Title: The Bone Houses
Author: Emily Lloyd-Jones
Pages: 335 (hardcover)
Point of View: 3rd person (Ryn and Ellis)
Genres: YA Fantasy, Horror
Installment: stand-alone
After the disappearance of their father and the death of their mother, Ryn and her siblings are on their own. As the oldest of three, Ryn has taken on her father’s occupation as a gravedigger in the small village of Colbren they live in. However, as the dead don’t seem to stay buried since they turn into so-called bone houses-rotten corpses or skeletons which traverse the forest after magic was spilled long ago-the people in the village who believe in magic prefer to incinerate their loved ones. This makes earning a living for her family everything but easy for Ryn. Then comes along Ellis, a mapmaker’s apprentice, dressed in fine clothing and looking for a guide to take him to the mountains under the guise of creating a map. However, Ellis might have more secrets than he lets on, maybe more than he even knows.