My Unpopular Opinion of The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune (book review)

GENRE: Adult Sci-Fi

LENGTH: 381 pages

PLOT

When his life falls apart, Nate retreats to his family's old cabin. He finds it already inhabited by a man, Alex, and a strange young girl, Artemis Darth Vader.

CHARACTERS

There are three main characters in this novel: Nate, Alex, and Artemis Darth Vader ‘Art’. There isn’t one singular antagonist, but rather a few named ones and a larger group of them whose names are unmentioned and unimportant.

The trio’s dynamics reminded me a lot of another of Klune’s books, The House in the Cerulean Sea. Nate is reminiscent of Linus. Nate is lonely and finds an unexpected family in a man and child much like Linus was lonely and found Arthur and the children. Alex reminded me of Arthur in that he was the protective guardian of a magical youth. While I loved the soft romance that developed between Linus and Arthur, I unfortunately can’t say the same for Nate and Alex. Despite their similarities to Linus and Arthur, the chemistry between Nate and Alex was severely lacking. They were bonded by proximity and their mutual fatherly love for Artemis, but I didn’t get the sense that if they’d met in more ordinary circumstances that they would have fallen in love. Art was the glue that held them together, and without her I suspect they’d eventually fall apart.  

As individuals, I liked Alex but Nate not so much. Both had largely sympathetic backstories, but Nate also ruined his own career with his foolish actions. In that way, I didn’t feel for him. Art was really the standout character here. She’s both wise but also childlike. She loves westerns and bacon and is amusing and cheerful. Just like she kept Nate and Alex together, she kept me reading.

I do want to mention one minor character I adored. Ruth was Nate’s old coworker and she had a very motherly personality. I wish we’d gotten more of her!

I’ve read 4 Klune books previous to this one; The House in the Cerulean Sea, its sequel Somewhere Beyond the Sea, Under the Whispering Door, and In the Lives of Puppets. These books may have different plots, but they all share one thing in common: the characters are some of the most well written I’ve ever read. Klune typically SHINES in his character work. So, it’s baffling to me how he wrote ones I failed to connect with.

 

WRITING

The novel is told mostly through Nate’s third person point of view. In addition to found family, the novel also touches on homophobia and grief. TRIGGER WARNING, Nate’s parents die in a murder-suicide perpetrated by his father. Years prior to this, Nate was essentially ousted by his family unit after they found out he is gay. I wish Klune had explored this more. Given Nate’s family backstory, his grief was extremely complicated. How do you grieve for those who were intended to love you unconditionally and yet failed to do so? How do you grieve a parent who committed such a crime as to kill your other parent? These questions are only ever briefly touched on. By not exploring them, Klune did a disservice to Nate’s character and the book itself.

The plot of this novel is predictable and a lot of the time it’s meandering as well. That isn’t to say it isn’t entertaining, though. This is a cozy book, but there are also moments of darkness and tension and crazy action scenes, too.  

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

This review has been kind of brutal, I know. I NEVER imagined I’d have so many negative things to say about a TJ Klune book. While I do my best to be an objective reviewer, I confess my overall rating for this book is probably inflated by my love for Klune’s other works.

If you’re a Klune fan, I still suggest you pick this book up. I am well aware that my opinion on this novel is the unpopular one, as many readers love it just as much as his other books. Believe me, I wish that I did, too. I do like that it’s a genre-bending/crossing novel. It is cozy, sci-fi, and a thriller, and Klune makes all of those work well together.

 

FINAL RATING: 3.5⭐️