What do you do when you find a bone growing in your backyard? Ten months after his dad walked out, 12-year-old Stanly Stanwright is convinced that winning the Young Discoverer's Contest will bring him back. But, despite his dogged perseverance and the assistance of his OCD-diagnosed best friend Jaxon, getting a picture of the bone (which is quickly growing into a full-body skeleton) proves harder than he originally thought. Not only that, but it's getting harder and harder to keep the skeleton a secret from his overworked, stressed-out mom and his ever-present, elderly babysitter, Ms. Francine (who prefers to spend her days stuffing Stanly and his sister, Miren, with borscht and cookies). When Miren's health begins to deteriorate, Stanly is forced to confront the real reason for the skeleton's appearance. Is it the cause of Miren's sickness? Or does its presence in their lives hold a much deeper meaning? Quietly powerful, this dark yet whimsical debut novel will offer young readers a sensitive, relatable approach to the issues of terminal illness and death.

Stanly spots a finger bone in his family's garden, and the bone grows a skeleton. His younger sister Miren's illness worsens, and Stanly is convinced the skeleton, "Princy," is to blame. Ventrella's three-dimensional characters, with their complicated emotions, are what make this story work so well. The exploration of family tragedy and death is likely to evoke discussion.

When white, zombie-obsessed, 12-year-old Stanly discovers a human skeleton growing up from his backyard—beginning as a single fingertip—he sees opportunity.Photographing and writing about this, he reasons, may lead to winning the Young Discoverer's Prize, which will bring Dad back from 1,500 miles away, and then his little sister, Miren, might stop getting sicker. This ambitious debut story of magical thinking keeps a mostly light tone despite the worsening gravity of Miren's health throughout. It is peppered with whimsical asides and anatomical jokes in addition to homespun tales from Ms. Francine, part-time cook and child care helper from Kyrgyzstan. Stanly tries to keep his (literally) growing secret confined to his OCD-diagnosed best friend, Jaxon (who has a "cloud of black hair" but is otherwise racially unidentified). Miren quickly finds out, but although she can't keep a secret, overworked, underpaid, and worried Mom is literally unable to see the skeleton, dubbed Princy by Miren. Conversely, the wise, folkloric Ms. Francine reacts, from the first phalangeal breakthrough, "like she was remembering something sad and happy all at once." The close-third-person narrative doggedly expresses Stanly's struggles with conflicting thoughts and emotions—but also keeps action rolling. Stanly copes well with problems ranging from the mundane (ineffectual cameras) to the extraordinary (photographing an evasive skeleton) to the heart-wrenching (a gravely ill sister; burdened parents). The emotional roller coaster of a contemporary white family in crisis, tempered by a touch of magic and a resilient, likable protagonist. (Fiction. 9-12)

Gr 3-6Stanly Stanwright is living an ordinary day in his ordinary home when out of the blue he sees a skeleton bone emerge in his backyard. Perplexed and excited, Stanly soon discovers an entire skeleton growing up from the ground. Stanly is determined to take a picture of the skeleton and submit it to the Young Discoverers' Competition. He is certain he will win and then his dad will have to come home. Unfortunately, as fascinated as he is by the skeleton, Stanly has a bigger problem: his younger sister, Marin, is sick. She's spending more time in the hospital and has to rely on an oxygen tank. The presence of the skeleton becomes increasingly foreboding in Stanly's mind. Touches of the extraordinary lift the mood of this somber story. Stanly's narration is honest and authentic as he deals with his father's abandonment of the family, his mother's long work hours, and his sister's declining health. When the physical embodiment of death enters their world, an actual skeleton, Stanly's frayed life feels like it is coming apart. There are no easy answers offered, but Ventrella's comforting storytelling reveals a magical world where a skeleton can grow and where a family's love for each other can provide healing. VERDICT Swinging between anger at his situation and palpable grief that his sister is dying, Stanly and the mysterious skeleton will resonate with young readers. Purchase where stories dealing with illness and grief are needed.Sarah Wethern, Douglas County Library, Alexandria, MN