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I received this book for free from Penguin Teen in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
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To the Bone by Alena Bruzas Published by Penguin on September 10, 2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Historical / United States / General, Young Adult Fiction / Horror, Young Adult Fiction / LGBTQ
Pages: 256
Format: ARC
Source: Penguin Teen
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Goodreads
This gripping, shocking, and exquisitely crafted survival story reveals the truth of America's colonial history in a powerful new way—visceral and breathtaking.
After the long journey from England, Ellis arrives in America full of hope. James Fort is where a better life will begin for her: where she will work as an indentured servant to Henry Collins and his pregnant wife, gain financial security, and fall deeply in love with bold, glorious Jane Eddowes.
But as summer turns to fall, Ellis begins to notice the cracks in this new life—the viciousness of the colonists toward the Indigenous people and the terrifying anger Henry uses to control his wife and Ellis—leaving her to wonder if she has sentenced herself to a prison rather than a new home.
Then winter arrives and hunger grips the Fort. Ellis is about to learn that people will do whatever it takes to survive.
To the Bone is a riveting story of survival and horror that forcefully overturns the mythos of the American settler. It will stay with you, forever.
Arc Review: To the Bone by Alena Bruzas
Pub Date: Sept. 10, 2024
If you are into historical fiction and horror, then add To the Bone by Alena Bruzas to your spooky season TBR pile. A colonial tale told from the perspective of a teenage indentured servant girl. Readers get the experience of the horrors and starvation of Jamestown from a young teen’s perspective. Uneducated and without family to take care of her, Ellis is a nervous girl in search of acceptance. She is in a relationship with Jane, a carefree girl in the colony who has a loving family who lets her run around and do whatever she wants.
When Ellis’ employer, Henry Collins, forbids her from spending time with Jane after seeing them interact, she is condemned to spend most of her time with her sickly, depressed and pregnant mistress. In addition to dealing with witnessing and experiencing domestic abuse at the hands of Henry, Ellis must contend with the dwindling food supplies and rations in the colony.
She is expected to cook and provide meals for her mistress and employer and then in turn eat last. But as the weather turns colder, the grain rations are cut more and more. Mysteriously, her employer doesn’t look like he is affected by the hunger that is gnawing at everyone else. Let me just say, her boss is a narcissistic jerk and is engaging in a super disgusting action when no one is looking. It’s mentioned in the trigger warnings.
New perspectives
I really appreciated a different perspective on this time period. A perspective from someone who would have had to rely on gossip and hearsay to learn about the politics. But also someone who would have made honest and earnest observations themselves about the people who were in charge. This book really hits on the devastation the female colonists felt at coming to a new land only to be starved to death. They watched their arrogant leaders and men try to bully their way to food and land in a disastrous manner.
It also sheds light on the perspectives of indigenous people, some who found themselves intimately tied to the colony through marriage and capture. Because Ellis has no stature in the colony, it isn’t really necessary to keep up pretenses with her. In several encounters with the Native occupants of the colony she feels their sharp disdain and hatred for the misery her people have brought to their lands.
The short chapters keep the To the Bone moving quickly. Ellis’ narration will have you lockstep with her growing desperation, nervousness and hunger as the fort’s situation continues to disintegrate. After reading this, if you bought into the myth of triumphant settlers of America, you will wonder why not all of their early colonial stories are categorized as horror.
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