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A change in setting halfway through this ambitious novel by the respected author of Continental Drift and Affliction diminishes its effectiveness to a certain degree. The first half, a starkly realistic, powerful portrait of a troubled adolescent whose life has spiraled out of control, packs a visceral punch. Flunking out of school and already hooked on drugs, the 14-year-old narrator, secretly molested by his stepfather, emotionally abandoned by his weak mother, leaves his mobile home in the depressed upstate New York community of Au Sable and becomes a homeless mall rat. In a burst of bravado, he acquires a crossed bones tattoo, changes his name from Chappie to Bone, and attempts to find some focus in his dead-end existence. Convinced that he is destined for a criminal career, Bone vents his anger in acts of senseless destruction. His vulnerability and his need for love and direction are fused when he and a seven-year-old waif he has rescued from a pedophile take refuge in an abandoned schoolbus with an illegal alien from Jamaica called I-Man, whose Rastafarian wisdom and gentle demeanor are fed by liberal consumption of marijuana, which he deals. It is when Bone follows I-Man to Jamaica that the narrative falters. Though the drug-permeated Jamaican milieu is portrayed with impressive authenticity, the improbability of Bone's macabre adventures there frays the plot's credibility. The novel's strengths-Bone's cool, wisecracking voice and colloquial speech, the details of an adolescent's culture-are diluted by its excesses-too many descriptions of marijuana highs, too many coincidences. Yet one finishes the book with indelible sympathy for tough-guy Bone, touched by his loneliness, fear and desperation, and having absorbed Banks's message: that (as he said recently), society's failure to save its children is "the main unrecognized tragedy of our time." 100,000 first printing; $15,000 ad/promo; author tour. Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From School Library Journal YA?Banks is that rarest of beasts, a writer with daring, skill, and heart. His latest book is equally rare?an adult novel about 14-year-old Bone, told from his perspective with corresponding jargon and without ridicule. From the first page, YAs will be captivated?"Anyhow, my life got interesting you might say the summer I turned fourteen and was heavy into weed but I didn't have any money to buy it with so I started looking around the house all the time for things I could sell but there wasn't... read more --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Book Description When we first meet him, Chappie is a punked-out teenager living with his mother and abusive stepfather in an upstate New York trailer park. During this time, he slips into drugs and petty crime. Rejected by his parents, out of school and in trouble with the police, he claims for himself a new identity as a permanent outsider; he gets a crossed-bones tattoo on his arm, and takes the name "Bone." He finds dangerous refuge with a group of biker-thieves, and then hides in the boarded-up summer house of a professor and his wife.He finally settles in an abandoned schoolbus with Rose, a child he rescues from a fast-talking pedophile. There Bone meets I-Man, an exiled Rastafarian, and together they begin a second adventure that takes the reader from Middle America to the ganja-growing mountains of Jamaica. It is an amazing journey of self-discovery through a world of magic, violence, betrayal and redemption. See all editorial reviews... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spotlight Reviews (What's this?) Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers. 5 of 6 people found the following review helpful: Rule of the Bone, May 21, 2000 Reviewer: Flavio Gallo from Mill Valley, CA Rule of the Bone by Russell Banks is a novel about a teen's adventure into life. This book will go into detail about a teen who experiences life as a true adventure. The main character and some other characters, will go through situations that most adults have never and will never go through in their lifetime. The honesty of the writing will certainly leave some people with their mouth wide open in a state of amazement and shock. I have read Rule of the Bone, and on a scale of 1-10 I, personally give it a 6. I agree that for such a popular book it is lower then expected but once you read the book and see my reasons you might agree with me. I enjoyed the book in the beginning because it was as if the book was exciting and fun to read. The sense of excitement kept me turning the pages therefor it wasn't hard to get into the book. Although I would have preferred a dull beginning (in this case) and an intense middle and ending but, unfortunately it was the opposite. As you will read the first few pages you will see that you might have to go back and read something over. This is due to the long sentences which are used throughout the whole book. These long sentences provide the reader with some difficulty and takes away from the pleasure of reading. The books language and vocabulary contains slang and some detailed scenes that might disturb and even disgust the reader.