The Truce is the third book in the series Ghosts of Ordinary Objects. This series is the tale of Bone, a special girl who has a pretty special gift. When she touches objects, she can see the stories surrounding those objects. But she’s not the only one with special gifts. Both her grandmother and uncle also have gifts, although not the same one.
For a younger age novel, this setting is a bit of a different one and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Set in early 1940’s Virginia coal country, this book tackles topics that would have been prevalent during that era and vicinity. One of the things that really struck me is how the author tackled these subjects, like racism, in a way that was simple and straightforward that even younger readers will be able to grasp and draw their own conclusions from.
While I have not read the first two books in this series, I didn’t feel completely lost in this third novel. That being said, some of the back story about the yellow sweater Bones wears and the incident with her Aunt Mattie would have been helpful to know and readers wanting a good context may want to grab books one and two first before reading this one.
This short novel has a little bit of everything. There is a mystery that needs to be solved. There are ghosts. There are folk stories and family lore. The characters are incredibly down to earth and realistic which makes this book such a joy to read. The language is very simple and I think younger readers will enjoy Bone and her adventures. And while Bone is a girl, I think boys will enjoy the murder mystery full of interesting characters as well.
Overall, this is a good read for the young reader audience and maybe grab the others in the series too!
Review of an Advance Reading Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Boyd’s Mill Press
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 1 religious exclamation; 10 mild obscenities; 1 scatological word.
Violence/Gore: 2 reports of World War I or II battles; 2 recollections of near drowning; report of mine collapse with death; 2 reports of beating due to race; dead body pulled from mine; short war scene with sounds and flashes but minimal detail; 5 playful punches to arm; man hit over head with depiction of blood; slapped with purse; 2 stories of murder with no detail; man hit repeatedly with shovel with minimal detail; woman pushed down. (Violence is all experienced in a second-hand nature when an object is touched)
Sex/Nudity: Kiss to forehead.
Mature Subject Matter:
Racial conflict, death, war, PTSD, child labor, supernatural.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Adult smokes; references to running moonshine.
