BONE GAP by Laura Ruby. Balzer and Bray: an imprint of HarperCollins Children's Publishing, 2015. 368p. ISBN 978-0062317605 hc. $17.99  Gr. 9-12  YA FIC

          BONE GAP begins as realistic fiction with the very human story of 14 year-old Finn, who daydreams, gets into fights but doesn't fight back, and sees people in a different way.  He notices their shape and movement more than their faces, but in the small community of Bone Gap, he knows who everyone is.  His older brother Sean is big and strong and does everything right, and he takes care of Finn.  It's the two of them against the world.  Their lives change overnight when the most beautiful woman in the world is found in the barn.  Her name is Rosza, she is a great cook, and she makes the brothers happy.  As quickly as she came, she leaves -taken by a man that Finn cannot describe, even though he saw Rosza get into his car and disappear down the road.  There are several mysteries taking place at the same time, eventually unraveled through the separate narratives of Finn and Rosza.

          At some point, the story transforms into surreal fantasy, paralleling the Greek myth of Demeter and Persephone, who was captured (kidnapped) by Hades and taken to the Underworld, just like Rosza was kidnapped and hidden from sight. Finn is fearless in his quest to find Rosza and becomes the hero of the story.  There are several allusions to the myth beginning about halfway through the story such as the superhuman strength and persona of the kidnapper.  References to the pomegranate seeds that Persephone ate, resulting in six months above the ground and six months below, are found in Rosza's cookie recipe with an especially delicious pomegranate filling, and her inner struggle to stay connected to her grandmother in Poland, while, at the same time, wanting to start a new life in the U.S. with Finn and Sean.  This is a story about perspective - inner beauty versus  physical beauty and the value of acceptance for each individual viewing the world from a slightly different viewpoint. 
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI