RJ hasn’t had the easiest life. His father committed suicide when RJ was just a child, his single mother works long hours leaving him to care for his five younger sibllings, and his family isn’t exactly rolling in cash. RJ also has a knack for getting in trouble with his actions and smart mouth. In some aspects he’s wise beyond his years, but still a mischievous teenager. Despite his antics, he manages to maintain a pretty strong moral compass. He’s also a storyteller, and his tales reminded me of Gordie’s in the movie Stand By Me, and the overall tone of this book is similar to that movie.

Although the Blackjacks play a prominent role, don’t go into this novel expecting lots of action and gang wars – it’s not that kind of book. It’s very much a teenager’s journey to facing the realities of life and learning there’s more than one path into the future. The writing is vivid and descriptive, but also humorous – teen boys are absolutely funny and weird at times. RJ’s friendship with Manny and relationship with his family are among my favorite parts of this story. I also enjoyed the references to 70s songs and fashion (bell bottom jeans!).

It’s not exactly what I’d expected, but Bones of a Saint is an engaging read. A couple of twists pop up, but this is a leisurely paced story that’s more about the journey than the destination.

The artist for the cover of this book did an amazing job. That was the entire reason I wanted to read/listen to it. RJ’s story just didn’t hold my attention. He lives in a town full of gangs and violence and he has tried to stay out of it. But he couldn’t. The beginning was just too slow. It felt that the story was going nowhere. I DNFed at 18% and have no desire to try to read the print version.

It took me a couple of months to make it through the audiobook of Bones of a Saint, and I can’t quite put my finger on why.
I enjoyed the story well enough but was never truly engaged in it or felt deeply about any of the characters. It was still entertaining, however.
The narrator gave a good performance, but, in my opinion, I don’t think he was a good fit for the book. This is based purely on the fact that RJ, the protagonist, is supposed to be 15, and the narrator sounds like he’s in his thirties. It brought me out of the story; I was always aware that I was listening to someone read this book – never genuinely engaged in the narrative.
The ending did not satisfy me. Again, maybe it’s because I never really connected with the book. But I was left feeling ... blah at the end.

This one was different and wasn’t my favorite. I’m not sure what I was hoping for it this missed the mark for me

Bones of a Saint was an interesting book to dive into. I feel like that's the safest thing I can say about it. Other than stating that it was also odd. In it, you will meet RJ. He's a pretty sweet 15 year old boy but other than that - I got nothing for ya. I honestly couldn't connect with him at all. He was a good kid and cared about others but this book was really boring for me.

There was some excitement once the gang, The Blackjacks, came into play. Those little douche canoes were cute but still nothing really kept me engaged. I will even admit that some characters left me with unanswered questions but since I wasn't really vibing with this book I'm just going to let it go (like Elsa).

i kind of DNF it after im 60% through

cause if i dont find a book gripping me even after 60% it just isnt for me. but can be for you

•Character development- 4☆
• Story Plot- 3☆
• Side characters- 2.5☆
• Flow of the story- 2☆
• Overall - 3.☆

This book was awesome!!! I loved the setting and the characters were all so different and interesting. My only problem was that I kept wanting MORE to happen, but that's more of a me problem than a book problem.

2/5 stars

Thanks for providing this precious audio-arc in regards to the publisher and author!

God was that terrible. Confusing, childish and annoying.

Unfortunately this audiobook just didn't do it for me. The narrator wasn't my favourite and his voice just didn't seem to fit the character. This also falls into the trap of thinking because it's set in a time where rape jokes were deemed acceptable that it's fine to include them in books written now. No. There is absolutely no need in most of these books for those to be included and it just put me right off

Growing up in the 70s, this book appealed to me. Described as a coming of age story, I wondered if life in small, dead-end town of Arcangel, CA would be anything like I remembered the 70s growing up. Well, I didn't recognize anything, but it was an interesting read. This is a gritty, dark story about fifteen-year-old R.J. on his journey into adulthood and trying to save his community. The area is ruled by a gang, "The Blackjacks" who have been around for as long as anyone can remember. R.J. does not want to be part of the group and he has to make some decisions.

R.J. Armante, is a mouthy kid who is constantly getting himself in trouble. He is basically raising himself and protecting his brother Charley. He has an odd love/hate relationship with Roxanne, a neighbor girl. They have known each other forever but deal their mothers hating one another. When an old man moves to town, the Blackjacks want him gone. He has moved into a house on their "mountain" and no one is supposed to be there. They want R.J. to get rid of him, but R.J. develops a friendship of sorts with him. This novel was not fast-paced, which I thought it would have been. Near the beginning I wasn't sure if I was going to finish this book, but I persevered. This reminded me a bit of a memoir, a boy sharing his struggles, his dreams and his journey to adulthood. Along the way he learns some things that impact his life and decisions. The writing is good, short snappy sentences and dialogue. I won't say that I enjoyed this story, but it was interesting. Perhaps I was just not the audience for this one. Christopher Carley narrated this audiobook. I liked his narration and expression, but I felt the voice was too old for R.J. It seemed like a mismatch to me

"Bones of a Saint" was a fun novel to dive into as the main character, RJ Armante, is a mouthy smart-ass with a knack for getting himself into incredibly dangerous and troublesome situations. While the novel isn't exactly fast-paced, the narrative voice is incredibly unique with its jarring and snappy sentences which work perfectly with RJ's tough-boy exterior. There's a very nostalgic feel to the characters, setting, and overall story as it unfolds, which was completely unexpected but turned out to be a pretty cool sensation.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. I didn't really enjoy any of it, but have no active complaints about the writing.

The narration is a different story. The narrator was Christopher Carley and his careful diction was basically the opposite of the way RJ was written. The story is full of double-negatives and what I would have presumed with dropped gs in the dialect, but when he spoke them, something that probably should have been "nothin'" was "nothinG" with a hard HARD g at the end. It was bizarre and really off-putting.

I received a copy of this audiobook for free from NetGalley and RB Media in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advanced review copy of the audiobook for Bones of a Saint in exchange for an honest review.

While I liked some aspects of Bones of a Saint (mainly RJ's love for storytelling) there was something narration-wise that I could never put my finger on that kept me from fully enjoying it. After reading through some of the other reviews already up for this one and noticing how frequently it's compared to S.E. Hilton's The Outsiders (a book I also didn't enjoy for its narration) I think it was this book's almost forced want to be intellectual and deep that kept me unengaged. The narrator did a good job with the material he had to work with, but this isn't a narration style I enjoy.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Took me a while to really get into the story but it was pretty interesting, really liked the twist!

Bones of a Saint is a YA coming of age novel that takes place is the 1970’s central California Valley. RJ is a teenager burdened not only with taking care of his siblings but also being a teenage boy in a town going nowhere. It isn’t long before a local gang starts harassing him and RJ is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

This is an unusual novel because it’s much darker and filled with more tension than a typical YA coming of age novel but can’t be classified as a thriller. It takes place 45 years ago but doesn’t have charm or nostalgia of a “bygone era”. The main character struggles to do the right thing in a town and culture where there are few rewards in being soft. And R.J’s observational humor about the people around him isn’t treacly or sweet. I appreciated the author’s effort to create a completely unique story and narrative. Grant Farley doesn’t romanticize childhood or the boyhood experience but still finds space to build a compelling story around boys like R.J. that live in trailer homes in small towns and have no guaranteed future. I listened to the audio and the narrator Christopher Carley did an excellent job with bringing the “voice” of R.J alive.

I recommend this one for YA readers (and listeners) that want a break from romantic tropes and “chosen ones” fantasy and would like a story about a teen boy in a depressing town trying to stay one step ahead of the local gang of toughs.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My copy was provided by NetGalley and RecordedBooks for my unbiased review

Bones of a Saint is a very unfortunate DNF for me. For me personally I had a lot of problems with it..

It’s about a young boy who is with a gang which he isn’t exactly prepared for as they make him do things he doesn’t necessarily want to do. It is a contemporary and as someone who doesn’t read that genre, I was aware that it might not be for me but I’ll never just put a giant X on a genre because you never know when a book might just blow all my expectations out of the water and this just wasn’t at all what I thought it was going to be.

The writing is very baseline I guess and there’s a rape joke in the first chapter, lots of titty and jugs remarks, and it was just.. weird in that field overall. Sad because this cover is great but everything else was bad.

This was different than I was expecting. It's set in the 70's and focuses on RJ as he figures out how to navigate right and wrong while keeping his family safe. I liked his struggles and how he cared for his siblings. He's a good kind person.

I felt like something was missing, there's a little action but I would have liked more to keep it more engaging. Overall, it's a good read but slower than i'd have liked.

The audio narration was good.

Unfortunately this was archived before I was able to finish it so I sadly cannot give an accurate review.

This was a bother, really. I had no idea what was going on and the narration was so borring that it could have put me to sleep easily. I just couldn't find the strength to finish this one.

I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Bones of a Saint was an interesting book to dive into. I feel like that's the safest thing I can say about it. Other than stating that it was also odd. In it, you will meet RJ. He's a pretty sweet 15 year old boy but other than that - I got nothing for ya. I honestly couldn't connect with him at all. He was a good kid and cared about others but this book was really boring for me.

There was some excitement once the gang, The Blackjacks, came into play. Those little douche canoes were cute but still nothing really kept me engaged. I will even admit that some characters left me with unanswered questions but since I wasn't really vibing with this book I'm just going to let it go (like Elsa).

In the end, I tried and it's over.

This was a different book than I usually read. It takes place in the 1970's and is kind of a coming of age of a teenage boy in California. It was a snapshot of someone's life, without ties to the bigger world and with a somewhat bare plot. I did like RJ and the way he cared for his siblings, especially his disabled younger brother Charlie. RJ is a good kid and I think he'll be a compassionate adult too.

The plot is mostly RJ's encounters with a local gang called The Blackjacks and trying to avoid their wrath. He meets an elderly man and becomes his confidant, trading stories of their histories. There is some action when RJ fights with the gang members and later does a suicidal bike run down a busy street, but I would have liked more to keep the plot from feeling slow. There's also a character Roxanne that goes missing and either I missed the part where we find out what happened to her or it isn't resolved. Either way I was kind of disappointed about the lack of information.

The ending dropped some big information on us and I would have liked to process that a bit more. I also was hoping for a happier ending for RJ rather than just continuing his life as normal. Overall the book was okay and I liked the narration of the audiobook.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the copy