The Bones Beneath My Skin
TJ Klune
2025, Tor Books
Classified Under: Hurts So Good, Don’t Drink the Kool-Aid, Roadtrip!
To me, it is an unspoken part of the western capitalist human experience to turn away from the things in our lives that make us feel bad. We don’t allow ourselves often to sit with negative emotions. To be sad is to be unproductive. Anecdotally, when talking to some friends about this recently I started to think maybe this reaction is from an assumption that these emotions are paralyzing. The day-to-day heartbreak of our own lives is something we must get over lest we tumble into despair. That man that left you for someone else? Forget about him. That job promotion you were passed over for? They made a mistake and you are better than whoever they hired. When it comes to heartbreak we are told to look away as fast as possible. The Bones Beneath My Skin shows us the beauty of lingering in heartbreak. Or more, it shows us that to be human is to hurt, to break is to change, and when you love truly and love deeply it will eventually hurt in some way. TJ Klune reminds us that while joy and love are valuable to life they are not without an opposing force that makes them sweeter.
The Bones Beneath My Skin is the story of Nate, Alex, and Artemis. Nate has just lost his estranged parents tragically and returns to their family cabin bequeathed to him. This trip is not for the sake of old times but to start over after also losing his job. His plans are foiled when Alex and Artemis are thrust into the middle of them. Alex is a reserved macho type who is the caretaker for the weird and wonderful Artemis Darth Vader. Alex and Artemis have taken up residence in Nate’s cabin and now his solitary cabin life has become a bit more domestic. Sorting this odd situation within odd situations out leads these three on the adventure of a lifetime.
There are so many things I think Klune fans will find familiar in this book. Our main characters are fleshed (pun intended) out so well. I feel that often, for me, a really good character is shaped by their quirks: Those odd little things you learn about a person that endear you to them over time. Klune is the master of quirks and thus his characters come to life. Where Klune fans will also find familiarity is in the hook. The pacing that gets the reader more and more invested is so well done. No mid-book slump, no lack of investment because the plot was too obvious. I was pulled in by the characters and hijinks and didn’t let go until the last word. I think for fans of Klune’s previous books, however, this book will feel unique. It’s darker, sadder, weirder, and just plain wonderful. For old and new fans alike I think that they will find lots to glom onto.
I was enamored by The Bones Beneath My Skin. This funky story starts off with a sort of mundane guy who has to deal with something weird and derails hard. In that derailment, I was bamboozled into falling hard for this trio. That weakness, on my part, was rewarded by the loveliest ride of emotions. I rarely leave a Klune book with dry eyes and this was no exception. This book reminded me that life is so very precious and that even when an inevitable heartbreak happens, and when it hurts so very bad, that it is the result of having loved something or someone deeply. This book is an invitation to wallow in the human ability to love and all the mess that comes with it. If you see this invitation I suggest you take it!
Recommended Reads
- Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
- Boy Erased: A Memoir by Garrard Conley
- The Road to Roswell by Connie Willis
M.J. Woods M.J. is a lifelong writer and reader of the speculative as well as Editor in Chief at the Kismet Magazine. He is also a library worker, bookseller (at Morgenstern Books), and an armchair folklorist. His writing is speculative, fantastical and whimsical in nature, and centers on themes of family, food, Appalachia, queerness, belonging, and nostalgia. M.J. calls Bloomington, Indiana, home with his two cats.
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