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The Boneshaker

by Kate Milford (Goodreads Author), Andrea Offermann (Illustrator)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 645 ratings · 199 reviews

Thirteen year-old Natalie Minks loves machines, particularly automata — self operating mechanical devices, usually powered by clockwork. When Jake Limberleg and his travelling medicine showarrive in her small Missouri town with a mysterious vehicle under a tarp, and an uncanny ability to make Natalie’s half-built automaton move, she feels in her gut that something about th...more

Hardcover, 372 pages

Published May 24th 2010 by Clarion Books (first published May 21st 2010)

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2010 Debut Authors (Young Adult & Middle Grade Literature)

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Community Reviews

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Jul 16, 2011 Stephen rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ebooks, fantasy, 2006-2010, ya

DAMN YOU YA NOVELS!! Why do you so often strut around flashing such delicious, mouth-watering premises only to end up tasting like rice cakes dipped in peanut butter and leaving me feeling unsatiated, frustrated...and very, very thirsty. I certainly don't mean all YA novels as there are quite a few that have left my literary gluttony stuffed and smiling (you good ones know who you are). This story, however, just another under-delivering promise tease.

Now, this tale isn't terrible, but it had su...more DAMN YOU YA NOVELS!! Why do you so often strut around flashing such delicious, mouth-watering premises only to end up tasting like rice cakes dipped in peanut butter and leaving me feeling unsatiated, frustrated...and very, very thirsty. I certainly don't mean all YA novels as there are quite a few that have left my literary gluttony stuffed and smiling (you good ones know who you are). This story, however, just another under-delivering promise tease.

Now, this tale isn't terrible, but it had such potent potential that I am left with that "foiled again" feeling after having my hyped hopes hollowed. Here's the premise which I thought was wonderful.

Take the idea of a dark, travellng, supernaturally sponsored carnival/exhibition/fair thing-a-ling made so famously awesome by Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. Then replace the Bradbury carnies with three scoops of medical/biological steampunky flavor and call it "Doctor Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show." Then place the story in a small, dying Missouri town in 1914 (always a cool period for a story as it doesn't get enough book time) and throw in a likeable, mechanically-inclined "Punky Brewster" heroine and a bunch of townsfolk with some unique personal histories and you have yourself something.....that never quite delivers on its HUGE promise.

On the good side, the writing had quality, the descriptions of the attractions (called paragons) were impressive and the supernatural element was subtle, layered and pretty well done. On the negative "here's my bitch" side, I thought the story was slow as syrup to get going, the pacing was plodding and otherwise uneven and the pay-off at the end did not compensate enough for the angst caused by the slow start.

This was a debut novel and I can certainly see the author having to by some shades for her very bright future. Given the quality of the writing and the imaginative premise, I plan to check out her future work. Just a little too much of not enough in this one for me to rate it higher. Okay, but not quite good. 2.0 to 2.5 stars. (less)

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Oct 26, 2012 Kate added it · (Review from the author)

Look, there is the possibility--the very, very slight possibility--that I might be biased. I doubt it, but I felt full disclosure was in order here.

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Nov 01, 2010 Wendy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-award-possibilities, scary

So... I liked, didn't love this book. (3-4 stars.) I think some of it is my own fault. I had trouble keeping some of the secondary characters straight, and this made the last third very confusing; if I'd read more carefully, maybe I would have "gotten" it more. This is a scary book about big issues, which is fantastic, but somehow it didn't speak directly to me the way, say, The Dark is Rising does. I do think all of my criticisms are related to the book being too long by half.

While-Reading Upda...more

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Jul 18, 2010 Jenn Estepp rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: kidlit

eh, i'm just not seeing what everyone else seems to be seeing in this book. it's not steampunk, not bradbury-esque (it takes more than a carnival and a bit of evil to call up mr. ray), and it's not filled with writing i feel is remarkable.

perhaps i am contrary. perhaps you will like it.

eta: i just read a bunch of blog posts on this book. they were all pretty glowing. so maybe this is my "when you reach me" of the year - the book everyone loves but me, which will probably go on to pick up a crazy...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Michelle rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, steampunk, favorites

I have put off reviewing The Boneshaker for some time now because it leaves me feeling absolutely inadequate to the task. It is quite possibly one of the best books I have ever read.

The Boneshaker is the story of Natalie Minks, a young tomboy with a passionate love of all things mechanical. Few things give her more pleasure than tinkering with her father on their automata, unless it is perhaps her red Chesterlane, a beautiful boneshaker of a bicycle he built for her. Except that she cannot ride...more I have put off reviewing The Boneshaker for some time now because it leaves me feeling absolutely inadequate to the task. It is quite possibly one of the best books I have ever read.

The Boneshaker is the story of Natalie Minks, a young tomboy with a passionate love of all things mechanical. Few things give her more pleasure than tinkering with her father on their automata, unless it is perhaps her red Chesterlane, a beautiful boneshaker of a bicycle he built for her. Except that she cannot ride it just yet. She has grown up in a small Missouri town near a crossroads, listening to her mother's fantastical stories of the town and it's people, because all things are possible at a crossroad. And it is in this way that The Boneshaker becomes a story of stories. Tom Guyot's victory over the devil with a guitar that can talk. The mysterious drifter. Simon Cofferett's frightening jump, and his uncanny youth for one who has lived just outside town as long as anyone can remember. When 'Dr. Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show' comes into town with intricate automata, fantastic healing machines and miraculous cures, Natalie begins to realize there is more truth in her mother's stories than she previously suspected.

Though a steampunk novel (for kids!), The Boneshaker is so much more. There are layers upon layers to it. The language is so evocative of the region and time about which she writes that her fantasy feels like truth. This absolutely could have been Missouri in 1914, it just wasn't. It makes me think of my Grandmother, and the way she would say, "sometimes it's easier to see the truth when it's in a story." Everything about it feels real from the dusty roads under her bicycle tires to the taunting boys down the lane. You can hear the music as Tom Guyot plays. No, really. You can.

"Tom's humming turned into strange syllables, sounds that weren't words but sort of broken pieces of words, bits and bobs of song dodging and darting over and around and under the music of the guitar, rising and falling and ducking, and every once in a while climbing sharp and clear and plaintive...

It made a strange tableau, and plenty of people paused to look: the old black man singing blissfully with the guitar flashing sunset colors on his knees; and the sweaty, bruised, and scraped girl, unmoving and rapt, absently holding on to a bizarre bicycle with her head cocked like a bird's. Neither of them noticed anyone else's stares." (p32-33)

It is like Milford lifted the essence, the very life force, of the folklore of an entire region, and slipped it into her novel. I could feel my grandparents in it. I could hear the echos or their parents. I caught myself, over and over again, stopping to savor something I had just read. As soon as I finished the book, I immediately read it again, only out load to my husband and son. We spent weeks lingering over it, bellowing to sell wares or whispering in fear. It almost feels wrong to NOT have the Boneshaker become the very oral history it describes.

The Boneshaker is the kind of book that will grow with you. A mid-grade reader could pick it up and be entranced by the mystery, captivated by Natalie's courage. A few years later, they may better understand the fear motivating the choices Natalie's father and brother made about her mother; grasp the deeper, darker elements of the story that are always running just under the surface. It talks about darkness and light, good and bad, courage and weakness in a way that just leaves me breathless at times for its beauty. The different meanings of this book are so multilayerd that different readers of different ages will experience what is happening in very different ways, none of them wrong. If I could, I would give a copy of this book to every boy or girl I know. Adults, too.
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Aug 23, 2011 Dan Rogers marked it as abandoned

One of the most difficult things I've ever had to do as a reader is to give myself permission to abandon a book. As a child I would always force myself to finish a book once I had started it, no matter how badly I disliked it. Not so anymore. I have finally gotten to the point where I firmly believe, and I tell my students this all the time, there are too many goods books out there waiting to be read to spend your time finishing a book you just don't like. This book is one of those books. I have...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Rebekah rated it 5 of 5 stars

Situated at a dusty crossroads, strange things happen in Arcane. Milford� s debut novel, set in 1913, does not stray far from the classic lore regarding crossroads. Characters strike deals with the devil, and questions of good and evil give the plot momentum, but Milford also mixes in some unique features that make this an excellent read. Natalie Minks, the thirteen-year-old protagonist, has an interest in anything mechanical. When a medicine show rolls into Arcane, Natalie is instantly suspicio...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Cleo rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned-books

I picked this book up at Orca a couple years ago, not expecting that much. I was very pleasantly surprised, and I really loved reading this book. So, naturally, I decided to reread it. The book is about a girl named Natalie Minks who lives in the town of Arcane, Missouri, which is near a crossroads. Natalie is fascinated with machines, and mechanical things of all sorts. Then a strange medicine show called Dr. Jake Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show comes into town with all...more

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Nov 12, 2012 Brandy Painter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade, fantasy, favorites

Originally posted at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.

I read The Broken Lands by Kate Milford a couple months ago and loved it. Loved it so much I nominated it for the Cybils. Loved it so much I immediately bought a copy of The Boneshaker, Milford's previous novel to which The Broken Lands is a prequel. Despite being a companion novel to The Broken Lands and having some of the same characters it is a very different book. And just as awesome.

Natalie is a true heroine. Her character is fleshed out...more Originally posted at Random Musings of a Bibliophile.

I read The Broken Lands by Kate Milford a couple months ago and loved it. Loved it so much I nominated it for the Cybils. Loved it so much I immediately bought a copy of The Boneshaker, Milford's previous novel to which The Broken Lands is a prequel. Despite being a companion novel to The Broken Lands and having some of the same characters it is a very different book. And just as awesome.

Natalie is a true heroine. Her character is fleshed out so well that whenever the third person omniscient narration switched to a scene she wasn't in I was jolted hard in to remembering the book wasn't being narrated by her. She has such a strong voice and presence, while not actually telling the story herself. That is a well drawn character. She is smart, curious, gutsy, loyal, and determined. She is also afraid, and at times allows that fear to overwhelm her and step back from doing things she knows she should. Very realistic. She is one of those hero's whose "special", singled out for a purpose. However, Milford handled this in a way that was not tired or cliche. Natalie is being Natalie and, while she knows there is something different about her, she doesn't really realize what or begin to understand it. She does what she does because of the sort of person she is, not because of her abilities. The whole cast of supporting characters is wonderful as well. (Tom. Simon. Miranda. To name but a few.) I loved the characterization of Dr. Limberleg. He is the villain, but there is so much more to him than that. And of course he is not the ultimate villain.

The story here is a combination of folklore, mythology, historical fiction, and magic. I love how Milford combines all of these elements and the things she does with them. This is truly a thrilling-spine-tingling tale. I appreciate that it is creepy without being gory. I love the struggle between good and evil and the hope that the characters find even in their darkest moments.

Kate Milford spins great stories from beginning to end. All of the elements are put together just right. I'm so excited to have discovered her books this year. I am now desperate to read The Kairos Mechanism which takes place in Arcane before this story and is about Natalie too (yay!). (less)

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Jul 05, 2012 Erin Thomas rated it 5 of 5 stars

"Strange things can happen at a crossroads, and the crossroads outside of Arcane, Missouri, is no exception. Thirteen-year-old Natalie Minks knows all the odd, mysterious tales about her little town. But eve she is not prepared for the strangeness that's unleashed when Dr. Jake Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show rolls into Arcane with its bizarre tonics and elaborate, inexplicable machines. Natalie is fascinated by mechanical things of all sorts. So when she finally gets a...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Siobhan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya

Natalie Minks is a tomboy living in the small town of Arcane, Missouri in 1914. Since Natalie’s father is Arcane’s mechanic, it only makes sense that he would build her the world’s fastest bicycle. However, a problem lies in that no matter how hard she tries, Natalie cannot ride the bicycle. It is as if the bike fights her every time she even attempts to ride it. Despite how embarrassing that is, Natalie remains fascinated by all things mechanical. So, when a traveling caravan of “healers” comes...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have heard great things about this book and was excited to read it. I received this book as an advanced reading copy through the Amazon Vine Program. It was a wonderful book and I really enjoyed it.

Natalie Minks loves working on all things mechanical. She has an awesome bike that she built with her dad, but cannot ride. When a company of traveling medicine men shows up in town she thinks something is not right with them. When the lead Dr. of the group, Jake Limberleg, makes one of Natalie's au...more I have heard great things about this book and was excited to read it. I received this book as an advanced reading copy through the Amazon Vine Program. It was a wonderful book and I really enjoyed it.

Natalie Minks loves working on all things mechanical. She has an awesome bike that she built with her dad, but cannot ride. When a company of traveling medicine men shows up in town she thinks something is not right with them. When the lead Dr. of the group, Jake Limberleg, makes one of Natalie's automaton run without a key to wind it, Natalie's suspicions increase. As both Natalie's brother and mother seek help from Dr. Limberleg Natalie gets an ever increasing feeling of unease. Natalie ends up navigating the complicated maze of tents in the medicine show in an effort to find the truth. As she searches, Natalie finds out that the very Devil himself might be involved and that she may be the only one that can stop him...now if only she could ride her awesome bike...

This was an excellent book. The characters are well-developed and interesting; the discussions around mechanics are also intriguing. Milford does an excellent job of building suspense and mystery and really keeping the plot moving. This is a wonderful portrait of 1914 and visits many old American ideas. The explanation behind the various types of "medicine" employed by the traveling medicine show was wonderful and teaches an interesting history of the strange paths medicine has taken. This was just an excellent story, and Milford writes it in the style of a truly excellent story-teller.

The story has a bit of humor here and there and I loved the idea of one person in town being a storykeeper. The strengths of this story are the wonderful characterizations and the wonderful technical explanations behind medicine and machinery. I also loved the odd things included; like the fact that every wagon at the crossroads looses its right front wheel, then mysteriously they find a building in the ghost town with front wheels hanging on the walls.

The drawings in the ARC weren't all final yet, but the sketches that were included were well done and really evoke the feeling of the story. As far as I know this is a single book and not part of a series. The book would be appropriate for younger children, although there are some parts with demons and the Devil that get kind of scary.

Natalie is a great role model for young adults and the cast of crazy characters are bound to keep people of all ages interested. Milford is an author that I will definitely be keeping tabs on in the future.(less)

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Dec 29, 2010 nicole added it

Shelves: 2010, cybils

I really struggled with this one. I was fascinated by the story - the traveling show arriving at a sleepy town, the fight between good and evil, proximity to a location where strange things happen (Buffy's Hellmouth, anyone?). It's so different from some of the other books nominated for the award, from the setting to the writing. Natalie is a strong character and the quasi-steampunk angle of automons was neatly done.

But the book itself was so hard to get through. It took me the better part of th...more

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Nov 05, 2010 Ahimsa rated it 3 of 5 stars

I don't read a lot of YA these days, so my review should be read with that in mind.

The Boneshaker is an enjoyable read, but Milford's first novel is pretty obviously just that. The setting is interesting, and the stakes reach a nice level of danger without getting too apocalyptic. Natalie is in a character in the vein of Lyra Silvertongue and it's easy to root for her. The mixing of classic tales is nice as well. One Robert Johnson like character is immensely interesting.

But the flaws are many....more

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Oct 31, 2010 Cecelia rated it 5 of 5 stars

A relatively complex, layered YA read, this book is most basically about the battle between good and evil. Natalie lives in a small town located near a crossroads, which, as we are reminded a number of time, is a place where strange things can happen. At the same time that Natalie is struggling to learn to ride "the fastest bike in the world," built for her by her father, a mysterious travelling medicine show comes to town and Natalie seems to be the only one who notices that anything is off abo...more

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Aug 27, 2010 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: juvenile-fiction, supernatural, historical-fiction

Not to be confused with the similarly steampunk Cherie Priest book. In a way I feel like this book was tailor-made for me with all its pieces: Natalie is a young girl interested in automata and the bizarre stories her mother has always told about their small town, Arcane, circa 1913 : including the classic American Jack tales and a tale about an old man in town who met the devil at the crossroads. When Dr. Jake Limberleg brings his mysterious traveling medicine show into town, Natalie uses her k...more

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Aug 23, 2010 reed rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fair warning: I am easily disappointed with books written for children.

People I really respect rave about this book. And it has a lot going for it - the steampunk version of early 1900's Missouri; the stories that Natalie's mom tells her, the struggle to master a weirdly-made but intriguing bike. But the plot was predictable and often needed to be moved along by someone being unnecessarily vague or by Natalie conveniently getting a headache and a vision.

Also, aside from Old Tom, the characters...more

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Aug 14, 2010 Sandra Stiles rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, historical-fiction, young-adult

Just received the book yesterday. Yea!
I just went back to school and found the book in my box. I am glad I had the opportunity to read and review it. This story is set in 1913 and the main character is 13 year old tomboy Natalie Minks from Arcane, Missouri. She likes all things mechanical and helps her father. When she isn't helping him she listens to her mother who is a master story teller. Things plug along smoothly until the traveling medicine show comes to town. At this point I have to say t...more

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May 28, 2010 Ellen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 100-books-in-2010, middle-grade, ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Hmmm. Interesting book.

Three stars because that's what it would average out to—four for the writing (strong, well-told story, good characters), but two for the setting and other elements. I just don't care for stories that involve fairs, circuses, or the like. So personal tastes aside, it's not a bad book, hence the three stars.

As I said, the writing quality and storytelling is good. It's unique since it's not quite steampunk, but not quite a "normal" story either. There is a mechanical element...more Hmmm. Interesting book.

Three stars because that's what it would average out to—four for the writing (strong, well-told story, good characters), but two for the setting and other elements. I just don't care for stories that involve fairs, circuses, or the like. So personal tastes aside, it's not a bad book, hence the three stars.

As I said, the writing quality and storytelling is good. It's unique since it's not quite steampunk, but not quite a "normal" story either. There is a mechanical element but it's different than other steampunk out there. It feels old fashioned rather than futuristic. This is really a historical fiction story crossed with steampunk, and in my opinion, I think the book also has a touch of bioterror and horror. Creepy automation harlequin clown and an elixir that makes people living zombies so the Devil can steal their soul, anyone?

The main character is Natalie, a great girl who is brave, smart, determined, possesses a unique gift, and loves all things mechanical. There are a few other characters that are children, but the rest of the key characters are adults. These adults all seem to know what's going on in this little town on Arcane, and the way the clues are dropped to the reader (through Natalie's eyes) are good. And most of these adults are men. There are only a few other female characters mentioned in the book, and only two of them are important to the story—a friend of Natalie's, and Natalie's mother. There are a couple townswomen mentioned by name but they only play minor walk-on roles. The only other female of any consequence isn't actually a human but an automation sibyl.

This is ultimately a book about good vs. evil and how to stand up to evil, even if that is evil's biggest baddie of all, The Devil. Yes, the Devil is a character as well as some of his demon errand boys and others who are working for him. It's creepy.
While this book was not my cup of tea, it's a well put together book. It is a good story and is different enough from other books to set it apart.
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Dec 14, 2012 Matthew Galloway rated it 5 of 5 stars

The book didn't grab me from the get go, but once I got a little further in, I just didn't want to put it down (exemplified by the fact that I am starting on a paper for class at 6pm rather than 10 am like I'd planned...).

I imagine that a lot of people will focus on the the wicked carnival as a very Bradbury "Something Wicked This Way Comes" deal and, yes, there is some of that. Creepy carnival and a child learning about growing up and the strength it takes... But I think this book has a lot mor...more

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Sep 03, 2010 E.J. Stevens rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, fantasy, fiction, goodreads-authors, paranormal, read-in-2010, supernatural, ya, young-adult, steampunk, must-read, speculative-fiction, urban-fantasy, middle-grade, historical-fiction, magic

A magical tale of secrets and wonder and the power of one's own confidence. The Boneshaker by Kate Milford (not to be mistaken with Boneshaker by Cherie Priest) begins with Natalie Minks in her sleepy little town of Arcane, where her biggest concern is trying to master riding her new bicycle, a bizarre contraption that her father built for her. Natalie's life, and the lives of Arcane's inhabitants, rapidly changes as a band of strangers, claiming to be Dr. Jake Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Techn...more

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Jan 09, 2013 Linguana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-books

Full review at SFF Book Review.

I'm surprised that with a title like this (and following Cherie Priest's succes with her "Boneshaker") this book doesn't get more attention. It is a wonderfully fun story about the little Missouri town of Arcane where Natalie is trying very hard to learn how to ride the Chesterlane bicycle her father built for her.

When a medicine show arrives in town, she starts noticing strange things - not just about the mysterious, red-haired Dr. Limberleg, but about the inhabit...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Cassandra rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sf

A really unusual book for me, but I loved it. In theory, I like some IR/YA books, but in reality I don't read very many and when I do I often find that for my tastes, they don't live up to their promise. But this book did. I admired the writing greatly and loved the world she created and the characters in it. Another thing I liked about the characters was that they weren't all just good or bad--they had shades of grey. You found out more about them as the book went on, and what you found out was...more

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Mar 19, 2011 Marleigh rated it 4 of 5 stars

First line: "Strange things can happen at a crossroads."

Summary: Bicycles, mystic powers, clockwork, patent medicines, and the Devil.

I recognize that's a fairly odd summary, but I'm not sure how else to describe it without giving too much away. The book is less about the plot and more about building some rather creeptastic imagery in your mind. Kind of felt like the Gormenghast novels that way, except for young adults and with a sensible editor keeping things in check. And the vibe is more Ameri...more

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Apr 28, 2010 Betsy rated it 5 of 5 stars

It seems that no successful book is an island. Or, to put it another way, no successful genre of book. In the children’s book world Harry Potter does well and suddenly the market is flooded with wizard tales. Twilight stars vampires, so now you can’t walk down the teen aisle in a bookstore without fifty different kind of knock-offs. The Hunger Games sells relatively well and now dystopian fiction is the buzzword of the day. That’s all well and good, but to the victor go the spoils of establishin...more

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Apr 02, 2010 Cindy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, female-authors, steampunk, ya-childrens-etc, historical-fiction, fantasy, fiction, gender-or-sexuality-issues

A fun, fantastical YA story about standing your ground especially when you are at a crossroads, and a strong analytical girl who needs to be brave enough to help the people she loves.
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Thirteen year old Natalie Minks loves bicycles, clockwork gadgets, solving puzzles and listening to her mother's endless stories about their town. Growing up in rural Missouri in 1913, she lives near a major crossroads with the ruins of the former town left perplexingly in-tact down the road. One da...more A fun, fantastical YA story about standing your ground especially when you are at a crossroads, and a strong analytical girl who needs to be brave enough to help the people she loves.
_________________

Thirteen year old Natalie Minks loves bicycles, clockwork gadgets, solving puzzles and listening to her mother's endless stories about their town. Growing up in rural Missouri in 1913, she lives near a major crossroads with the ruins of the former town left perplexingly in-tact down the road. One day a travelling medicine show arrives and Natalie is both fascinated and perplexed. She senses that something just isn't right at the Doctor Limberleg's Nostrum Fair and Technological Medicine Show. Can she work it out in time to save the town and her family?

One of the best things about The Boneshaker is Milford's detailed descriptions of the settings:

A Nostrum Fair, it turned out, was very similar to a Technological Medicine Show: frying foods, syrupy sugar smells, penny amusements. Bursts of odd, discordant music from the One-Man Band. Sudden appearances and disappearances of the harlequin in its costume of velvet triangles and bells, capering and somersaulting and then vanishing in a flash of tarnish and motley.

A quick note about the genre: Most of The Boneshaker is historical fiction with supernatural elements with a big helping of mystery and tiny dash of scary ghost story. What's even more fun is that Milford has included lots of steampunk details in the various clockwork machines that pepper the story. It's really fun to imagine the old-fashioned gadgetry.

There are several mysteries happening simultaneously in the story, which makes this an unexpectedly fun, complex read for a young-adult book. (The official recommendation is ages 10 and up, but a book-nerd might do okay with this at 8 or 9 as long as they don't mind slightly scary stories.) The mystery doesn't end with the perplexing charlaitans at the Nostrum Fair. There are also strange happenings in her town, unusual old residents and travelers, Natalie's weird visions, and difficulties in her own family. What's very clever is that Milford gives you just enough clues to solve a few mysteries on your own before they are revealed while others are left as little twists. As a reader, you feel clever while being entertained with surprises.

Each character has unusual quirks. Natalie's mother is absentminded and burning food in the kitchen while her dad is clumsy but mechanically gifted. Doctor Limberleg has fascinating red-peppered-with-gray hair that sticks up and appears to move about on it's own. Natalie herself is simultaneously afraid and brave while she works out how best to confront difficult situations.

My only little nit-pick is that a few characters that were important at the beginning of the story disappear by the end. A couple of those are ancillary characters, but without spoiling anything, one is a fairly major character.

Finally, the line-drawing art in the book is lovely. Make sure you look at a large version of the cover. I could imagine my child-like self examining and re-examining all the details looking for clues. Oh wait, my adult-like self already did that! The handful of full-page images that pepper the book are as rich and detailed as Milford's prose. It's a lovely accompaniment.(less)

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Jul 07, 2010 Tasha rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrens-books

Natalie Minks grew up surrounded by strange tales about her town near the crossroads, and everyone knows that odd things happen at crossroads. Natalie’s father was the bicycle mechanic in town and he also worked on the new cars like the one for the town’s doctor. Natalie too loved machines, especially automatons. She was also trying to master riding a strange bicycle that her father rebuilt for her, but embarrassingly enough, she simply couldn’t ride the thing at all. The town too was used to we...more

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Feb 08, 2012 Sharon rated it 3 of 5 stars

6th&up
3.5 stars
Like Natalie's automata, this story requires a little bit of work and quite a bit of winding up, but once it gets going it is a wonder to behold.
In the same vein as Something Wicked This Way Comes, Natalie's quiet little town- which lies at the crossroad of somewhere Missouri and nowhere special- is on the brink of monumental change as a Medicine Show comes into town and brings nothing good along with it. Powerful forces are at work, and Natalie has a vital role to play- and...more

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Jul 11, 2010 Lisa Cindrich rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, children-ya

I really enjoyed The Boneshaker, but it is a pretty sophisticated read for kids. The publisher advertises it as "ages 10 and up." I'd peg the readership more as beginning around 12 or 13 years-old.

Milford does a great job creating a convincing sense of small-town life in 1913. She's equally adept at insinuating strands of the fantastic into this setting. I thought the world she created was completely believable. Natalie's feisty and tomboyish unconventionality is really appealing, as is her lov...more

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Jan 06, 2011 Josh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: youth-fiction

This books revolves around Natalie Minks and the town she lives in called Arcane during the early part of the 20th century. Just outside her town there is crossroads between Arcane and a deserted town that no one seem to know why it was abandoned and two towns over there has been a mysterious flu that has been causing people to lose control of their bodies. Strange things seemed to start occuring after Tom Guyot, a character similar to the real-life Robert Johnson, beat the devil in a guitar sho...more

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Other Editions (4)

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Fantasy

71 users

Science Fiction > Steampunk

63 users

Young Adult

50 users

Historical Fiction

33 users

Childrens > Middle Grade

18 users

Fantasy > Supernatural

9 users

Childrens

9 users

Science Fiction

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Childrens > Juvenile

6 users

Mystery

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About Kate Milford

Kate is the author of THE BONESHAKER, THE BROKEN LANDS (Clarion, 9/2012), and THE KAIROS MECHANISM, which is a companion to THE BROKEN LANDS and is currently on Kickstarter. You can read more about it here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/3...

Originally from Annapolis, MD, Kate now lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband Nathan and their dogs, Ed and Sprocket. She has written for stage and scre...more

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Quotes from The Boneshaker

“When there's evil standing in your way, you got to get around it however you can, Natalie. You got to look it in the eye, let it know you see it and that it can't creep up on you. What's dangerous is pretending it isn't there at all and letting it get closer and closer while you're looking someplace else, until suddenly evil's walking alongside you like you were two friends out for a stroll on Sunday. So you look it in the face. You tell it with your eyes that you know what it is, that it don't have you fooled. You tell it you know what GOOD looks like.” — 9 people liked it

“Most things cost something you can give up, but they aren’t worth anything – not really, not in the end. But some things . . . some have to be given free, because if you had to put a price on them, their true value would be too great for any one person to afford.” — 3 people liked it

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