Rating: 5 out of 5
Genre: Middle Grade, Scifi/Fantasy, Contemporary, 5 Stars
People who should read this: If you love spooky ghost stories with a hint of history, best friend side-kicks, and action and adventure.
Sadly, I was too quick in reading A Tunnel of Bones - it also doesn’t help that it’s middle grade - to mark the quotes that I loved. So you’ll just have to be entertained with my words alone.
First off… how unfair is it that the location and title of the third book were announced before the second book was even released? Like how can I wait? Especially after that ending Schwab gave in The Tunnel of Bones.
If you thought the first was left on a cliffhanger, well strengthen your fingers because you’ll be gripping on for dear life.
Tunnel of Bones is set in France this time and is centered around the Catacombs. This isn’t a spoiler. It’s obvious in the title, the cover, and the synopsis. I appreciate the setting since most of France bores me. I’m sorry for any of my France loving followers, but if it’s not tied to the French Revolution or the catacombs, I’m bored. But thankfully, Schwab picked one of the two.
And this is where my problem with the book comes out. It has nothing to do with Schwab or her writing or the story itself, but all to do with location. I could care less about the setting and the history that was being told, so I ended up staying on the surface of the story. Probably another reason why I couldn’t mark a single quote I liked.
But why did I still give the book five stars you ask?
Because the story is so well created, thought out, and written that I can’t be mean to the queen herself - I’m rating more for craft than my enjoyment.
Schwab weaves magic with every character that she writes and this is no exception. Cassidy holds onto all the new traits that she learned in the first book. She now has Jacob and Lara to rely on. And her parents hold tight after the crazy shenanigans that went down in Edinburgh. Which does make the parts that Cassidy crosses into the viel slightly unbelievable, but I’ll go with it. Jacob even gets more shape as a character as his backstory unfolds. Scwab still made Tunnel of Bones read like a mature novel written so that even the youngest middle grade reader can enjoy it.
Plus, it wasn’t too spooky for adults like me.
Yet, I believe it is scarier than the first book.
Once the story got rolling (pun intended), I couldn’t put the book down. The descriptions left chills on my skin. Schwab expanded the story to include things we hadn’t seen in her first book. I appreciate the effort. I don’t want to be reading the same formatted story like all those cop shows out there. Oh here’s a crime, let’s solve that crime, and then arrest the bad guy. And through all the usual story, Scwab is setting up an even bigger story, dropping hints along the way. Though I don’t want this series to end, I really want to know what happens.
It’s also a great book for writers. You don’t get lost in the fancy writing done by the adult books and can dwell in the nitty-gritty technique that Schwab welds. I gained a lot of confidence after reading both of her middle grade books. I was able to take them apart and see the inner workings.
So all my Scwab fans out there, this should be your next read. If not right now, then definitely for October. Read it to your kids. Read it to your partner. Read it to your parents.
Happy Reading
Love Kait
Reading Challenge: 79/100