A southern gothic about a girl who can hear bones sing and what does one do with this kind of power uses it to help guide the local Sheriff to dead bodies.

This story was an interesting story from an author I don’t know or haven’t read before! Will look at finding other things by this author. I am grateful for the early access, thank you to those that allowed it!

4,5☆

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for an arc of this book. All opinions are completely my own.

This was sooo good! This had a similar kind of atmosphere and vibe that all of Ginny Myers Sain's books have and that I absolutely love. An isolated setting, magical elements mixed with mysteries, lovable and well-built characters, as well as a cute romance.

The plot of this was very intriguing and kept me hooked from beginning to end. I really loved the characters as well. The mystery was really good as well, and I loved all of the twists and turns that came with it. I couldn't guess the ending, but it was so fitting and perfect!

I really recommend this and can't wait to see what the author comes up with next!

Content Warning: death, murder

I really love the atmosphere and setting of this book. It’s set in a small town in Arkansas, and the author does a great job of capturing the mysterious, and complicated that is the Ozarks. I love how the mix of the natural environment and the different types of people who came to live in the Ozarks are represented. There was definitely a Southern-gothic vibe to this book. I could hear the twang in the way the characters talked just by the way it’s written. There is the religious community and then the others that believe in simple spells and spirits. There is even talk about the Howler, a supernatural creature roaming the Ozarks. I think all of this contributed in giving this story a mysterious, creepy and tense feeling.

I did enjoy the mystery about the hikers that were going missing and ending up being killed. Dovie being a person who can find their bones is fascinating and Lo, who can see spirits just added to the vibe of the book. There is a little romance in this story but I don’t think that it was needed, I liked Dovie and Lo being best-friends enough. I didn’t need the mini love triangle that was thrown in.

As much as I enjoyed the mystery, I wanted more suspense and thrills, but I will say the truth that Dovie and Lo uncovers is pretty awful.

Final Thoughts:

My favorite part of this book is the atmosphere for sure! I love the Southern gothic vibes of the Ozarks – it’s mysterious and creepy and perfect for a story like this. I didn’t think the romance was needed but I did like Dovie and Lo’s friendship. Overall, I enjoyed the storytelling, just maybe wanted a bit more thrills.

When I see Ginny Myers Sain, it’s an instant read for me — there’s no question about it. Nobody does atmospheric YA mysteries quite like she does. Her stories always have some paranormal element (oh, and, plenty of unsolved murders) and yet each plot is uniquely structured, with characters that feel almost tangible.

WHEN THE BONES SING may not be my favorite book of hers, it was compelling enough that I read it rather quickly. I figured out who the killer was way too early, but not the why of it, which ended up being shocking, if not quite hard to believe — even in a book where magic clearly exists. My biggest gripe was the relationship between the protagonist and her love interest, which ends up being a main storyline point. I am fully a fan of enemies to lovers, which may be why I didn’t enjoy their dynamic as much, but also think it would have benefitted the story a bit more if Sain spent some more time developing the love interest beyond the somewhat shallow persona he’s given. Their relationship was almost fully in conflict with the typical writing advice to “show, not tell.”

Still, the mysteries here were top tier, even if some parts of it all were perhaps a little too easy to understand.

I love this authors books! They kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time! This one was particularly atmospheric and mysterious. This book involves strong character development and thrilling moments!

"The first time I pulled a skeleton from the ground, I wasn't even four years old." With this chilling opener, Ginny Myers Sain's "When The Bones Sing" grabbed me by the collar and didn't let go. Set in the eerie town of Lucifer's Creek, Arkansas, this book is a perfect blend of family drama and spine-tingling mystery that'll keep you up way past your bedtime.

Picture this: a small Ozark mountain town where hikers vanish without a trace, and nobody bats an eye. That is, until Dovie's best friend Lo comes back to town, stirring up more than just old memories. The atmosphere Sain creates is so thick you could cut it with a knife. I could feel the mist creeping through the trees and hear whispers on the wind as I turned each page.

Now, let's talk about Dovie and Lo. These two are like night and day, but their friendship? It's the warm, beating heart of this dark tale. Watching them dig into the mystery of the missing hikers had me holding my breath, especially as the trail led right back to their own pasts. Talk about skeletons in the closet!

And oh, the supernatural elements! Ghosts and a creature called the Howler added layers to the mystery that had me second-guessing every creak and shadow. I found myself constantly wondering what - or who - was really behind the disappearances.

Traipsing through the woods with Dovie and Lo was a thrilling ride from start to finish. The suspense had my heart racing, and the ending? Let's just say it answered my questions in ways I never saw coming.

If you're in the mood for a book that blends the small town drama with the chill of a good mystery, "When The Bones Sing" is your next must-read. Just maybe leave the lights on while you're at it.

Thank you, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Book and NetGalley, for my free book.

Journey into the dark heart of the Ozarks in this chilling and atmospheric Southern Gothic Horror for YA readers. The mystery kept me guessing until the very end, and I couldn’t get enough of the beautiful and selfless love shared by Dovie and Lo.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

As someone from the Ozarks, I was excited to dive into this southern gothic thriller. The eerie setting and supernatural elements pulled me in, and the premise of a girl who can hear the bones of the dead was unique and compelling.

While the book had a gripping atmosphere and a solid mystery, it moved a little slow in some places and wasn’t quite as twisty as I expected. That said, it was still a good read with a haunting, small-town feel that kept me turning the pages. If you enjoy moody, supernatural thrillers with a strong sense of place, this one is worth checking out!

I liked this starting out, but less by the time I get to the end.

The protagonist, Dovie, lives in a remote town in the Ozark mountains, and has a special ability (not magic, as she likes to mention several times) to hear bones singing, which means she’s very good at finding remains in the mountains. Hikers have been going missing for the last three years, and her best friend, Lo, has been haunted by their ghosts. When another hiker goes missing and Dovie starts to experience some eerie events herself, she sets out to figure out what is happening in her town.

I was kind of expecting horror initially with the way the book starts out, but reading the description it’s classed a southern gothic supernatural thriller (so many labels) which does fit but isn’t a genre I read a lot, so that might affect my rating. I liked how it started out, and I thought Dovie’s ability was interesting as well as her insistence on not believing in magic despite it. But that got confusing as the book went on because it became repetitive and I wasn’t sure where it came from. Lo and Dovie’s relationship also started interesting and I was kinda hoping it’d stay close but platonic (against my expectations) but it went down the course you’re expecting so that was a little disappointing and kinda cheapened Dovie’s thoughts at the beginning. Another love interest came up later, but there wasn’t much development with his character or their relationship with Dovie, so it was pretty unbelievable. They’re also kissing at the most bizarre times in the frustrating horror movie way (someone’s trying to kill you! Run now kiss later!).

The mystery also went the way I was expecting, so I didn’t get the surprise, but then the whole explanation I feel like could have been foreshadowed better and I feel like it was an excellent opportunity to address classism/economic status, but it never was. The ending felt abrupt and like there was more that could have been fleshed out and more layers added, so I thought it could be better. The writing was overall atmospheric and nice, but I feel like it could use another edit for typos/grammar issues and a better flow. It also felt like the book couldn’t fully balance the supernatural with the realism, so some of the supernatural elements were kinda random and it never blended in smoothly.

This has potential, as I found the setting fascinating and the ideas interesting, but I think it could have been better.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the eARC!

Wow, i really liked this one! Dark and atmospheric, the book is set in the Ozark mountains, which i knew very little about before reading this. Full of magic, mystery, the supernatural and murder, this book had it all. I've read two other books from Ginny Meyers Sain, but this was by far my favorite.

This book is a combination murder mystery, YA romance and a bit of a fantasy ghost story. I was expecting more ghostly and scary moments with this book. It was a bit tame for my taste. The story was also a sweet romance about young love and of course the ending had the climax of a murder mystery being solved. I think this book will be enjoyed more by fans who prefer YA romance novels.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

Ginny is one of my favorite YA thriller/suspense writers and I am so thankful Penguin sent this over. I loved her first book and was dying to get into this. I thought the premise was super interesting and while a little predictable at times, I still really enjoyed it. I do read a lot of thrillers, so I am kind of used to most of the tricks, but even when I read it over and over I still enjoy it when they're done well and Ginny was able to do that. Dovie was such an interesting main character and I thoroughly enjoyed reading her story. If you're looking for a unique, but good, thriller, I'd recommend this one!

When the Bones Sing follows Dovie, a teen who doesn’t believe in magic or ghosts even though she can hear the bones of the dead sing. The past three years she’s been working with the police to dig up over dozens of bodies of disappeared tourists who come to hike the Ozark mountains. When her best friend returns, he’s haunted as shadows and ghosts follow him everywhere—the murdered hikers. Dovie and Lo work together to uncover the truth before another person is killed.

This was a really fun, gripping story. The concept is so unique and I really loved the premise. It was so cool that Dovie could hear the bones and I really enjoyed the scenes where she went hunting for the murdered hikers. This is very much a southern gothic and the author did a great job with the vibes on this one. It did lean a bit more into the romance than I was expecting, but it was still really enjoyable. I loved the balancing act of if the murderer was a supernatural force or a real person. It was a line that was toed really well. The prose in this was gorgeous as well.

Dovie was a great main character. I really liked her personality and how much she cared for Lo. Their relationship/romance was so deep and sweet. They really felt like two halves that fit together perfectly. I felt so bad for Lo and how haunted he was. Xan was an introduction I was not expecting and while I didn’t love him, it did add some nice tension to the plot. I’m really happy with how the author ended things.

Overall, if you love southern gothics with a supernatural twist, I’d definitely recommend checking this one out.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

*4.5 stars rounded up*

Dovie’s a small town teenager that possesses a unique skill. Some might call it magic, but she doesn’t believe in anything like that - she just knows that whenever hikers go missing from the Ozark mountain trail nearby that she’ll inevitably be the one who unearths them from the dirt.

Ginny Myers Sain has done it again! This is the third book of hers that I’ve read & loved & I hope she never stops writing paranormal YA thrillers with phenomenal settings & layers of romance because I’ll read them all. The way that Dovie’s best friend Lo was raised on a mix of science & religion & hillfolk teachings was fascinating (especially in relation to how it crafted his worldview), & the mysteries layered deep in Lucifer’s Creek, Arkansas had me savoring every page.

Thank you very much to NetGalley & the Penguin Young Readers Group/G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Penguin Group publishing and Net Galley for the ARC copy of this book. I was pleasantly surprised by this book! When I picked it I thought it would be okay, nothing special but this is now one of my probably top 10 thriller books. It has the perfect amount of “paranormal” and just keeps you on the edge of your sit most of the book but doesn’t absolutely terrify you so you can’t sleep. 😂 This book has you trusting no one! At some point in the book I thought everyone was guilty at least once during this read.

This was so good, I love a mountain based novel. I read a lot set in the Appalachian Mountains so the Ozarks were a nice switch! A deep mystery read with hints of supernatural.

I'm such a fan of Ginny Myers Sain's writing. When the Bones Sing is exactly what I want out of one of her books and fit exactly the kind of book I've been in the mood for. Small town mystery, a little claustrophobic, with characters that are believable and interesting. The story felt very grounded in reality, despite its more supernatural elements. I will absolutely be recommending this!

This book honestly took me a while to get through it, but now I'm wishing I had finished it so much sooner!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, but I won't lie, I was pretty apprehensive when I first started reading it. I've never read a gothic supernatural thriller until this one, so this was essentially "new territory" for me. I will say that while it was pretty slow in the beginning, I loved how it had you trying to guess at who could be behind the hiker deaths and disappearances; and it continued to make you think you knew who it was before throwing in a sort of "sike" and then veering off in a different direction. I also simply loved the friendship and chemistry between Dovie and Lo; however, I will say though that I was highly confused when Dovie found herself in a sort of love triangle; it honestly was very confusing, and it felt like it came out of nowhere. But overall, I really enjoyed the book, even if I often found myself saying "I'm confused" lol.

This was the first book I have read by Ginny Myers Sain and after reading this I'm considering looking into more of Sain's other works.

This was a tough one to review but I’d land on a 3.75 stars… Loved our characters and the unique story but the writing and odd placed romance didn’t do it for me.

I loved our main characters and truly started to feel like I knew them and their emotions. Following our main character, Dovie, and her ability to hear bones sing was very interesting and such a unique concept. The setting of this story was also very unique and the descriptions of this town really helped the eerie feel of the story.

Where the store started to lose me was the repetitive writing. For example every time Dovie walked by the creek that ran through the town we were informed she gagged or smelled the horrid smell. Sometimes multiple times a chapter. After a few times it started to pull me out of the story. I also didn’t love the weird romance triangle thing that happened for no reason. It was very oddly placed in an otherwise suspenseful and mysterious novel.

Overall I would be very interested in reading more from this author but this specific book was a bit difficult for me at times.

Thank you to the publisher for the arc through NetGalley! All opinions are my own honest opinions.