Ten-year-old Misty has always had a special connection with the world—an empathic ability that allows her to speak to the crawdads in her creek, to the barn, and to almost everything around her. Except her family. Misty hopes to find a way to speak to them, too, and this need grows even stronger when her parents separate and strange things begin to happen. A statue grows in her landlord’s yard and secrets from his past are brought back into the present; her mother becomes obsessed with a green light that appears suddenly in their home but seemingly has no source; and when her neighbor, William, takes their friendship too far, Misty’s need to connect with the people around her becomes greater than ever.
A Gaiman-esque cross between The Lovely Bones and Where the Crawdads Sing, written by a survivor of sexual abuse, this is a beautifully honest exploration of healing and of hope.
* * * Note: trigger warnings for the novel can be found here. * * *
Praise for Every Bone a Prayer
“I have loved Every Bone a Prayer since I saw an early draft years ago, loved Misty, her family, her secret talents, and the way she sees the world around her from the crayfish in muddy water to the ghostly trees she runs past in the night, to the trailer park where she and her family barely survive. This is a book and a writer I highly recommend.”
— Dorothy Allison, author of Bastard out of Carolina
“This is the kind of book we need to set literary expectations for a new decade. It’s so textured, so layered with love and so wonderfully terrifying, intimate and magical.”
— Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir
“Every Bone a Prayer is beautifully written and absolutely harrowing from first page to last. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever read before, and you will be mesmerized by it. Misty is among the most endearing characters I’ve met on the written page in a long while and I won’t forget her anytime soon. This haunting debut announces the arrival of one of the most original and exciting new voices in literature.”
— Silas House, author of Clay’s Quilt and Southernmost
“Haunting and healing, Every Bone A Prayer is a powerful debut that will leave its mark on readers’ hearts.”
— Kim Michele Richardson, author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek
“An essential novel, timely, composed with such care and lyricism that it took my breath away more than once. You will fall in love with Misty, and your heart will break. But with the patience and care of a crawdad creating its burrow, Ashley Blooms will heal your hurt and you will never forget this book.”
— Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
“Ashley Blooms sings in an authentic mountain voice that reminds me of another great coal-country elegist: Whatever the family Bible may record, she and Hazel Dickens are surely the closest of kin. Like a hawk over a hollow, Blooms both soars and sees all.”
— Andy Duncan, author of Agent of Utopia
“There’s magic in this book – and pain, and beauty, and horror – but the magic is what will keep you glued to the page, and have your heart singing the whole way.”
— Sam J. Miller, Nebula-Award-winning author of Blackfish City
“Ashley Blooms’s debut novel, Every Bone a Prayer, is a brilliant and powerful book. Misty’s story is full of magic and heartbreak, sorrow and strength. This is a vital story, beautifully written, and one I highly recommend.”
— Kat Howard, Alex Award-winning author of An Unkindness of Magician
“Searing and soothing, honest and elusive, Every Bone a Prayer is a gift. It’s the pure truth, told slant.”
— Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January
“I couldn’t stop reading Ashley Bloom’s raw-boned language that carried me on young Misty’s journey. While the weight on her skin threatened to take her under, the current of hope had me rooting for Misty to rise up. I can’t wait to see this book shoot into the stratosphere.”
— Leah Weiss, author of If the Creek Don’t Rise