#NetGalley #NotEvenBones #MustReadYA2018
I had extremely high expectations for this book after reading several things about it over last several months. I was super exicited to get an E-Arc copy of this book! Not Even Bones is just as great as I thought it would be. It is a very dark story with fascintating creatures. The magic in the book is creepy and gives a great atmosphere to the plot. It is a series so there will be a second book. The plot twists and turns pulling the reader further into the unusal world that Rebecca Schaeffer wields. Don't skip this novel it is amazing!

A gripping and devourable story that gleefully inverts every expectation and deploys gore unflinchingly but with precision. And lurking underneath is a clear-sighted, thinky edge as sharp as Nita's scalpel, asking pointed questions about what exactly makes a monster and who among us can claim the moral high ground. NEXT BOOK, PLZ, I NEED IT.

This was dark and creepy and twisty. At some point you'll think "surely this book won't go there" and surprise! it will go so much further! I'm so glad a book like this exists in the world (or will on September 4th - go preorder it now or request it at your local library, just saying). I pretty much instantly fell in love with the monster girl of my heart, Nita, and I also fell a little bit (or maybe a lot) in love with Kovit. I was captivated from page one and I didn't even take a break - I finished this without once putting it down. It feels a little weird to say this book was a delight, but I had a really great time reading it. I really hope we'll be getting more stories in this world (I'm pretty sure we are but if we aren't, MAKE IT HAPPEN)!

Wow, this book… it was deliciously dark. Schaeffer brings readers into a tantalizing world where supernatural beings called unnaturals roam the earth and are mistrusted by the rest of the humans. Some of them are benign, such as fluffy dacts that are kept as pets, while some are dangerous, such as unicorns that suck the souls of virgins or kappas that eat human organs. Our main character, Nita, was raised by a mother that hunts down these terrifying unnaturals, leaving her to dissect them and sell on the black market. It’s kind of a family business, until Nita gets into trouble. From then on, the plot begins as she descends into a dark path where rules are loosened and morals painted gray.

Nita loves dissecting. Some people like to run off their stress, some people listen to rain. Nita dissects as a stress-relief. It’s her passion and future. And so far, it’s worked to the advantage of the family business. While Nita’s mother brings back dangerous unnaturals to dissect and sell on the black market, she dreams of going to college and becoming a biology researcher. However, one day her mother brings back a boy who looks so normal and harmful. Nita can’t stand the thought of dissecting him WHILE ALIVE, and thus saves him by helping him run away. This doesn’t sit well with Nita’s mom, and Nita feels the full force of her punishment when she finds herself drugged and stolen to the Death Market in the jungles along the Amazon River.

This book travels along Latin America, as the settings we see are where the authorities cannot take down the black market. Nita’s straightforward narrative is grim, morbid, but also realistic. Money makes the world go round, and that’s how these black market dealers in the unnaturals can hold both authorities and politicians in their sway. While Nita is imprisoned to be sold at the Death Market, she meets various characters that she doesn’t know if she can trust. One of these is Kovit, who may become either an unlikely ally or solid enemy. He’s a zanny, a sadistic unnatural from Thailand whose species takes pleasure in other people’s pain. While he’s a guard, Nita’s own ability to be able to control her bodily functions both makes her a prime target in the market, as well as her biggest protection.

It FEELS like Nita goes nowhere in this book, as the majority takes place in the Death Market, but a lot of character introspection is going on. Nita pushes the boundaries of her morals as she becomes judge, jury, and executioner. However, this is all for the sake of survival. But does that make it right? There’s also an interesting partnership that MAY be a love interest. It is SO slight, SO new with trust that I can’t even say it’s that. Either way, I really enjoyed the progression of this particular relationship and can’t wait to see where it goes in the sequel. It has, simply, a beautiful and realistic progression.

If you haven’t figured out from the title, NOT EVEN BONES is extremely dark. The atmosphere is reminiscent of Dexter or Hannibal. It’s grisly and does NOT shy away from the details of torture and other macabre acts. I really want to caution readers coming into it, and take note of the trigger/content warnings I’m adding at the end of this review. It’s definitely not for the faint-hearted, and the morally gray characters don’t come out of nowhere - a lot of gruesome activities take place in their lives that push them to where they are.

The author mentioned how she wrote this book for the people who are fascinated with villains on-screen, and I really think those readers will REALLY enjoy it. It’s honestly hard to write anti-herxs who you can’t help but root for, but Schaeffer does this wonderfully. Readers follow Nita every step of the way as she begins her dark descent, and I for one am ALL FOR IT. *cheers forever for anti-herxs in YA* Also, can’t miss the opportunity to point out Nita’s criticism or colonialism and the conquistadors of history that basically ruined the land. This is a gal after my own heart.

Step aside, goody-two shoes heroines of Young Adult supernatural stories. We got a new girl in town who finds solace in holding organs and is ready to get pushed to her limits. Nita is an amazing character who struggles with holding rules for her morals. She makes unlikely friendships in the midst of horror and tragedy, all while planning a brilliant escape from her own demise. While NOT EVEN BONES is steeped with blood - of enemies and allies alike - the grisly atmosphere makes it all the more tantalizing. I think the only other time I’ve encountered such an easy-to-root-for anti-heroine in a dark setting is in CRACKED by Eliza Crewe, which I also recommend. There is a dearth of supernatural beings in YA (excluding the numerous paranormal romances out there), and NOT EVEN BONES fills that gap with solid action, beings from all around the world, and a heroine whose growing ambition amps up with every threat. Definitely recommended for readers seeking a refreshing storyline in Young Adult, as well as significant character growth. And oomf - beware that cliffhanger!

Content/Trigger Warnings: sadism, dissections, mention of suicide, deaths, gore, murder, cannibalism, detailed descriptions of torture, LOTS of blood and mutilation

She listens to a disney playlist as she dissects bodies!

Okay, when I first heard about this book, I knew that I had to get my hands on it. Nita comes from a family that sells supernatural beings on the black market. Her mother hunts them down and Nita dissects them. She’s always been okay with this set up. Her whole idea of if she didn’t see it then she couldn’t help, being what kept her guilt free for the last couple of years. Until her mother brings home someone who is still very much alive and Nita can’t do it. Then to make matters worse, she ends up on the black market herself to be sold.

I wanted to take my time reading this book. I love this new thing of having characters who aren’t really ‘good’. They are morally gray and I’m living for them. Nita tries so hard to find reasons as to why things are okay to do and why some things aren’t and they are so messed up, that I love it. The writing feels so effortless to me, which made my whole plan to read this slowly fly out the window. Within a day, I was slowly creeping up towards that halfway mark because I didn’t want to do anything else except read this book.

This is dark, like really dark. Characters morals are questioned every second, especially Nita’s and I loved every moment of it. The descriptions in this book made me shudder because it was gross, and then made me smile like some sort of psychopath because whenever she thought about being able to cut into bodies just seemed to make up for all the horror she was going through. Fight horror with horror right? I can’t properly explain why I loved this book so much, other than the fact that I obviously like dark, gruesome things (especially when it comes to young girls doing them and defying what society thinks of them).

I wasn’t expecting the twist for this story. It became so much bigger than what I thought and then it ended in a cliff hanger and I don't even know what to do with myself anymore.