Review of Blues Bones

Blues Bones
Written by Rick Starkey
Ages: 8 -  12
Grade level: 3 – 7

I love this book! It could be because I joined a Sevierville critique group with Rick and his sister, Ann, but it’s not. It’s simply well written! When I sub, I bring along autographed books. When I show Blues Bones to middle graders, especially boys, they pick it up. They even write down Rick’s name so they can find this book later.
 
In Blues Bones, Rodney plays in front of his classmates for the first time. He freezes and becomes the school joke. Somehow Rodney and his best friend meet a famous guitarist with voodoo connections. The boys put together a spell with a few ingredients and a “real finger bone,” but they wind up with more problems than stage fright. Debbie Dady, another member of the Sevierville critique group, added this quote to the cover, “Readers will worry about Rodney as he plays with Voodoo. Love the twist at the end!”
 
I did too! And, I want to know what happens to Rodney after the book’s over. The sequel’s written, but it’s waiting on his publisher. I hope they print it. Readers, like me, are ready for more from Rodney and Blues Bones!

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The first picture is Rick and I at the Nashville SCBWI conference. Did you know Rick is also a magician and a musician? He’s multi-talented!

The skull alphabet book is a clue to my next blog. Can you guess what’s in it?