mayo of Splithead Creek catches Simon’s interest. The town needs the help of an Animist to rid themselves of an “unspeakable horror”. Simon’s supervisor doesn’t think that the emergency is worth the Foundation’s attention, but Simon feels otherwise. On a whim, he quits his job and travels to Splithead Creek himself. The fearsome monster turns out to be a girl named Alice. Based on her gray skin, tentacles, and ability to shapeshift into a dragon, Simon speculates that she might be an “Abomination”, an illegal human-demon hybrid. He takes Alice to see his estranged father, a doctor who may be able to help. Along the way, Simon learns some dark secrets about his family, his own past, and the Foundation. This fantasy story with steampunk elements features thorough world-building, especially as it describes the old legends that come to play a significant role in the plot. Although the pacing is inconsistent and the first few chapters are a little dry, the book turns into a gripping fantasy adventure that will appeal to middle-school-age readers with an affinity for unique fantasy settings.

Long Review:

Fourteen-year-old Simon Frost has had a difficult childhood marked by tragedy. His twin sister Olivia was murdered when they were ten, and Simon was to traumatized that he has suffered from nightmares and fits ever since and doesn’t even remember what he saw that night. Shortly thereafter, his mother Veera Frost disappeared while going on one of her pilgrimages. And Simon’s relationship with his father, Dr. Aberdeen Hawking, is so strained that he hasn’t returned home since starting his training as an Animist at the age of twelve. Simon’s animist skills proved to be mediocre at best, so he has ended up in a boring, dead-end job sorting mail for the Foundation.

One day, a letter from the mayor of Splithead Creek catches his interest. The town needs the Foundation to send an Animist to rid themselves of an “unspeakable horror”, a monster that has recently made its home in the nearby mountains. Simon’s supervisor Master Melth doesn’t think that the emergency is worth the Foundation’s attention. But Simon feels otherwise. On a whim, he quits his job and travels to Splithead Creek himself to offer assistance.

After somehow defeating a creature called a shoggoth-- Simon isn’t sure himself how he did it-- he meets the unspeakable horror who had terrorized Splithead Creek and summoned the shoggoth. This monster isn’t what he had expected; it’s a girl about his own age who introduces herself as Alice. She has no memory of who she is or where she came from, but she certainly isn’t entirely human. Her gray skin and tentacles make that obvious, and she can shapeshift into a dragon-like form. She’s seriously injured, so Simon heals her and then takes it upon himself to rescue her by taking her to the city of Eidendel, where people are more “accustomed to unusual things”.

But even in Eidendel, it’s necessary to keep Alice’s tentacles hidden. Everyone seems to suspect the same thing that Simon and Alice are wondering about: Could Alice be an “abomination”, a human-demon hybrid? If so, her very existence is illegal. Simon can only think of one person who might be able to help, and that’s his estranged father. So Simon and Alice journey on to Simon’s original home, Blackthorn. Dr. Hawking is reluctant to help, and while Simon is there, he uncovers photographs that prove that his father has been conducting illegal, horrific experiments on dead bodies. And in one of those photographs, the body is Alice’s.

The rest of the book is a whirlwind adventure in which SImon and Alice flee from Blackthorn only to be caught by Neeta, Simon’s former teacher. Dr. Hawking has betrayed them in exchange for Simon’s safety, so Simon is allowed to go free while Alice is taken away. Simon is determined to rescue Alice, and in order to do so, he uses an amulet that was given to him by an old woman selling an absurd tabloid. That woman turns out to be his long-lost mother in disguise, and she reveals that she has secretly succeeded in bringing Olivia back to life. She barely even seems to notice, though, that Olivia is only a shell of her former self and has no memories of her life before death. Simon also learns that it was his mother, not his father, who reanimated Alice’s corpse. Simon continues his mission to save Alice, but in order to do so, he must draw upon extremely strong powers that he hadn’t known he could access.

The fantasy setting with steampunk elements is unique and immersive, although in my opinion, the mentions of technology such as trains and mechanical spiders is infrequent enough to make it jarring when it does come up. And yet the technological aspects end up playing a significant role in the final couple chapters. (It’s worth acknowledging that I read a digital version of this book and didn’t have the beautifully vivid cover in front of me while reading. I would imagine that this would have made a difference to my overall experience of the book) Despite the infrequency of the steampunk-esque elements, the elaborate world-building is, overall, very well-done. The history and legends of Eidendel are interspersed with the plot sparsely enough that they don’t significantly affect the pacing, but thoroughly enough that everything makes sense in the dramatic, apocalyptic climax featuring the Elder Gods and mystical powers that no one was sure were real.

The only other drawback to this book is its uneven pacing. The beginning moves very slowly and includes lengthy conversations with characters who turn out to be insignificant, such as a former classmate and Simon’s mailroom boss, as well as more encounters than necessary with the two characters who do end up being important later. It’s not until about a quarter the way through the book that Simon even meets Alice. But by the end of the book, Simon’s adventure goes so fast that it’s hard to fully appreciate the various twists and turns in terms of who is or isn’t a bad guy, which past events are attributed to which characters, and who has what powers and abilities.

However, due to the aforementioned elaborate world-building and the intellectual depth of this book, I would recommend it to readers with an affinity for fantasy stories with an inventive and original setting. Due to the length and complexity of the story, as well as implications of a potential romance between Alice and Simon, I’m classifying this as a YA book rather than a middle grade book, but it’s definitely close to the line between those two age demographics.

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC ebook version of Cathedral of Bones, by A.J. Steiger in exchange for my honest review. While Steiger has crafted an interesting storyline, I often found the magic aspects of the story to be a bit confusing. I also found it to be a bit darker than I had anticipated and would think it better suited to YA or adult readers than a younger audience. The graphic violence and death may be a bit too much for some middle graders.

Sucked in by the whimsical cover, I did not expect to find a story based in Lovecraftian horror, but that’s what I got.

I’m really not sure how to respond to this book. On the one hand, stories based around a disregarded character heroically saving the world are kind of my jam, and Simon is a perfect example of the kind of good-hearted and humble hero I love to root for. His friendship with Alice—a mysterious girl with tentacles who shapeshifts into a dragon-like monster—is sweet. But for me, that all sits very uneasily beside the cosmic horror of eldritch beings who would uncaringly destroy the universe. The book has some dark elements, like experimentation on dead people and magic powered by animal sacrifice, and Simon’s soul gets eaten by an otherworldly entity. All this in a book meant for middle-grade readers. (Simon himself is only 14, although he’s treated like he’s much older by the adults around him.)

I do think some kids will enjoy this novel, but it’s definitely not for everyone.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Received an ARC copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 4.25 stars!

Cathedral of Bones follows Simon, a teenager who works in a mailroom for the Foundation, a sort of group that keeps people in check, especially Animists aka those who can wield "magic". Simon is an animist, but his magic isn't really that great. Life's pretty boring for a teen who wanted to be a hero and help people, until one day a letter comes in from a town begging for help to fight a monster. That monster? It's just a girl named Alice. She has quite an interesting story to tell, however...

So, I agree with what some of the reviewers are saying about this being more Young Adult rather than middle school, the magic system here is pretty complex and not entirely explained. It's also pretty dark in tone. It's still pretty...hopeful, but there's just a lot of dark secrets, tragic backstories, etc, to be found in this book.

I really enjoyed it though, although the magic system not being explained too carefully bothered me I got over it pretty quickly for the sake of the story/characters. Simon is a great character and it's fascinating seeing his true backstory unfold. His parents were equally fascinating and Alice even more so. The bully is boring but who really likes bullies in books? Ha. Simon's mentor was shockingly interesting, despite not having much screentime.

This book is also steampunk-y, though I think it leans heavily toward magic, it does have a ton of steampunk elements throughout. Not to mention all the demons, imps, mechanical monsters running around... I wish the world-building was more in-depth but I can see wanting to sacrifice it for the sake of Simon and his story which was fantastic.

Great book for anyone interested in a character-focused steampunk/fantasy book!

I would have to call this a YA fantasy book, since it is full of magic, imps, demons, and so on. Simon Frost iis a want to be Animist who finds a quest to go. He is off to kill the "monster" that is scaring a small village. Once there, he finds that the monster is a girl, but she has also been modified and has tentacles and the ability to shape shift into something like a dragon. In this book, we learn that people can still be cruel to others that are different from us. Also, that as much as we want to believe i our government, that certain things are usually kept a secret from the citizens. When Simon tries to get help for Alice, he learns that people simply want to hide her away, and pretend that people like her simply don't exist. It is so much easier than trying to find a cure. And isn't that what a lot of countries do with their mentally disabled and homeless?

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for providing me the opportunity to review this title.

In Cathedral of Bones, the author has crafted a tale filled with tentacles, different planes of existence, elder gods, and mind-blowing cosmic powers, but grounded in a coming-of-age story of friendship and family, sacrifice and forgiveness.

Although this book is marketed as middle grade I would caution teachers and parents in picking up this book for anyone under the age of 14. CW: murdered family, necromancy, human experimentation(with graphic detail), drug abuse, profanity and dark, disturbing imagery.

This was one of the more unique books I’ve read in awhile. Overall I did enjoy it and would be interested to see if this book becomes part of a larger series

Cathedral of Bones is an interesting read but I'm not sure it is really a middle grade book. Simon our protagonist is 14 but encounters more dark themes (human experimentation, murdered family, drugs) that I don't think the typical middle grade reader would enjoy. The story starts out a bit slow and confusing as you are learning more about Simon and his backstory but picks up once he decides to try and help a village on his own and discovers Alice the monster/human. The world building was good as you learn about the Animism magic that powers Simon and others. However, there was just something off that I couldn't put my finger on that kept me from really enjoying this book, it wasn't bad but it just wasn't great either.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts, misspelling, and grammar errors in this review are all on own.

Young teen Simon Frost has had a rough start to his early life. His twin sister was murdered several years ago, his mother vanished shortly thereafter leaving only a note, his father was expelled from the Foundation amid darkly ominous rumors about his research, and Simon himself has shown so little talent as a Foundation animist not a single mentor will take him on, leaving him relegated to working in the mailroom sorting requests for the Foundation’s aid from citizens and towns/cities. When the Foundation ignores a letter from a small asking for assistance against a dangerous monster, Simon takes it on himself to come to their aid, the first step on a journey that will find him an unexpected ally and change everything he knows about the Foundation, himself, his family, and his world.

In Cathedral of Bones, A.J. Steiger has crafted a Lovecraftian MG/YA tale filled with tentacles, different planes of existence, elder gods, and mind-blowing cosmic powers, but grounded in a lovely and intimate coming-of-age story of friendship and family, sacrifice and forgiveness. Cathedral of Bones starts a little slowly, as we see some scenes of Simon’s childhood, jump ahead a few years to his time in the mail room, hear about his failures as an Animist (someone able to wield magical power), witness his interaction with a long-time bully, and watch as he makes his decision to face the monster on his own, meeting a young girl named Alice in the process. From that point on the story and the characterization really take off.

Simon is a character you can’t help but feel for thanks to the stacked deck against him (dead twin, cold father, abandoning mother, big bully), but Steiger makes him more than a simple sad sack to root for. As bits of his backstory and his personality are either slowly peeled away to reveal other layers, or as his personality changes to meet the circumstances, he becomes a richly developed character who goes in unexpected directions. The same can be said of Alice, as well as Simon’s father and mother (no real spoiler to say she reappears in the course of the story), if to somewhat lesser extent thanks to less page time/internal POV.

The worldbuilding is sufficient, if a bit thin (or perhaps, since we’re in MG/YA territory, concise is a better word) and sometimes, with regard to Foundation history and the explanations of magic, a bit bluntly explained through somewhat clumsy exposition. The literal world-building, however —the descriptions of the different planes of existence and their inhabitants — are fantastically (as in both meanings of the word: high praise and unreal) portrayed, with wonderfully vivid descriptions that will awe and/or disturb the reader and show a clear homage to Lovecraft.

Plot, after that afore-mentioned slower start, moves along smoothly and apace. Some aspects are a bit predictable, though I’m sure less so for the target younger audience. Steiger does a good job on multiple occasions of creating tension and suspense (a nice balance to the more predictable parts), not simply in scenes of violence (or potential violence) but also in moments of possible revelation and, in true Lovecraftian methodology, existential dread.

Thematic questions are thoughtfully handled and relatively sophisticated (excluding the bully): how does one move on from trauma/grief, can one be redeemed after a horrific act (and where’s the sliding scale if so?), can a lie ever be more ethical than the truth, what does it mean to be “truly” human, what is our significance in the greater universe and how does our understanding of that affect our actions, is family more important than friendship, are friends truly more important than strangers, is it moral to sacrifice few for many, and more. Not only are these, as noted, thoughtfully handled, but they also build to powerfully emotional scenes as well.

Though labeled MG, the book in many ways is more YA. That’s not to say Middle Graders wouldn’t enjoy it, but some aspects may elude them. Older younger readers (to use a seeming oxymoron) might find parts of the book a bit thin but will probably enjoy the more substantive questions. And while it reads young and isn’t really therefore an “adult” book, it does have some crossover appeal for genre readers. I certainly enjoyed it as a quick read even if it didn’t offer the full richness of experience I expect from works for adults. The book does resolve its main plotlines, but it’s easy to see how Steiger could return to this world and these characters, a return journey I think most of its readers would encourage. An easy recommendation therefore for MG and YA readers and for those adults who might take an extra day or two to read it themselves (carefully) before giving it as a gift.

Set in a world where some people can manipulate energy, Simon struggles with mediocrity. Not content with this fact, Simon decides to take matters into his own hands and make a difference in the world, even if it's only something small. This is a story of discovery, secrets, friendship, hardship and sacrifice.

The cover and blurb had me really excited to start this one but some of things in the book were off putting and had me wondering why it had been labeled Middle Grade. This review will contain spoilers!

In the beginning of the book, we are introduced to the main character, Simon. There isn’t much to go off of besides that he works for the Foundation. Not very far in there is an encounter between him and an older woman who tries to sell him a gossip newspaper or frog pills. She says that the frog pills not only do whatever they do but they also boost male potency. After this we find out that Simon is fourteen. I’m not sure why that line needed to be included.

Another instance that felt off was after Simon rescues a young girl who is around his age and takes her back to his dad’s house. They all have dinner together and she decides she wants to have wine. His dad questions this but then caves because technically she isn’t human as she is a reanimated corpse.

I did at times want to dnf because I just wasn’t meshing with the characters or the plot.

I do think that the story had it’s good points like the mystery of certain things or the worldbuilding but it was overshadowed by the things I didn’t like. It also seemed a bit dark too which may not be suitable for certain readers.

Overall, it was okay but definitely not what I was expecting. I do think that other readers will like this book but it should be labeled something else instead of Middle Grade.

I really enjoyed Cathedral of Bones,. It was such an interesting new world. A father has two children and one of them tragical dies. He and his wife split because of differences of opinion and the mother is not seen again. His son is pretty much abandoned and goes into the city to work. He can do some elemental magic, but does not seem very good at it and ends up working in the mail room.
The adventure begins when the son (I am horrible with names) decides to go on a quest that would have been ignored by the government.. This leads to introduction to a monster who the son befriends.
The adventure is full of mystery, realization and an epic ending. I am not 100% sure if it is a stand alone or is going to be a series. It wrapped up ok enough to be a stand alone, but it would be a great series.

This is a fun story. All of the characters, even the minor ones, are interesting and well-drawn. The story moves at a good pace with few of the twists telegraphed in advance. The ending is complete, but left the world open for more stories told in it. The writing is slightly younger than I expected for the storyline, but that, unexpectedly, works in the book's favor.

I think that this book is difficult to place properly; I think that the writing is pretty accessible for younger readers, but some of the darker themes and aspects of the story may not be the most suitable for typical middle grade readers. However, some of the writing would not be the most appealing for older YA readers. I think this book belongs somewhere in the middle of the two. I thought the plot and friendship amongst characters were interesting and compelling and this is definitely worth the read for the rigth reader.