With him gone, they were just a bunch of spare parts.' 'Dad was like the hard drive to the Stanwright family computer. It's wonderful and it was a fantastic debut for Ventrella. I would definitely recommend this book to others. The writing was quite simple but it was enjoyable and it kept my attention throughout the entire book. The other characters were also all very three-dimensional, they felt so real and the relationships in the book had a lot of depth but they were still quite simple at the core so kids will have no problem with the book. This is one of those books where you will cry from sadness but also cry from happiness too. Everything isn't what it seems in the story and I just thought it played out very nicely. I won't say much about the plot because I don't want to ruin anything but the story was good and I loved the magical element. It sort of reminded me of A Monster Calls - only in the sense that it's about a young boy who is in a horrible situation that he was too young to understand and a magical creature comes to his house but the two are two completely different stories.

Ventrella really did a fantastic job with Stanley, he really sounded like a naïve 12 year old boy who was losing his innocence because of situations he couldn't understand at the beginning. The best thing about the book is the fact that it's told from a 12 year old's point of view.

It may be a children's book but it's definitely a book that can be enjoyed by adults and teens too, in my opinion. Holy crap this book was so beautiful and heartbreaking.

However, Miren is desperate not to lose her friend, forcing Stanly to question everything he's ever believed about life, love, and the mysterious forces that connect us. When Miren starts to grow sick, Stanly suspects that the skeleton is responsible and does everything in his power to drive the creature away. Mischievous Miren adopts the skeleton as a friend, and soon, the two become inseparable playmates. There's just one person who doesn't find any of this weird-Stanly's little sister. Even stranger, it seems to be growing into a full skeleton. With such a unique find, he's sure to win the grand prize.But, oddly, the bone doesn't appear in any photos. Twelve-year-old Stanly knows the bone growing in his yard is a little weird, but that's okay, because now he'll have the perfect photo to submit to the Young Discoverer's Competition. and the power of friendship to transcend them all. A staggering debut that will forever change the way you think about life, hope, death.

Skeleton tree book kim ventrella