By These Ten Bones

Publishers Weekly

This spine-tingling tale by the author of the Hollow Kingdom trilogy features a plucky heroine, a stranger with a dark secret and an angry mob. War has diminished the field of eligible bachelors in Maddie's medieval Scottish village, so when a handsome and talented young woodcarver comes to town as sidekick to a peddler, she's instantly interested. No sooner than he arrives, though, strange things start happening. Maddie fends off a menacing creature during the full moon, the young man is grievously attacked by something with sharp claws and a baby is born with "the mouth of a beast," and soon dies. The superstitious villagers have various suspects-the folkloric Water Horse; a vicious creature who lives in the loch; Lady Mary, the cronish lone inhabitant of the ramshackle castle; and finally, the carver's peddler friend, Ned, who has a taste for drink and a sharp tongue. Ned's murder (and subsequent decapitation) adds a gruesome element to this Beauty and the Beast variant. Maddie knows the identity of the real culprit, and must be willing to risk her life to end its threat. Her devotion to the carver, who is nearly mute and devoid of personality, isn't convincingly established, and the title-an allusion to the fingers of two hands-is also a bit of a stretch. Nonetheless, Dunkle creates a menacing atmosphere for this chillingly good tale. Readers will cheer Maddie on as she wrestles-and conquers-her deepest fears. Ages 12-up. (May) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

A mysterious young wood carver and his unseemly drunken employer have arrived in Maddie's small Scottish town. The girl is drawn to the silent, artistic man and his beautiful handicrafts. Circumstances compel Paul to stay in the village longer than he intended, and Maddie takes advantage of the time to win his trust. She learns that his name is Paul, and she learns some about his travels, but she knows there is something major that he is hiding from her. What is this sudden, strange illness which comes upon him? Why does he move around so much? What does he need from the man who came to town with him? As time goes on, Maddie comes to know his secret. But what she will do with that knowledge, and what it will mean for her, her family, and her village? Clare Dunkle's novel is set in a time of strong superstition. The violence of Paul's secret is, in many ways, more empathy-rending and less disturbing than the violence of some power-hungry townspeople. This story is disturbing, but its conclusion is satisfying. 2005, Henry Holt, Ages 12 to 16.
—Heidi Hauser Green

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-Maddie lives in a feudal Scottish village with a nearly abandoned castle by a loch. After an itinerant old man, Ned, accompanied by a mute woodcarving boy, stops to trade for a time, her nightmares of bones and ruin are soon followed by a mysterious attack on the boy, Paul, who is found bleeding, raked by claws, and feverish. The villagers attribute the attack to the Water Horse, which is believed to rise from the loch to wreak havoc periodically. Maddie eventually pierces Paul's silence, which is voluntary, and his secret, which is not. Paul is a werewolf, chained on nights of a full moon in remote locations by Ned to keep him "safe" from himself and others. Ned is executed, but not before revealing to Maddie that the only cure for Paul is for a willing victim to be killed-eaten alive. Maddie knows what she has to do and crawls to Paul, transforming and slavering in his cave, only to awaken at home in her bed, finding that both she and Paul have survived and will live happily ever after. The moody setting lends a romantic and mysterious air, as does the cover art and the age-old theme of self-sacrifice, which will appeal to fans of the genre. If the plot seems unnecessarily convoluted, the integration of historical details of medieval village life and beliefs provides interest. Fans of Patrick Jennings's The Wolving Time (Scholastic, 2003) will likely enjoy this one, too.-Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Junior High School, Iowa City, IA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Just as in the old ballads, true love defeats horror when magic strikes a Scottish village. The handsome traveling woodcarver who's come to her tiny community fascinates Maddie. The village's belligerent leader, Black Ewan, shanghais the carver's drunken companion to help with the harvest and Maddie is pleased that he and his friend will be around for a while. But that very night, a ferocious beast attacks the village, and the carver is found bleeding and feverish. The villagers think the carver heroically fought off a monster, but Maddie suspects the more sinister truth: The handsome and likable youth is afflicted with a terrible curse. The only cure, the dismayed girl learns, is almost more dreadful than the disease. The archetypal romance and blend of Christianity with paganism fits well among these lovingly described medieval Scots. The carver, less fawningly described than the heroes of Dunkle's previous books, is correspondingly a richer and more compelling character, and Maddie's initiative is endearing. (Fantasy. 12-14)

From the Publisher

“Dunkle creates a menacing atmosphere for this chillingly good tale. Readers will cheer Maddie on as she wrestles—and conquers—her deepest fears.”—Publishers Weekly
“Readers with a taste for fantasy rooted in folklore and history, and a stomach for grisly horror, will happily roam the mist-shrouded Highlands of Dunkle’s latest creation.”—Booklist A Bank Street Best Book A NY Public Library Book for the Teen Age