Stir of Bones

by Nina Kiriki Hoffman

Book Overview

Fourteen-year-old Susan Backstrom seems to have a charmed life-she's smart and beautiful, the only child of wealthy, attentive parents. But there are secrets inside her expensive house that Susan... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670035513
• ISBN13: 9780670035519
• Release Date: September 2003
• Publisher: Viking Children's Books
• Length: 211 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

A Stir of Bones - A Winner!

My father actually bought this book for my daughter to read. Being a parent to a child who will and does read anything, I took it upon myself to read this book so that I would know what she was reading. Once I started, I couldn't put it down! It was that riveting. I would love to see a follow-up of this book, to know what happens to Susan, Deirdre, Julio, Edmund, and even Trudie as they get older. I would also like to see a measure of justice directed at some of the characters, which is yet another reason that I want to see a sequel. Please, oh, please, continue the story!

These are great for grown ups too!

This prequel to Hoffman's other books is just as juicy and delicious as the others. She can really get inside the adolscent heart and make us bleed for the characters. I don't know why this is listed as adolescent fiction, because it's not. If you love contemporary fantasy these are great books for you. READ THEM!

This memorable story left me longing for more.

Susan, a seventh-grader, has terrible secrets. Her father beats her mother and then blames Susan. He controls Susan, telling her what to wear, what to watch on television, and how to spend every minute of her time. At school, she is a lonely outsider. Her only real friends are the family's housekeeper, Juanita, and Juanita's son, Julio. At the library one day, Susan overhears Julio and his friends plotting to visit the local haunted house, and she invites herself along. There, they meet a ghost named Nathan. Susan is oddly drawn to both Nathan and the house, and she begins to carry one of Nathan's finger bones. Her talisman emboldens her away from the house, and she finds herself able to connect with people a little more easily. Susan finds refuge when Nathan invites each of the visitors to keep a room at the house. She develops relationships with her new acquaintances, both the living and the dead, and spends an unforgettable Halloween night with Nathan --- a mystical evening that makes her supernatural host even more alluring. Many facets of Susan's life gradually become better. However, her home situation does not improve. Susan's unbearable pain plus her attraction to the boy ghost lead her to ponder whether or not she would be better off joining Nathan forever. Susan and Nathan are heartrendingly sympathetic characters. The lyrical writing weaves together a dreamy ghost tale and the harsh realism of Susan's home life, ending on a hopeful note. The fact that there is no easy resolution only adds to the believability. This memorable story left me longing for more, so I was happy to learn that A STIR OF BONES is a stand-alone prequel to two previously published novels, A RED HEART OF MEMORIES and PAST THE SIZE OF DREAMING. --- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)

As awesome as Freak the Mighty

Susan was perfect. She had to be, or her father would make Mother suffer. Once she had a friend, Julio, her housekeeper's son, but Father put an end to that. Now she does a lot of extra-credit reports and listens carefully to the house, so she can tell where everyone is - and when she needs to hide. She's gotten permission to stay away from home every afternoon for a month, doing research on her current project. In the library she overhears Julio and two friends discussing various sites where they can pursue their interests without disturbing anyone or being interrupted. They decide on the local haunted house and Susan is invited to join them. But this House really is haunted. Nathan was about their age when he hung himself in 1918, and when Susan listens to this House, it talks to her. Hoffman has smoothly created unforgettable characters with real issues, some magic, and a forever friendship. A page-turner, with people you don't want to say good-bye to.

What???? Satan???

Nina's writing had a similar feel to Richard Peck's writing, although a little darker in "reality." They both succeed in creating characters that are able to make friends with the odd ones that have crossed over to the other side. As a teen, Richard Peck's ghosts became my friends. Nina's Nathan has that same ability to come off the page and become a friend. Then I see warnings on its Satanic Imagery. No. It has Pagan/Wiccan imagery, and if you have read anything about Wicca, you'll know that one of the basic tenants of Wicca is that what you do to others will come back to you tenfold. So, if you want to use wicca for evil purposes, expect 10 times that evil to befall on you. That aside, the book has a slow start. I almost gave up before I got to the second chapter, but I'm glad I kept with it. The story is not about Wicca. It is about a girl, Susan, who has grown up with a father who is so controlling and abusive that she has come to believe that her body is not her own. She no longer even feels pain. He has successfully isolated her from other people her age, and even all other people except the housekeeper. Then Susan finds a way to sneak out of the house to join others at a "haunted" house. And there, she learns about the power of friendship. This book has achieved a balance of fun, seriousness and mysticism that is rare. Definitely a book worth reading. Unless you feel children shouldn't read A Wrinkle in Time because of Mrs. Who, Mrs. What and Mrs. Which.