Writing took me out of the story almost immediately. I’m sure there’s a purpose, but it’s frustrating. And I’m not sure how I feel about this being by a white woman about indigenous trauma.

This is a hard one to review because the subject matter is so intense. Moreso, as a Virginian, I find myself hating the atrocities that came from this ordeal and how preventable it was. However, I found myself wishing there was more to Ellis' story. Though I think it would make a fantastic A24 film given how erie and atmospheric it is. There's a lot that happens and not a whole lot as well. Which makes for a slice-of-life feeling to this story that leaves me wanting more but knowing that Ellis would have an abrupt life much like the ending to the book.

3 stars
——————

This story tale follows Ellis Folk during the starving time in Jamestown, fictionalizing the true events.

This was a really interesting read to me, having ancestors who lived in Jamestown during this time. It was a little dark, definitely dabbled in horror slightly, but featured a cute sapphic romance between Ellis and Jane. The writing was immersive and wonderfully written, if not grotesque at times. I was sucked into the story easily and enjoyed the bulk of it. There was definitely some pacing issues, as the events are a bit lacking with the length. This would have been a really good full length novel, expanding on the events and the time period to encapsulate the true feelings of this time. It would have been a good way to enhance the characters and show them better and truer. Our characters, while interesting, are stunted by the length of the novel.

Please note that this book contains unlisted trigger warnings, so read with caution.

Ellis Folk, alone after her mother and sister die of the plague and her remaining sister gets a job in a big house in London, becomes an indentured servant in 1609 to get herself to the New World where she is hoping to locate her father. In Jamestown, she is part of the household of Henry Collins and his pregnant wife. Master Collins is harsh with Ellis. She works hard to care for the house (even helping to build it) and his ailing wife. She is whipped when he believes she disobeys and when she consorts with the friend she loves, Jane Eddowes.

The Natives, or Country People, as Ellis thinks of them, are not friendly. They do not want the settlers there because they've been taken advantage of repeatedly by the group. In Jamestown, food stores dwindle and as people begin dying of starvation, Ellis becomes as disheartened as the rest. Henry Collins though, seems to continue to stay healthy. Ellis suspects how but her suspicions are proven true when he kills his wife and cannibalizes her body. Based on true events, he was then put to death by the remaining people of the town.

Written for a teen audience, this book of historical fiction will grab their attention and give them a different view of history.

Recommended for school libraries and all those who enjoy historical fiction.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and author for sending me an advanced copy of To the Bone, out September 10, 2024.

This book follows Ellis as she ventures to James Fort in the year 1609. Arriving with a group of European settlers, we follow Ellis into the brutal history of what colonizers faced in times of famine and the yearning to own land that was never theirs. More importantly, we follow the beginnings of what colonizers did to the indigenous people who first lived in America.

This was such an interesting read as someone who doesn’t often read historical fiction. Alena Bruzas’s writing captured me in her previous novel, so I had high hopes for this book by her. It did not disappoint. Her tone and style and prose is right up my alley and something special in regard to new authors I’ve recently read from.

The way I felt empathetic (but not sympathetic) to the colonizer characters while also being reminded that they were not innocent was a great feat of the author to be able to pull off an accurate portrayal of historical events. Ellis herself didn’t have a choice in leaving her home to work for a family on new land. She was a great character to be in the pov of.

Another aspect to the book that sweetened it was the relationship Ellis found in Jane. Not only was this historical fiction, but it also has sapphic rep. I enjoyed all of the characters very much.

The book was deep while keeping the page count short and I felt it was even better for not beating around the bush with the storyline.

Trigger warnings because there are many: colonialism, death, hangings, physical domestic abuse, servant punishment, abortion, fetus death, cannibalism, animal death, self-harm

A tale told from the perspective of Ellis, an indentured servant trying to survive the new world in the Virginia Colony with the couple she serves. This coming of age story is fraught with hunger, friendship, backbreaking work, budding love and hardship. The writing itself is fine, I just couldn’t get invested in the characters enough to continue.

To the Bone is a dark, dark historical fiction novel. Did I mention that it was dark? If you're looking for cheery fare, look elsewhere. But as I have always been endlessly fascinated with this time period, I devoured this one. It takes place during "The Starving Time" at Jamestown in 1609, and I have really always felt such a curiosity at those early, pre-Mayflower era colonists, especially their thought process. The records are few and far between, and always from the perspective of the white colonizer, of course, so to read a book (even a fictional one!) from the point of view of a young girl was quite thought provoking.
At first, I found the writing to be very simplistic, but as I read on, it absolutely made sense- someone of Ellis's age and place in society would be fairly uneducated, and frankly, not known much about the world around her at all. Add to it that she was kept quite sequestered by the crappy dude who held her indenture, and you can see why she'd feel a bit pedestrian. She wanted more, though. It was clear she had some deep feelings for her friend Jane, and not just friendship feelings, though it was hard for Ellis to articulate. She also had hope that she could find her father, who came to the continent years before Ellis herself made the journey.

But things took a turn when people started starving and getting sick, and when winter kicked in. Add to it, her indenturer's wife is pregnant, and has spent the entire pregnancy very ill- both physically and mentally, adding to the toll on the house. And when you think things can't get a ton worse, they manage. Like I said, this is a bleak one. But even though it most definitely is somber, I was glad to have read it. If you have read it, I have a question, but it's very spoilery so please only look if you have read it! (view spoiler)

A sidenote, this book is not directly about the wrongness of colonialism in general (though perhaps you can argue that it is indirectly- after all, their decisions absolutely had consequences, at least in this story), but the author does discuss it in her author's note. We don't see a lot of interaction between indigenous people and the intruders, but a young indentured woman wouldn't have had much opportunity to, either. There are some subtle nods, but Ellis is, by definition of her station, kept quite in the dark.

Bottom Line: Dark, but also very fascinating and readable.

First, Bruzas's prose is spare and lovely, reflective of the stark and brutal circumstances of her main characters. She has clearly done a boatload of research on Jamestown and the Starving Time—subjects I had very little previous knowledge of—and feels very strongly about her subject. And she does a commendable job weaving a multilayered tale of survival in the face of terrible circumstances, both without and within: her teenage protagonist, Ellis, is faced with the harshness of life at James Fort as the clock slowly runs out on their food supply and winter draws nearer, while also trapping her in an abusive household, where the man to whom she is indentured, Master Collins, beats both Ellis and his pregnant wife. Ellis's responses to her circumstances are as heartbreaking as they are realistically and sensitively rendered, and her longing to be loved by Master Collins—to be, in some ways, a surrogate daughter, having lost most of her family prior to the start of the book—even as she loathes him for his cruelty is especially multifaceted. I also enjoyed the inclusion of a queer relationship between Ellis and her best friend Jane, portrayed in a way that makes sense for the time period (queer people have always existed), as well as the close bond between Ellis, Jane, and their friend Rowan. The way these three lonely people in an unfamiliar land were able to rely on one another for companionship and strength was very beautiful. Additionally, Bruzas should be commended for the work she has done to tell what is, at its core, a tale of colonization (and the beginning of four hundred years of genocide against the indigenous people of North America) sensitively and unflinchingly. At no point is the colonists' presence ever made to feel justified—even Ellis, in her internal dialogue, contemplates the wrongness of their being there, the wrongness of their actions against the Indigenous people—and extensive information on reparative justice initiatives, such as Land Back, is provided in the footnote of the book.

What prevents this from being a really great read for me is that very little actually happens. It started to drag at around the same time the Starving Time really settled in, which narratively makes sense—what is there to do, in the bitter cold of an early North American winter, but huddle in bed and starve?—but the passages and passages of misery got repetitive and reading started to feel like a chore. I would also caution anyone who does not have a strong stomach to heed the trigger warning about cannibalism: while this particular act is not depicted gratuitously, the horror of it is not shied away from, either. I found myself more disturbed than I'd anticipated. The bleakness got to me, as well; given that this is YA, I kept waiting for the hopeful silver lining to appear, and it never really did.

This book is odd but I think it has an audience, and I learned a lot about a period of American history that I couldn't have told you much about. Bruzas has written a very, very smart book that I'd encourage fans of historical fiction to give a try.

Thank you to Penguin Teen for an early copy of this book! This was enjoyable, but a tough read at times. I struggled to connect with the characters and storyline. I appreciated that this was a short book and didn’t drag on in pacing. Overall I enjoyed this, but historical fiction may not be the genre for me.

This books writing was hard for me. It took me out of the story almost as soon as it started. This book is dark, realistic, and heartbreaking. What Ellis goes through is very realistic to the lived experiences of the settlers in the new land. If you’re looking for a book that doesn’t sugar coat their lives. This is the one for you. As for everything else in the book it was just a personal miss for me. The writing style was disjointed and rough to read. It took me out of the story multiple times and made it hard for me to get back into it. I truly feel bad for Ellis, but their lived experience of feeling that they are being punished for being who they are is a very honest historical view. May I hope that we can only make people feel more comfortable being who they are today without making them feel like Ellis.
Thank you to Penguin Group Penguin Yount Readers Group, Rocky Pond Books, and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and PRH Audio for advanced copies.

To The Bone is an intense, thought-provoking look into early colonial settlements in the United States. Ellis, a young indentured servant arrives to James Fort with hopes and dreams. She falls in love with a fellow settler, Jane and must navigate not only the new world, but also her sinful feelings. As the seasons change, the relationships with the Indigenous people of the land becomes more and more tense. Ellis must surve not only the abusive man she is in service too, but the hunger forced on to the settlement. This riveting book forces you to not only contemplate the truth behind the colonization of a land that was not ours, and the horror of survival as a sapphic woman in the world of the 1600s.

This historical fiction does use the word “savages” to describe the Indigenous people, from the persepctive of colonizers. While I am not a fan of the use of this word, the author explains at the end of the book the use of the historical accurate term.

Content warnings: Cannibalism, murder, domestic abuse, racial slurs, racism, voilence related to colonialism, pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage, child death, body horror, blood, gore, starvation, food-witholding.

This is an extremely dark, upper YA book about Jamestown. The cover is gorgeous, but don't let it fool you into thinking this is a sapphic historical romance. This is a harrowing historical fiction book that happens to feature sapphic characters.

The characters and their relationships aren't necessarily the focus, but the book has this foreboding sense of doom that Bruzas conveys well. Ellis, our main character, was wonderfully written, which stood out to me. Being a YA story with an adult tone, it lost a bit of the depth it could have had if it had been more firmly written for one of those age brackets.

This was a short and easy read with gorgeous prose. It works well if you know of Jamestown in 1609-1610 or completely unaware. Definitely recommend this!

Thank you so much to Penguin Group and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book early in exchange for an honest review!

3/3,5⭐️

First, thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Rocky Pond Books for the ARC.

To the Bone by Alena Bruzas is a YA novel set in America, precisely in James Fort, between 1609 and 1610, during the “Starving time”.

Overall, it was a swift read and I liked Ellis, the main character.

I would have liked to see more development of the relationship between Ellis and Jane, but at the same time, considering the length of the novel and the fact that the romance isn’t its main focus, I understand why the author chose to write it that way.

I also enjoyed reading about this particular time in history, which is not talked about enough, and its horror.

Although I wasn't fond of the writing style, I quickly got used to it.

This is surely one of those books that will stay with you forever, no matter if you liked it or not.
Anyway, I strongly recommend checking out the trigger warnings before reading this book since it deals with various heavy topics.

A story about the starvation of a colony that ends in cannibalism.... based on true American colonial history. The story focuses on a indentured servant girl, her forbidden romance, her abusive master, and the lengths of survival she will go through. Ellis is an indentured servant, forced to endure the constant physical abuse from her master... the only comfort she has is her love for another girl, Jane. Ellis knows her love is forbidden but what she and Jane has is undeniable. Yet the closer she gets to Jane the harsher her master becomes. When the seasons begin to change the new life of the colony that has left England begins to change as well... and for the worse as hungry begins to grip the colony and soon madness will descend upon them. Ellis will soon discover how far people will go to survive and will be forced to do and endure unspeakable things in order to survive. This was a brutal look into real colonial history and it's not exactly the best read. Ellis is so groomed and it's just not a great time because you are constantly reading about her getting abused and it's not for everyone. The story wasn't as compelling and as interesting as I was hoping for a bit of horror history, and I would say that if you like more naive protagonist and slow life stories, I'd give it a go otherwise I'd steer clear.

Release Date: September 10,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Rocky Pond Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*A story about the starvation of a colony that ends in cannibalism.... based on true American colonial history. The story focuses on a indentured servant girl, her forbidden romance, her abusive master, and the lengths of survival she will go through. Ellis is an indentured servant, forced to endure the constant physical abuse from her master... the only comfort she has is her love for another girl, Jane. Ellis knows her love is forbidden but what she and Jane has is undeniable. Yet the closer she gets to Jane the harsher her master becomes. When the seasons begin to change the new life of the colony that has left England begins to change as well... and for the worse as hungry begins to grip the colony and soon madness will descend upon them. Ellis will soon discover how far people will go to survive and will be forced to do and endure unspeakable things in order to survive. This was a brutal look into real colonial history and it's not exactly the best read. Ellis is so groomed and it's just not a great time because you are constantly reading about her getting abused and it's not for everyone. The story wasn't as compelling and as interesting as I was hoping for a bit of horror history, and I would say that if you like more naive protagonist and slow life stories, I'd give it a go otherwise I'd steer clear.

Release Date: September 10,2024

Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)

*Thanks Netgalley and PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group | Rocky Pond Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This is a survival story, but whose survival should we truly be caring about?

To the Bone takes place in James Fort, Virginia, between the years of 1609-1610. I’d tell you exactly how we know that, but it’s kind of a spoiler. James Fort was the first village established at what eventually would become the Jamestown Colony, the first complete English Colony in what would one day become America.

It’s here in James Fort that our protagonist, Ellis, has found herself in a quandary. She came to America as an indentured servant to the Collins family, knowing her father had already made the crossing some years prior, but he’s not in James Fort and she can’t simply go and find him. Her mistress is miserable, her master both intrigues her and makes her uncomfortable, she isn’t comfortable with the way her fellow Englishmen treat the indigenous peoples, and she knows there’s no way she can be with Jane, the girl she loves. Ellis only wants to be a good girl, but it seems every choice she makes only leads her further and further down paths of wickedness.

Bruzas uses the weather as an effective metaphorical storytelling tool to help move the plot along in this book: The story starts in summer, with long days, sunshine, and food to eat. There’s never an abundance of food, because they have to ration, but with the sun and the river and her friends Ellis is never too miserable. As the days grow shorter and colder, the characters and their circumstances change, bringing on the direst and darkest of circumstances toward the very end of the book.

What makes this book a five star read is not only Bruzas’ impeccable storytelling talent and her dedication to telling as authentic of a story set during the “starving time” winter as possible, but also in making the reader think of this philosophical quandary: was this survival story ever truly about Ellis? Or was this survival story about the indigenous people of America, whose lands were being raided, crops were being stolen, livestock were being butchered, families were being torn apart, and whole histories were being destroyed with every month that passed by and with every English ship that landed on the Atlantic Seaboard?

The ending of this book is very much up for interpretation. I have my own thoughts. The pacing in this book is implacable, just like colonization is. It’s merciless, just like genocide is. It pulls no patience for the young adult audience it's targeted to, and I’m glad, because someone has to tell young people the truth and they sure don’t teach it in school.

Horrifying, but beautifully written. An unexpected but satisfying five star read.

I was provided a copy of this title by the publishers and the author via Netgalley. All thoughts, opinions, views, and ideas expressed herein are mine and mine alone. Thank you.

File Under: 5 Star Review/Body Horror/Historical Fiction/LGBTQ Romance/Literary Fiction/Standalone Novel

I really don't even know what to say about this. It was dark and raw and once you start reading you really just can't put it down.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC of this book!

I teach high school history and let me just say, wow. To the Bone is a gut-wrenching yet fascinating account of the early years of Jamestown. I knew about the struggles, starvation, and cannibalism, but this account and Ellis' voice was incredibly powerful and I was hooked from the start. To me, this book FELT like its setting and characters. It felt stark and grim, like Jamestown. The voice of the characters, especially Ellis, grew more frantic as the story progressed, just as it would have done in reality. This was exceptionally well-done and I've already started book talking it to my history students!

Thanks to Rocky Pond Books for access via NetGalley. All opinions below are my own.

I have an obsession with story set in pre-colonial America, especially the early days of settlement. This takes place in James Fort in 1609, which puts it right in my sweet spot. I love the stories of survival and hardship in the hope of a better life. This one follows an indentured servant who has gone from a relatively comfortable life in Europe to an oppressed servant in the colonies. Her father previously immigrated and promised to bring them once he was established, but he has gone missing, and her mother has died. so she finds the only way she can to get to the new land. Her new master is cruel and the mistress is ill with pregnancy. As they approach winter, the colony struggles with the native people and lack of supplies. The story goes from being historical fiction to outright horror in the last quarter starvation makes people do things that you would not imagine.

This one has a very slow pace if you were looking for pacey horror, this one might not be for you. Think Get Out in colonial times, we settle nicely into the day the day life and slowly begin to have creeping horror as more and more unusual moments pile up. It does get quite gory in the end so be prepared for that. I think the characters were all quite realistic to the time and while there is a more queer subplot, I think this one is quite believable, especially after you read the afterword.

Did you wish that those little hardcover Dear America books with the fancy ribbon bookmarks had more gut-wrenching tragedy and explored the absolute limits of human suffering? Also lesbianism and cannibalism? Yes? No? Either way, you've gotta read this one.

This book had me in a choke-hold. I'm rattled. It's going to end up in my top five of the year, for sure. I can't believe how good this was. The narrative voice was perfect, and I'm not going to stop thinking about it anytime soon; Ellis both stirred and broke my heart with every scene.

There is a lot to come to terms with here, on an emotional level, on a historical level. Set during The Starving Time of colonial America, the lives of those living in James Fort quickly descend into the despair of starvation, with ambition and pride serving as the nooses around their necks. This is a book where the dread is palpable and while you know to anticipate the worst, you, or at least I, couldn't have foreseen the absolute worst of it.

This book, truly, speaks for itself. The Author's Note was fascinating (do NOT read it first, my God, you will regret it-- let this one unfold on its own first), but I firmly feel that the work needs no explanation. If you are a horror fan that isn't afraid of tragedy, please give Ellis a chance to tell you her story.

This novel is amazing! The horror and reality of this historically accurate story is deftly tackled by the author who very obviously took great care in researching and representing everything as faithfully as possible. The terrible truth is that even though this event takes place in Colonial Virginia the domestic violence within is still very prevalent in today’s society. Several of the characters were real people but this author really gave them life. Fantastic book!