I just finished When the Bones Sing by Ginny Myers Sain, and wow, what a ride! This book is a Southern Gothic supernatural thriller that pulls you into its eerie world. The story follows Dovie, a 17-year-old girl in a small town in Arkansas, who can hear the bones of the dead sing. Yeah, it’s as creepy as it sounds. These voices guide her to uncover the remains of missing hikers, and as she digs into these disappearances, she uncovers a ton of secrets tied to local legends and curses.

What stood out to me was the atmosphere of the book. It’s set in the Ozark Mountains, and the setting feels like it’s part of the mystery itself—haunting and full of secrets. The author does an amazing job blending the supernatural with real-world dangers, making it feel both unsettling and intriguing.

The book has a gripping, twisty plot. The mystery keeps you hooked, and Dovie is a strong, engaging protagonist who makes you root for her every step of the way. I also loved the mix of horror, mystery, and a little YA romance thrown in there—though I do have to admit, I was expecting a bit more in the romance department. Still, the book’s eerie atmosphere more than made up for it.

If you like books with a touch of the supernatural, Southern Gothic vibes, and a strong mystery, this one’s worth picking up.

Okay okay okay but this one threw me for an absolute loop. I’m over here thinking I’ve got the whole thing figured out, I know what’s going on and I look at the percentage on my kindle and realize I have WAY too much left for this to be figured out and BOOM okay Ginny, I’m sat. I’m hooked.

This book had me accidentally waking my husband up (whoops sorry) when some of the twists happened because REALLY?! It’s fine though, I’m fine. I’ve already lined up a few of Ginny’s other books to eventually get to me so I’m excited to dive further into the different worlds out there.

I adored the relationships, and the sweet yearning that went on between the two main characters, not to mention the friendship that was so wonderful. Definitely would recommend this book.

*3.5 rounded to a 4*

I read my first Ginny Myers Sain book last year and loved it. I love the southern atmosphere, charm and superstitions/spooks she puts in to her works. It reminds me of home and even though they are on the spookier side, they are a comfort read for me.

In this one, we are in the Ozarks of Arkansas, where hikers have been disappearing for years, only to be found dead in shallow graves. This is where our MC Dovie comes in. She can feel the bones of the hikers calling to her, asking to be found. This causes lots of discord in her small God-fearing community.

When her best friend Lo comes back to town, they decide to put a stop to the killings once and for all. But everyone in a small town has secrets they are willing to kill to keep. You can't trust anyone.

Now that I live in the Ozarks, it made me like this one even more! It was so fun to read about the lore of the Howler and history of the mountain folks. There were so many twists and turns and a few shocking revelations throughout the book. Just when I thought I had picked out the killer, something else would happen and I would second guess my choices.

For sure worth the read. It was a fun, twisty time. I'm looking forward to reading more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

A girl who can hear dead bones and find missing people. A boy who claims to be haunted by shadows. A small town in the Ozarks with a dark secret. Have I intrigued you yet?

WHEN THE BONES SING starts off as a truly captivating and enthralling read. I found myself speeding through the first 50 pages because I was so caught up in the story right from the start. Reminiscent of Spells For Forgetting and Where The Crawdads Sing but with magical elements. Incredibly atmospheric, I felt transported to the setting.

However, I felt that the book started to lose itself by the halfway point. Grim murders, hauntings, possession- it just turned really dark and at times, almost delved into a horror-lite genre. The mystery itself was average- once I understood where the book was going, I figured out who the big bad was but the motive/ending was even more sinister than I had anticipated. Still, it felt somewhat improbable and left me a bit disappointed. As this is my first time reading this author, I was surprised by the unexpected darkness, gore and graphic nature of the story.

This book is probably targeted more towards YA readers of thriller and horror. Great premise, I just wish the second half had more of a stronger emphasis on the magical realism/ paranormal vibes rather than the darker, more gruesome aspects. A 3.5 star read for me.

Absolutely love this book. Even though this book is geared YA, I thoroughly enjoy her writing. The mystery, plot twists and the way the characters come to life...
Can't wait to add this to my classroom library.

I love books that are written that focus on the magic that exists within the US, particularly the hill magic. While this book itself does not focus on Appalachian culture because it isn't there, if you like those kind of horror books you love these.

It is important to note this book is YA, not an adult horror book, and it is based in hill magic beliefs. I loved the references throughout and the fact you can't trust if something is real or not. The story itself I found to be less interesting than the setting, though the characters themselves fascinated me.

My only complaint was the unnecessary love triangle that happened, but that's nitpicky on my part cuz I just hate those. I would 100% read more from this author.

Thanks Penguin Group Penguin Young Readers for the ARC!

"When the Bones Sing" hooked me with its eerie Ozark setting and unique premise of a girl who feels the bones of the dead. The atmosphere was chilling, blending bone magic, local legends, and ghostly whispers. I did find the protagonist's skepticism about the supernatural a bit forced, considering her own powers. And the love triangle? Totally unnecessary distraction. Still, the mystery kept me guessing, and the pacing was solid. A fun, if slightly flawed, YA thriller.

** I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Ginny Myers Sain presents her newest YA thriller When the Bones Sing. Readers follow Dovie, a resident of the Ozarks who can feel the bones buried in the mountains. She helps the sheriff find them so that they can be laid to rest. A useful skill when hikers continuously go missing from the town, only to be found dead in the woods. Dovie's best friend Lo is haunted by the ghosts of the missing people and locals blame the legendary Ozark howler for the deaths. Despite her own gift, Dovie doesn't believe in magic or the supernatural. She does believe in truth, and is determined to find out why two dozen people have gone missing in the past couple years and why Lo can have no peace from their spirits.

I had a difficult time with becoming invested in this story, and waited for the audiobook to come available to give this book the best possible chance to be liked. Narrator Amanda Stribling is from Tennessee and contributes a Southern accent that contributes a lot to the atmosphere of the book.

This southern gothic supernatural thriller was very much on the nose. Readers had access to clues laid out throughout the story and could potentially figure out what was happening before Dovie. Dovie's refusal to believe in the supernatural despite her own very real generational gift came across as a bit absurd and detrimental to the process of finding out what was happening. The introduction of a pseudo-love triangle amidst the murders was absolutely not necessary and took away from the tension of the story.

Despite my personal problems with some of the choices made, I think the target age demographic would not be as distracted by the things that stood out to me. Even with those things, the pacing of the novel was pretty steady with a constant drive forward toward the conclusion.

I would recommend this one as having good entertainment value despite not doing anything particularly new for the genre and will be continuing to look into Sain's backlist.

I recently had the pleasure of reading this, and I have to say, it exceeded my expectations in so many ways. From the very first page, I was hooked by the engaging style and the intriguing characters. The author does an excellent job of building a world that feels both immersive and believable, making it easy to get lost in the story. The plot was full of twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat. Just when I thought I had it figured out, the story would surprise me with something unexpected. I highly recommend this and all their work.

I really enjoyed this read! The writing style was great, I really felt captivated by the scene descriptions and that made me what to keep reading. I loved this being set in the Ozarks!

4 suspenseful stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book!

I enjoyed When the Bones Sing overall—the writing was atmospheric, and the story had some really compelling moments. However, I found it frustrating that the main character was so resistant to believing in spirits, even though the dead were literally calling out to her. It felt like her skepticism dragged on longer than it should have, making parts of the story feel repetitive. That said, the book had some great tension and eerie moments, which kept me engaged. A solid read, especially for a ya novel but I wished for a more natural character progression.

I had fun with this! The premise is really unique and it moved at a fast pace. I liked the writing style because it drew me into the atmosphere. I would recommend this! Special Thank You to Ginny Myers Sain, Penguin Group and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

A big thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for the eARC!

"When the Bones Sing" is a solid YA thriller/horror that kept me hooked from the start. The story weaves together elements of bone magic, the eerie Ozark Howler, and possibly even ghosts, creating a chilling and captivating atmosphere.

Although I don't read a lot of YA anymore, Ginny Myers Sain's storytelling has definitely piqued my interest. Her ability to set the scene transports you to a small town in the Ozarks that survives off hikers passing through their town. It speaks to the way of life and how missing hikers can affect livelihoods, and speculations abound in small towns.

I would certainly read more from her in the future. If you're a fan of YA thrillers with a touch of horror and the supernatural, "When the Bones Sing" is a must-read.

Dovie Warner has a gift: she can hear the bones of the lost dead, a gift that's incredibly useful in her small Ozark town, where 23 hikers have gone missing in the last few years. And she's the only one capable of finding the well-hidden bodies. She doesn't exactly fit in well, a mountain girl with a mysterious gift in town, motherless, and her only friend recently left town. But now, Lo is back in town, haunted, determined to solve the mystery of the hikers so they'll stop hunting him, stalking him down, and to save him, Dovie will do anything. Together with the brother of the latest deceased hiker, they must face down a town full of secrets and one very dangerous killer.
This is a very decent mystery. It's full of twists and turns, and I didn't see all of them coming at all actually. I also really liked the setting. The Ozark Mountains are a rich, interesting setting, and not many stories take advantage of that. It made for a really interesting southern Gothic. My one biggest complaint is that, just once, I want a book where the two best friends who have never been anything more remain never anything more. It's so cliche.

I really loved the premise of this book. Our FMC in this book tends to help a lot with missing person's/recovery of remains cases because the bones sing to her when they need to be found. That, on top of the absolutely beautifully described setting and atmosphere really helped this story become a wonderful gothic book. It was simple, but very well executed in most areas of this book.

Of course, there were also a couple of things that I wasn't completely down for. Starting with the romance with Lo. The plot of the book was more than enough to keep me interested, but any time the romance with Lo progressed, it was so out of place with the type of story (dark/gothic, murder mystery) that it just threw me off. Dare I say, the book probably would have been better without the romance.

Another thing that I didn't feel the greatest about, and this was just for me, I knew who the person was who was doing everything pretty early. <spoiler> It's not really well hidden, and as soon as "the last kill was two months ago" and "He left town two months ago" both were said, I was able to guess, which was really unfortunate </spoiler>.

But in spite of that, I was still able to enjoy myself because of the unique plot and atmosphere.
Final rating: 4 stars

A gothic YA thriller at its finest!

Dovie can feel them calling to her. She can feel the song of their bones. But it's not magic. It's just a talent. All the Clover women, going back to her Nana, can do it. For three years Dovie has dug up the bones of missing and slaughtered hikers, chewed up by the Ozarks and spat back out. Three years of folks going missing, and ain't nobody knows who... or what, is taking them.

But when her best friend suddenly reappears in town, talking about seeing ghosts, he and Dovie will begin to dig into the mystery surrounding the town of Lucifer's Creek. The secrets they unearth may be the key to stopping all the death, or it could lead to their own.

This was a read that I couldn't put down! I loved the gothic, mountain dweller feel of this tale. I've been very much into that dark, folksy vibe lately and this perfectly hit the spot! Dovie was an intriguing character. She possesses a supernatural gift but doesn't believe in the supernatural. Her best friend Lo is folk healer and magician who is both spiritual and a believer. The dichotomy between the two of them is intriguing. They're yin and yang, two halves of the same whole.

I really enjoyed the blend of real life murder mystery with the supernatural that Ms. Sain gives us in this story. At every turn, this novel leaves you wondering who done it? A man, or something else? Are there ghosts, spirits, or is there a logical explanation? I did find some of the twists predictable, but not all of them. Overall, the story was compelling and really grabs the reader and holds them tight until every loose end is tied. I'd happily read more from Ginny Myers Sain.

I was so excited to get my hands on this one!!

The premise is absolutely fascinating and so fun to read a book about a girl who can hear when bones are singing to her! But, what we got instead was a bit of a potty mouth teenager that starts to have a romantic interest. I was wondering where the supernatural went?!

I don't really feel like this was a horror or supernatural story at all. I was left confused and annoyed that it was marketed as a horror. Maybe my expectations were too high going in? But, def not marketed right.

Overall, bit disappointed and wasn't a fan.

2.5/5 stars

This is my second book by Ginny! Her ability to craft a magical paranormal thriller is stunning! Her characters all grip your heart and you can’t wait to find out who done it!

This book is definitely dark in nature but so good! I was rooting for Dovie and hoping she would find herself in her journey. Lo I questioned if he was sane or was he loosing it just as Dovie did!

For the most part I didn’t see the end coming and while it was gut reaching it was SO GOOD!

Any book that starts with “the first time I pulled a skeleton from the ground, I wasn’t even four years old”is going to have me hooked.
Dovie had me wanting more just from that first line. There were a couple times where I thought I figured out who was killing the hikers, but then there were explanations provided. I did guess who it was in the end, but I was close enough to the end of the book that I wasn’t bothered that I had figured it out.
There were times I forgot it was a YA novel until the friends to lovers trope would be spoken about. That didn’t matter to me though because I was so invested in trying to figure out whodunnit.
It was a quick read and definitely a recommended read of mine. Thanks NetGalley for trusting me with this ARC in exchange for my review.

Sooo many great vibes. I had a blast reading WHEN THE BONES SING. (Bone magic, you say?) I can not recommend enough.