Every Bone a Prayer Ashley Blooms2020

The Lovely Bones meets Where the Crawdads Sing in this remarkable, magical debut set in Appalachia.

Recommended by Bustle, Buzzfeed, and more, and praised by Dorothy Allison, Kiese Laymon, Kim Michele Richardson, Alix E. Harrow, Kat Howard, Sam J. Miller, Silas House, and others!

In her rural Appalachian holler, ten-year-old Misty's closest friends are the crawdads. Misty can speak to them, to the birds, to the creek, to everything outside, and she understands how they think. She knows that if she could just speak to her parents in the same way, she could stop all the fighting. But it's too hard.

Strange things start to happen in the holler. When her friend William takes their friendship too far, Misty's need to connect is greater than ever, but it's hard to talk about what you don't understand. This is the story of one tough-as-nails girl whose choices are few but whose imagination is boundless, as her coping becomes a battle cry for everyone around her—a beautifully honest exploration of healing and hope.