This was a different book than I usually read. It takes place in the 1970's and is kind of a coming of age of a teenage boy in California. It was a snapshot of someone's life, without ties to the bigger world and with a somewhat bare plot. I did like RJ and the way he cared for his siblings, especially his disabled younger brother Charlie. RJ is a good kid and I think he'll be a compassionate adult too.

The plot is mostly RJ's encounters with a local gang called The Blackjacks and trying to avoid their wrath. He meets an elderly man and becomes his confidant, trading stories of their histories. There is some action when RJ fights with the gang members and later does a suicidal bike run down a busy street, but I would have liked more to keep the plot from feeling slow. There's also a character Roxanne that goes missing and either I missed the part where we find out what happened to her or it isn't resolved. Either way I was kind of disappointed about the lack of information.

The ending dropped some big information on us and I would have liked to process that a bit more. I also was hoping for a happier ending for RJ rather than just continuing his life as normal. Overall the book was okay and I liked the narration of the audiobook.

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the copy

Bones of a Saint feels like an attempt at mimicking The Outsiders, but doesn’t carry nearly as much weight. While I found the backdrop of this story to be gritty and engaging, the execution left much to be desired. I think that this is a valiant effort, but ultimately left very little impact on me as a reader. That being said, I do see potential in this author and look forward to trying another one of their works in the future.

3.5 Stars

I found that the narrator of this audio need make me like the story a little more because of what they had to offer, but a good narrator can only do so much with a story that I only half liked.

*Previously read the digital copy and left my full review of the story there*

This hits you, in a very realistic way.
Bones of a Saint was a fast-paced book.
The world and characters were very well made, diverse, the story is getting very interesting throw the book, I felt compelled to know more about this boy.

RJ Armante a 15-year-old boy facing a reality with a hard-working mom.
Touches subjects such as suicide, rape, gang violence but never in a specific way.
A teen in a small town of California, with a gang, called blackjacks, when he gets the attention of the gang, for being sometimes a smart mouth and for being in a way unsupervised, outside in his free time. But when they start threatening him and make him go to the old man's house with the intention to intimidate and make him leave. RJ has to find his way of life choosing between right and wrong, good and bad.

This Audiobook was given by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley for the chance to get to know the author and the book I absolutely loved the cover as well.

I listened to the audio version of this book. It was an interesting story. I am a bit over the descriptive language of women being so crude and disrespectful though. If you can get passed that it keeps your attention. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest opinion

Bones of Saint is set in the 1970's. RJ is the main character. A teenager who takes care of his younger siblings who all have different fathers, while his mom works. It is a coming of age novel. The local gang rules the street. To be honest I had a really hard time getting into the book. I almost gave up on it, but was pleasantly surprised by the ending and felt like it was the best part of the book.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an audiobook copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book isn't what I expected. I expected gangs and excitement, instead I got a book that reads a lot like one of the stories American kids are forced to read in seventh grade. I don't mean that in a good way. It feels like the author was going for a The Outsiders vibe, only to fall short.

The writing style made it hard to get into, too. I understand that it was the main character's voice, but seeing so much bad grammar literally had me cringing. There's a babyish attempt at grittiness in the writing, like a kid who throws rocks at an old house but panics when he actually manages to break a window. It was a nice try, but it doesn't really land.

The performance from the narrator was pretty good, though!

I give Bones of a Saint three stars out of five.

Firstly thank you NetGalley and RB Digital for allowing me to listen to this book in exchange For an honest review.

Set against late ‘70’s California, Bones of a Saint weaves together the pressures of growing up poor with religious mysticism in a gritty, promising debut.

RJ is struggling to take care of his siblings and avoid the local gang The Black Jacks, who seem to have it out for him. Add to that a mysterious old man who is cryptically interesting in him and the disappearance of Roxanne a girl he can’t get out of his head.

A masterful storyteller himself, RJ recounts tales of his past that help not only give him depth, but also help the reader (or listener in this case) unravel the connections that have been leading him to this final standoff between himself, the mysterious old man, and The Black Jacks.

Gritty and raw, this novel paints the struggles of growing up and coming to terms with who you are.

I was immediately drawn to the cover of this book and I found the audio narration enjoyable to listen to, however it was difficult to understand what the story was aiming to achieve. It has some interesting threads such as the local gang that wreaks havoc on the town, a mysterious old man who connects to the main character RJ through stories, and RJ trying to look after his siblings while his mother works. However, they didn't mesh strongly enough together to create a really engaging story.

The audio narration for this book was fantastic but the story itself was really lacking. Definitely my first disappointing read of the year. The story was just... two dimensional, the characters uninteresting. Overall, nope.

Audiobook provided by NetGalley and RB Media in exchange for an honest review.

This has a similar feel to it as S.E. Hinton's THE OUTSIDERS. It took me a little while to get into the story, and while this isn't a style I'd typically read, I did enjoy it.

Farley's novel is a coming of age and avoiding being sucked into the gang life story of a young man from a poor family all wrapped up in a somewhat mystery of trying to figure out who the strange old man is that moved to town that's tied up with the bow of a storyteller. Because the art and craft of storytelling is at the heart of BONES OF A SAINT and that's what truly makes this book a good read.

Christopher Carley does a good job with the audiobook and I think listening to this book being read to you adds another layer to that storyteller theme running throughout the entire book.

This isn't the kind of book I gravitate towards but when I saw the cover and read the synopsis I had to at least give it a try. Unfortunately I was never really invested in what was going on. I felt like RJ didn't live up to his reputation. His heart was in the right place but he was just to laid back. His relationship with his family was rocky but he really cares for his sibs and you an see why story telling was important to him. Even tough it was a little confusing at the start I'm glad I made it to the end. The writing was good and so was the humor.

First read by this author. Thus is a character driven raw coming of age story. Great narrator and realistic dialogue. Thsnks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

I unfortunately could not get into this book, I tried the ebook version and then tried the audio version and neither of them grabbed my attention. I am not sure if it was just bad timing. Maybe In the future I will give this another shot

I hate to say it but the cover is the most interesting part of this book. From other Goodreads reviews, I seem to be in the minority with this opinion but I just couldn't get into this one. There's a rape joke not even 5% in and I think it ruined it for me. Not to mention the blatant objectification of women, routinely calling their breasts "tits, jugs" etc. There's also a character named Buns because he's fat. No story is worth dealing with this problematic shit. None of it is challenged either. The narrator is great tho, that's basically the only part I liked, the rest I was ambivalent towards.