The Bone Weaver's Orchard

By: Sarah Read

Narrated by: Elaine Wise

He's run away home. That's what they say every time one of Charley Winslow's friends vanishes from The Old Cross School for Boys. It's just a tall tale. That's what they tell Charley when he sees the ragged grey figure stalking the abbey halls at night.

When Charley follows his pet insects to a pool of blood behind a false wall, he could run and let those stones bury their secrets. He could assimilate, focus on his studies, and wait for his father to send for him. Or, he could walk the dark tunnels of the school's heart, scour its abandoned passages, and pick at the scab of a family's legacy of madness and murder.

With the help of Sam Forster, the school's gardener, and Matron Grace, the staff nurse, Charley unravels Old Cross' history and exposes a scandal stretching back to when the school was a home with a noble family and a dark secret - a secret that still haunts its halls with scraping steps, twisting its bones into a new generation of nightmares.

©2019 Sarah Read (P)2020 Journalstone

Engaging story with vivid imagery

It’s not a happy story. It’s a dark story, but it is a good story. Well written, it draws you in and you feel so terribly sorry for Charley and his unfortunate set of circumstances. Despite his misfortune and mistreatment, Charley’s the kind of friend everyone wishes they had. The bugs may be a bit off-putting, but were you to go missing, Charley would look for you, and he would keep looking for you long after others were too frightened to follow.

The story was written and performed well, and the ending left me surprised which is rare.

Not for me

This book seemed very dry. The writer tried to make it impactful but it reads like it’s trying, and not ever actually reaching it.