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Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward
Literary fiction

Salvage the Bones

by Jesmyn Ward

Quick take

The award-winning story of a young girl and her brothers, who band together to survive a deadly hurricane nearing their small Mississippi town.

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Synopsis

They heard it on the radio: A hurricane is coming, threatening the town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi. Esch's hard-drinking father can feel it in his bones. Esch and her brothers are trying to help prepare, but there are other worries, too. Skeetah is watching his prized pit bull, helpless as her new litter dies one by one. Randall, when not preoccupied with basketball, is busy looking after the youngest, junior. And Esch, fifteen and motherless among men, has just realized that she's pregnant. The children of this family have always been short on nurture, but they are fiercely loyal to one another. It is together that they will face the building storm—and the day that will dawn after.

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Member ratings (1,231)

  • Sara P.

    Cincinnati , OH

    Prose is AWESOME-love the metaphors- I could FEEL them. She expresses the love btwn a boy & dog better than anything I’ve read & my heart broke - for victims of Katrina, climate change, inequality etc

  • Elizabeth C.

    Cumberland, VA

    This is a novel about Hurricane Katrina, and it will make you cry. It’s thought provoking, beautifully written, and will stay with you long after you read the final page. I cannot recommend it enough.

  • Bonnie H.

    Waco, TX

    This book really brought to light the differences in some peoples lives to those who have the comforts they take for granted. This made me cry , laugh, and stand beside the protaganists & her brothers

  • Amanda W.

    Harvest, AL

    I purchased this book based on the summary and the cover of the book is gorgeous. I really felt like I was physically there in the throws of life with the characters of this book. Beautifully written.

  • Benita B.

    Denver, CO

    Ms. Ward takes the reader on a journey through one of the most catastrophic weather event in our present day history while weaving the story of a loving family trying to make it another day.........