I received this book at no cost from the publisher
The Cold Is in Her Bones by Peternelle van ArsdaleISBN: 1481488449
Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books on January 22, 2019
Genres: Legends, Myths, Fables, Young Adult
Pages: 288
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
Age Range: 12 and up
Grade Level: 7 – 9
Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (January 22, 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1481488449
ISBN-13: 978-1481488440
Praise for THE COLD IS IN HER BONES
“A dark and enchanting tale about friendship, pain, revenge, and the power of love, The Cold Is in Her Bones is the perfect read for Greek mythology fans and YA readers alike.” ―Bustle
“Fiercely written and beautifully feminist, The Cold is in Her Bones reminds us of the power of loyalty and love in the face of ignorance and fear. I loved this tale of dangerous girls with wild hair and tangled hearts.” ―Lisa Maxwell, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Magician
“A fresh, eerily compelling tale of betrayal, revenge, and the ties that bind. When van Arsdale paints a world, you can feel the fog against your skin.” ―Elly Blake, New York Times bestselling author of The Frostblood Saga
One girl must uncover secrets of the past to save her friend from a terrible curse in this dark and mesmerizing story of love, revenge, and redemption inspired by the myth of Medusa.
Milla knows two things to be true: Demons are real, and fear will keep her safe.
Milla’s whole world is her family’s farm. She is never allowed to travel to the village and her only friend is her beloved older brother, Niklas. When a bright-eyed girl named Iris comes to stay, Milla hopes her loneliness might finally be coming to an end. But Iris has a secret she’s forbidden to share: The village is cursed by a demon who possesses girls at random, and the townspeople live in terror of who it will come for next.
Now, it seems, the demon has come for Iris. When Iris is captured and imprisoned with other possessed girls, Milla leaves home to rescue her and break the curse forever. Her only company on the journey is a terrible new secret of her own: Milla is changing, too, and may soon be a demon herself.
Suspenseful and vividly imagined, The Cold Is in Her Bones is a novel about the dark, reverberating power of pain, the yearning to be seen and understood, and the fragile optimism of love.
Milla is secluded away on her family’s farm and only has her brother, Niklas as a friend, so when Iris comes to stay with her grandparents, she might finally have a friend. As the two girls become closer, they discover that a darkness is possessing the other girls in their community. Milla knows demons are reals and when she recognizes changes in herself, her fears might be realized. Her parents seem to treat her with disdain and she feels she is disappointing everyone.
I love retellings of mythology and especially Greek! Van Arsdale remakes the story of Medusa into a modern feminist story about what every teen experiences and should really appeal to adults as well as young adults. The emotions of Milla as she finds herself secluded and lonely, the joy at having someone she can confide in with Iris and her growing independence touches on what makes someone mature and take their own fate in their hands. The storytelling is brilliant and captivating. I can see this appealing to so many different people.
P.S. – This book is creepy but in the best way possible.
Peternelle van Arsdalegrew up in Newark, New Jersey, where she attended public school through the eighth grade. After that she attended three high schools in three different towns in four years, was deeply unpopular, and counted the seconds until graduation. She majored in English literature at Bryn Mawr College, and then landed in book publishing, thinking it was a good way to be paid to do what she liked to do anyway (she was only partly wrong). She worked her way up from editorial assistant to executive editor of adult fiction and nonfiction, and eventually struck out on her own as an independent editor.
Her first young adult novel, The Beast Is an Animal, is being developed by Amazon Studios for a feature film produced by Ridley Scott’s Scott Free and directed by Bert & Bertie. Her essays have been published by LitHub, Hypable.com, and Culturefly, and her short fiction has been published by The Whitefish Review.Her second novel, The Cold is in Her Bones , will be published in January 2019. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she continues to edit and is at work on her third novel.
- What is on your nightstand?
THE FIFTH SEASON by N.K. Jemisin, which is so imaginative and enthralling.
- What author would you totally fan?
I would be reduced to a quivering mass if I were ever to meet Philip Pullman.
- What makes you cringe?
Forgetting people’s names. I have a little social anxiety that kicks in when I meet people for the first time and that can make it difficult to then recall names when I meet the person again. I work really hard on staying focused in the moment but sometimes I flub and I’m mortified every time.
- Do you obsessively plot out each point or just go with the flow?
I go with the flow for the most part—though I always have an overarching sense of the story and where it’s headed and where I want my protagonist to be at the end. It’s always been a mistake when I try to nail things down too firmly.
- Is there a word you love to use?
So. I use that word so so much.
WEEK ONE
JANUARY 22nd TUESDAY The Avid Reader EXCERPT
JANUARY 23rd WEDNESDAY BookHounds YA REVIEW & INTERVIEW
JANUARY 23rd WEDNESDAY Booknerdchelcie REVIEW
JANUARY 24th THURSDAY Bibliobibuli YA INTERVIEW
JANUARY 24th THURSDAY Sabrina’s Paranormal Palace REVIEW
JANUARY 25th FRIDAY Wishful Endings REVIEW
JANUARY 25th FRIDAY Book Birds INTERVIEW
JANUARY 26th SATURDAY Casia’s Corner REVIEW
JANUARY 26th SATURDAY Introvert Booklover EXCERPT
WEEK TWO
JANUARY 27th SUNDAY Nay’s Pink Bookshelf REVIEW
JANUARY 27th SUNDAY RhythmicBooktrovert REVIEW
JANUARY 28th MONDAY Here’s to Happy Endings REVIEW
JANUARY 28th MONDAY Bri’s Book Nook REVIEW
JANUARY 29th TUESDAY JeanBookNerd GUEST POST
JANUARY 29th TUESDAY Such a Novel Idea REVIEW & PLAYLIST
JANUARY 30th WEDNESDAY Ohana Reads REVIEW & EXCERPT
JANUARY 30th WEDNESDAY Tween 2 Teen Book Reviews REVIEW & TENS LIST
JANUARY 31st THURSDAY A Dream Within A Dream REVIEW & EXCERPT
JANUARY 31st THURSDAY Vicky Who Reads REVIEW & TENS LIST
