Book Review: The Bone Thief by Alyson Noel

The Bone Thief by Alyson Noel is a middle grade fantasy novel. Compared to other more ordinary towns, Quiver Hollows is a very strange, very curious place. It is also home to longtime friends Grimsly, Ollie, Ming, and Penelope. In a town where everyone is spectacularly abnormal, Grimsly feels bad about being terribly, unforgivably normal, as the town's pet funeral director. So when a series of strange and disturbing mundane occurrences begins plaguing Quiver Hollows, well, Grimsly fears his growing celebrity just might be to blame since everyone knows that the things you focus on the most have an uncanny way of shaping your world. The group of friends also learn that the bones in the pet cemetery are thought to be the source of the strange magic that binds the town of Quiver Hollows. With the bones now gone, the town's magic is quickly dissipating. Will it ultimately become as common and ordinary as everywhere else? 

The Bone Thief is a solid adventure with plenty of character growth and magic. Grimsly has wanted nothing more than to be magical like his friends, but he has his own role to play. I like that Grimsly thought his pet funerals were nothing unusual when compared to magical abilities, feathers, or scales. I also like that even when he was facing danger he was scared and faced his fears rather than just ignoring the danger at hand. Too often in fantasy the hero just ignores the danger and jumps in, thinking they will deal with the consequences later. Grimsly thinks things through and weighs options and how he can do the best for the greater good. I did wish I had more information or growth with the secondary characters, both in Quiver Hollows and when Grimsly is facing danger in the outside world. I enjoyed the world building and the story as a whole, but it just never grabbed me so much that I had trouble putting down the book. Maybe I just was not in the mood for fantasy when I finally picked it up, it had been sitting in my Netgalley queue for far too long. It was still a solid, enjoyable read.

The Bone Thief is an engaging middle grade coming of age novel with plenty of magic and character growth. I can think of many elementary and middle school students that will love this read.