Nie czytając blurba byłam zaskoczona już w 1/3 treści, później zadawałam sobie pytanie jak to wszystko może się skończyć. Together they cross the city underground, following clues in bones up to the towers of Siena, where - circled by magpies - the children find the terrible truth . Having read both Kiran Millwood Hargrave’s adult and YA fiction, I actually think that this curious little tale is my favourite although I would have liked to have learnt a little more about the wider world in which the story was set. It’s not my favourite book by the author, The Deathless Girls and The Island at the End of Everything hold those places but for different reasons. I can always get lost in Kiran’s books and forget the world around me, something that was very needed at the time I read this book.

When I'm not reading, I also like knitting, crafty things, baking, eating, walking, taking photos, watching traumatising medical dramas and nurturing a close relationship with my sofa and blankets.They live in historical Siena at a time when the plague has ravaged their town and there is no cure for those affected. There's one evil person behind it and I was shocked at the reveal, but what a fantastic reveal it was. Before she leaves for the town, she gifts her daughter a beautiful bone necklace, telling her that it is important and she must keep it safe. Podczas gdy "Dziewcyznka z atramentu i gwiazd" wabiła piękną oprawą graficzną i tematyką kartografii, "Wyspa na końcu świata" poruszała bardzo trudny temat i opowiadała o losach ludzi zarażonych trądem i zesłanych na odizolowaną wyspę, o tyle "Sofia, dziewczyna z kościanego domu" opowiada historię córki rzeźbiarki z kości, która wciąga już od pierwszych stron. Hargrave's fantastical world of bone magic and avian 'familiars' is fascinating, and the plot is fast-paced and mysterious; it consistently turns in unexpected directions, and the allure of discovering the book's magical secrets had me truly gripped.

If you think pet crows, bone houses, underground tunnels, scary orphanages, clever children, brave girls and beautiful writing sound like a good time (and honestly, how could they not? Niespodziewanie dostaje pilne zlecenie od tajemniczej postaci, której Sofia nie zna, i choć doskonale wie, że jej mama nie chce się go podjąć, to ku jej zdumieniu robi to. If you’ve not read any of Kiran Millwood Hargrave books before this is a good introduction to her writing but you really won’t be disappointed by any of her books. Posiadają wciągającą akcje, są napisane prostym językiem i przede wszystkim możemy nauczyć się sporo od bohaterów książki. It's seen as a very niche and unique talent, but we only see the end results of some of her work and never the crafting.

She has crafted the entire house they live in (side note, I will also take one of these houses, thank you), and is working on a series of boxes for the Duchessa, and she is due to deliver the last of these on Sofia’s birthday. However, they both start to suspect all is not what it seems when children from the orphanage start to disappear through the night. Momentami przeżyjecie niezły rollercoaster emocjonalny i taki, że będziesz chciał/ła krzyczeć „Nie idź tam” „Zostaw to” itp. This reminded me so much of reading The House with Chicken Legs, with the story focusing on bone builders.

They're only worry is their mother, Renata, who spends her days shut up in her workhouse manipulating bones into beautiful creations for the Duchessa. It is filled with beautiful messages and hope that the next generation will do much better than the one that came before it. I was almost at the end before I knew it and never felt like anything was missing from the adventures. Kiran Millwood Hargrave has established a reputation for creating imaginative novels for a KS2 audience – or younger teens. Sofia and her little brother Ermin are sent to the convent orphanage but soon escape, led by an enigmatic new friend and their pet crow, Corvith.

I wish I could see what happened next and spend a bit more time with these characters and this world, but alas, this was a perfect standalone.