I don't think I enjoy books set in this time period but I didn't realize that until I picked up this book. I think this could be enjoyable for someone who has an interest in this time period.

A lot of intense subjects and trigger warnings! This was a tough book to get through with the content having so many hard subjects to get through. Was written well just tough content.

I started and ended up finishing this book in one night. I'm always fascinated by historical titles that cover early America and the English who tried to live here initially. I appreciate that author did not gloss over the fact that many of the early settlers had very little respect for the Native Americans already living here whose land they took for their own. I was a bit surprised by the dark aspects of the ending considering this was a YA book, but overall I was very glad to read this.

Thank you Netgalley for the advance reader copy of To the Bone by Alena Bruzas in exchange for an honest review. I was pulled into this book by Ellis, Rowan and Jane. I thought the book was heading in one direction about the people who invaded the land and slaughtered the natives, but then winter hit. It became a much different, darker book about what do people do when it's winter and you have no food and people are dying from hunger.

To the Bone is the story of Ellis, an indentured girl in the Jamestown settlement of the Virginia colony. Ellis aspires toward little more than goodness; born poor in the late 1500s, she can neither read nor count, but understands the world as preachers sketch its edges. She works hard as a servant to the semi-prominent Collins couple, but finds her attentions often drawn away by fun, curiosity, and Jane Eddowes.

This is a brutal read. I don’t mean that as either a positive or negative, simply as a fact. This is a Pilgrim story with the propaganda stripped away. This is a story about a Puritan girl conditioned to accept the abuse she’s dealt. This is a story about colonizers who despise Indigenous people and a story about colonizers who lack the education to even consider them. This is a story about the Starving Time… and what was eaten when the “food” ran out.

I loved this book. Its sparse, atmospheric prose both suits the uneducated narrator and asks readers to accept themselves into the historical setting. There’s no hand-holding here. Ellis does not explain her world; she simply exists within it. I love seeing a character who is the product of her time—superstitious, ignorant, indoctrinated—and yet a person all the same. She yearns. She wonders. She learns. Of course, in a book as harsh as this one, that may not be enough.

As a reviewer, I can and will offer my opinion, but please keep in mind that I can speak to only some of the representation here. The queer representation, Ellis’s relationship with Jane, felt achingly familiar. Anyone who’s ever been a teenage girl with a crush will empathize here. I also appreciated the representation of anxious self-injury. It was never directly addressed, and this isn’t a book where anything was neatly resolved. But it was clear. Like everything else, it was simple fact.

As for representation of Indigenous people, I can’t speak on a personal level. I thought the book was fair. The ways Indigenous characters acted might have been portrayed as aggressive by some, but Alena Bruzas didn’t fall into that trap. She showed the background of political and social strife that led to it. In author’s notes, she acknowledged where she had taken creative license and why she made the choices she did. However, not being Indigenous myself, I can only offer an outsider’s perspective.

In conclusion… oh, this was so good. This was so horrific. I haven’t been so viscerally compelled and repelled by anything in a long time. I adore so many of the pieces here: a flawed character who represents her time; an ugly, honest, brutal work; the sheer determination to wring you as the colonists are wrung.

But do proceed with caution. None of the content warnings ought to be taken lightly.

To the Bone by Alena Bruzas is a haunting, beautiful, and tragically poignant story that blends a deeply emotional love story with a starkly honest depiction of Colonial America during the Starving Time in Jamestown. As someone who grew up in Virginia and knows the horrors of Jamestown, I found this book to be both chilling and incredibly moving.

The protagonist, Ellis, is a character you can’t help but root for as she navigates the terrifying and brutal realities of the New World. The love story between Ellis and Jane Eddowes is tender and tragic, making the horrors they face even more poignant. The historical details of the settlers' cruelty, the starvation, and the inhumane treatment of Native Americans are depicted in a way that is both raw and impactful.

This novel would be an absolute perfect fit for an animated adaptation in the style of Guillermo del Toro. His unique ability to blend dark fantasy with emotional depth would elevate the horrific elements of the story while highlighting the tragic love at its heart. The eerie, unsettling atmosphere of Jamestown during the Starving Time, combined with the intense emotions of the characters, would make for a visually stunning and deeply affecting animation. The combination of historical accuracy, supernatural elements, and the haunting love story would create a perfect marriage with del Toro’s signature dark, gothic aesthetic. This is a story that needs to be experienced in a way that brings both the haunting horrors and the tender beauty to life—an animation by del Toro would do just that.

I was LOVING this book until the last 3 pages of the book caused me to deduct 2 stars. I was convinced that this was going to be five stars for me because the historical backing of this novel was on point and was making my history heart/teacher super happy. The history used for the Starving Time in Jamestown and the explanation of indentured servants was so good. The ending was such a waste of time and if I had a physical copy of this book, I would have thrown it. I am debating recommending this book to my students because the historical content is splendid, but the ending was a disappointment.

This is the story of Ellis, an endured servant, who came to America with her owners, as part of colonization. The story includes death from starvation, cannibalism, and death. Ellis witnesses so much in her early years. Master Collins deserved what he got in the end. Definitely a hard book to read. Thank you to Ms. Bruzas, Penguin Group, and NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Very difficult topics described by a narrator/main character with a very limited knowledge base, about a very difficult time.

I was intrigued by the synopsis and eager to dive into this book. The concept of following a woman in the 1600s, navigating harrowing experiences while engaging in a taboo relationship, had me hooked. However, the writing style—primarily composed of sentence fragments—made it difficult for me to fully connect with Ellis as a character. I’m unsure if this was a deliberate choice by Bruzas, but it left me feeling detached. The collapse of the colony and the desperate measures taken were compelling, yet the focus seemed more on a stifled love story than fully exploring these fascinating themes. That said, if you enjoy this style of writing and are curious about the struggles faced by early colonists, this book could be a good starting point.


*Thank you to Alena Bruzas, PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Rocky Pond Books and Netgalley for the ARC copy. I am freely leaving my honest review.

This is a book that sets many settler-colonial notions of the settlement of "the new world" on its head. I appreciated the realism in the portrayal of the colonists attitudes; this is something that is often whitewashed out of many texts. While some actions by the protagonists seemed somewhat unbelievable for the time and place, I think it is a text that will challenge many teens' preconceived notions about early america.

I didn't expect to cry while reading this or stumble upon cannibalism, but here we are. It was short and at times, I always feared that I'd be disappointed by the ending, but it was one that hit hard and while I was not always invested in the characters, I did want to know how it ends. It was an alright book overall,

Many thanks to NetGalley and Rocky Pond Books for providing me with an eARC of To the Bone in exchange for my honest review!

As a grim book that focuses on the evil of colonialism, I appreciate what this goes for, even if its execution doesn't feel as nuanced as it could have been. This does depict Ellis with a limited POV that can leave me wishing I could broaden the perspective and absorb more details. That being said, this book succeeds at creating a horror tone that meshes with the layers of its tale.

Overall, I'm officially rating To the Bone 3.5 out of 5 stars, which I'm rounding down to 3 three stars.

Oh. My. Gosh!

I started reading and thought this was an exciting fiction novel. I couldn't believe the harsh climate and experiences Ellis faces. She has come to what will become America as an indentured servant. Her family is gone. Her mother and baby sister have died. Her older sister doesn't recognize Ellis as family. Her father left for the new world and hasn't been seen. He said he would send for the family when he could.

What starts out as a possible future quickly turns deadly as winter comes and the colonists are not prepared.

It turns out, this is historic fiction, and wow.... the notes following the novel are insane. Some of the characters and their activities were made after real people. I will definitely recommend this to my students.

I was given the opportunity to read this title by NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The year is 1609 and Ellis has recently arrived in James Fort with Henry Collins and his wife to serve as their help. Ellis hopes to find her father but instead finds a companion in Jane. Master Collins begins to become more controlling as Ellis and Jane spend more time together and the food starts dwindling.

This was a very intense book, and although historically accurate, it could make some readers uncomfortable. I enjoyed the story for the most part but felt it dragged quite a bit in the middle, and for such a small book that decreased my enjoyment quite a bit. I did like how progressively dark this book became as I continued reading. The author's note at the end of the book ties the story up nicely and I do recommend reading it to get the full scope of the book.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Following the story of a young indentured servant living in Jamestown during the starving time, To the Bone explores the horror and the inhumanity the colonizers experienced. The main character, Ellis, is limited in life by her impoverished upbringing, the demanding oversight and beliefs of her master, and the limitations of the colony. Ellis has some dreams, but minimal courage to pursue. The people  around her age are far more lively and push her beyond her comfort zone, often getting her in trouble. When she starts to have feelings for Jane, she is shaken to her very core. The weather begins to turn, after an unsuccessful growing season, and the local indigenous peoples will no longer help, and the colonists are pushed to the end of their humanity. Ellis' world crumbles around her as she is subsumed by fear.
While this is based on the Starving Winter at Jamestown, it took me a while to realize that this was the moment in history being explored. The beginning has an almost otherworldly, or at least alternate history, tone about it. It was a little jarring as a reader to feel thrown in without a firm sense of place or time. My biggest critique of the book, however, was the repetition of Ellis' thoughts. She felt very limited, which I guess is the point, but I could never really feel invested in her. She kept thinking, saying and doing the same things over and over again without learning. She had the same doubts, fears, and feelings. She felt flat and it made it hard to keep going. Even as the tension rose and the horrors increased, she still seemed to focus on the same things. It was frustrating. The romance made sense in the story, though I felt it was overshadowed by the other hardships faced. The other characters also seemed fairly flat, though they did change over the course of the story. While it was an interesting premise and setting, I was a little let down by the characters.

I've always been fascinated with Jamestown, even more so after a visit a few years ago where we could see what recent archeological excavations had uncovered. So when I realized that this story was placed in Jamestown (even though the narrator never explicitly said it), I was pretty pumped. I think the author did a good job of conveying what life was like from the perspective of a young indentured servant girl, and just how hard and desperate the Starving Time was. The winter of 1609-1610, the colonists were under siege by the Natives, had no opportunity of resupply, and were still woefully oblivious to the realities of life in the New World. Bruzas drew on the proof of cannibalism that has been uncovered and worked the real-life "Jane" into the story in an effective way. My only criticism is that the narrator is <i>so</i> simple that I had a hard time truly connecting with her. I understand the author's choice in vocabulary and speaking style, and I think it achieved what she wanted, but reading an entire book that felt like it was written by an 8-year old was challenging.

I didn't realize this was a teen book when I requested it, and unfortunately I am personally not super into teen fiction. That being said, I think we will most likely purchase a copy for our teen collection.

I was mildly disappointed with To The Bone. With the description, it had enormous potential to dive a bit deeper into the psychological effects that displacement, abuse, and hunger have on the human mind. It fell just short of the mark of shocking me, however heartbreaking the situation. That being said, I feel like the length of the book is just right. The writing was exquisite, as the description claimed, and I was entertained. For me, it fell short of convincing me that these were real people that I should care about; I failed to be able to suspend my belief throughout reading. That's on me.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to review this book. All opinions are my own.

A very unique approach of colonization with a horror touch.
I didn't expect this book to go in the direction it did.
I had fun reading but the thre stars are because I had hard time to go in to it at the beginning.