Reviewed by Annika
TITLE: The Bones Beneath My Skin
AUTHOR: TJ Klune
NARRATOR: Greg Tremblay
PUBLISHER: BOATK books
RELEASE DATE: December 12, 2018
LENGTH: 12 hours, 55 minutes
BLURB:
In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything: his parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him, and he’s been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family’s summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction.
The cabin should be empty.
It’s not.
Inside is a man named Alex. And with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader.
Artemis, who isn’t exactly as she appears.
Soon it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice: let himself drown in the memories of his past, or fight for a future he never thought possible.
Because the girl is special. And forces are descending upon them who want nothing more than to control her.
REVIEW:
The Bones Beneath My Skin was different from the books I’ve previously read by TJ Klune. Not in a bad way, it was just different.
Nate Cartwright has had some changes to his life lately; being fired from his job, losing both of his parents in a murder/suicide. Subsequently inheriting an old truck and a cabin in the remote parts of Oregon. Deciding to take some time to himself to re-evaluate his life, he sets off to the cabin. Only when he gets there he encounters a wounded man and a young girl. The man is pointing a gun at him, demanding to know who he is and who he’s working for. The girl says her name is Artemis Darth Vader. They are obviously on the run and in hiding. They are the strangest pair he ever met, and they will both irrevocably change his life.
This book is a mix of the mundane stuff; getting to know each other, preparing food, and just every day stuff. There’s also bursts of excitement and suspense when the men after Art catches up to them, when they run and fight. Interwoven are also a few flashbacks, learning the story of Art and Alex, how they met and connected. How they escaped. I can’t really tell you if it all fit or not, because it did – and it didn’t. And in some strange Klune way that was okay, that worked for the story anyway. (Can you tell I’m a bit confused?)
There is not a lot of romance in this book, hardly any if I’m being honest. It’s a fight against enemies, known and unknown. Expanding and broadening of minds. That’s not to say there wasn’t love in this story, because there was – and a lot of it. The three of them, no matter how different they might be; became a family. Formed bonds that couldn’t be broken by neither time nor space.
I love Greg Tremblay’s narrations. He’s a terrific narrator and extremely talented. With such a wide range of voices he easily distinguishes between the characters. Even his female voices sound credible and not over the top as some do. Tremblay delivers, it’s a given. Then there were parts, endings of certain chapters that were, to put it mildly, abrupt. I’m not used to that with Tremblay’s narrations. It’s usually such a smooth and easy listen. Now I found myself rewinding trying to figure out if I’d missed something. To the point where I actually did look it up in the print version just to make sure I wasn’t missing something. It threw me off and out of the story and made me focus on the narration instead of the story. I know that Klune has a particular way of writing, he is fond of abrupt changes, it’s not the first time he’s done this trick. This time though it threw me for a loop at times and it took some time for me to get back into the action. It wasn’t all the time, or many for that matter, but the few times it did happen it was noticeable.
The Bones Beneath My Skin wasn’t a book that produced many feelings in me one way or another. Sure, I smiled at times at Art’s antics and questions, but that’s about it. Otherwise I was just listening along, enjoying the moment for what it was. Sadly I can’t say that the times where I had to stop listening (due to RL) I was anxious to resume listening, but was perfect fine with waiting until life permitted me to pick up my earbuds and start listening again. So while I did enjoy this story, it probably won’t be one I’m likely to listen to again.
RATING: 
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