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Behold the Bones
(Beware the Wild #2)
by
Candace “Candy” Pickens has been obsessed with the swamp lore of her tiny Louisiana town for…forever.
That doesn’t mean Candy’s a believer, however. She and her friends entered the swamp at the start of summer and left it changed, but Candy’s the only one who can’t see or feel the magical Shine. She’s also the only one who can’t see the ghosts that have been appearing in t ...more
That doesn’t mean Candy’s a believer, however. She and her friends entered the swamp at the start of summer and left it changed, but Candy’s the only one who can’t see or feel the magical Shine. She’s also the only one who can’t see the ghosts that have been appearing in t ...more
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Hardcover, 358 pages
Published
February 23rd 2016
by HarperTeen
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Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Behold the Bones (Beware the Wild, #2)

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)

This was an okay story about a girl who seemed to have magical ties to a swamp.
Candy was a character who knew her own mind, and wouldn’t let other people change it. She stood up for what she believed was ...more
“Every year, before they wish me happy birthday, my family hauls me to a backwoods graveyard to remind me that I, Candace Craven Pickens, killed my own grandpa.”

This was an okay story about a girl who seemed to have magical ties to a swamp.
Candy was a character who knew her own mind, and wouldn’t let other people change it. She stood up for what she believed was ...more

Natalie C. Parker’s Behold the Bones came as an unexpected sequel/companion novel to her fabulous debute, Beware the Wild. Just like her first book, Behold the Bones takes place in Sticks, Lousiana, a town as slow and provincial as its symbolic name suggests. When you’re born so deep in the South, you accept heath and gossip as a way of life. Aside from the small town mentality, Sticks is burdened with the surrounding forest and its swamp with magical properties. In the previous book, we followe
...more

Another book in the Beware the Wild setting.
More enchanted, creepy Louisiana swamp. More characters fucked in the head doing lots of fucked up stuff.
More Beware the Wild...
More enchanted, creepy Louisiana swamp. More characters fucked in the head doing lots of fucked up stuff.
More Beware the Wild...

I really liked the spooky aspect of the first book and Candy, so I was quite eager to get into this story.
Being in Candy's head is different. She's quite abrasive and her inner monologue is too. I did love how tough she was and how she constantly stood up for herself. At the same time, her doing everything on her own and not letting anyone help got pretty repetitive.
The King family was interesting, but they definitely didn't add the sort of conflict I was expecting. Same with the swamp: the cre ...more
Being in Candy's head is different. She's quite abrasive and her inner monologue is too. I did love how tough she was and how she constantly stood up for herself. At the same time, her doing everything on her own and not letting anyone help got pretty repetitive.
The King family was interesting, but they definitely didn't add the sort of conflict I was expecting. Same with the swamp: the cre ...more

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales
Quick & Dirty: A decent companion novel set in a small Louisiana town.
Opening Sentence: Grandpa Craven kicked it the day I was born.
The Review:
Candy Pickens lives in the tiny Louisiana town of Sticks. She’s never believed in the swamp lore that is spoken like religion, but she is about to face a surprise when ghost sightings appear everywhere. Except, she’s the only one who can’t see them, and apparently her touch chases them away, as well as the magical Shine ...more
Quick & Dirty: A decent companion novel set in a small Louisiana town.
Opening Sentence: Grandpa Craven kicked it the day I was born.
The Review:
Candy Pickens lives in the tiny Louisiana town of Sticks. She’s never believed in the swamp lore that is spoken like religion, but she is about to face a surprise when ghost sightings appear everywhere. Except, she’s the only one who can’t see them, and apparently her touch chases them away, as well as the magical Shine ...more

God, I freaking love the way this woman writes southern atmosphere, and if I had any worries she couldn't keep up the magic - literal and metaphorical - from Beware the Wild, this companion dispelled them completely. Candy is such a strong character, it's so nice to see the others again, and there's a little subplot with Abigail that legit made me cry. I am *dying* for Beale to get her own story, so Harper, if you're reading this, for the love of God please make that happen.
...more

An awful lot can happen in a small town like Sticks, and if you don’t believe me then you need to pick up the Beware The Wild series by Natalie C. Parker. With it’s southern Gothic vibe and tales of magic and ghosts, I promise you there is nothing like it in Young Adult right now – and you need it in your life.
See full review here: http://www.memyshelfandi.com/2016/02/... ...more
See full review here: http://www.memyshelfandi.com/2016/02/... ...more

Two and a half stars: A book with a lot of potential, but it is missing something.
Candy is enduring her annual birthday celebration with her family. Instead of a normal birthday party, Candy is treated to her uncle relating the family's long, cursed history in the graveyard next to her grandfather's grave. Candy was born on the day her grandfather died, a tradition or curse that stretches back for generations. Candy will soon learn that the family curse is affecting her life in more ways than s ...more
Candy is enduring her annual birthday celebration with her family. Instead of a normal birthday party, Candy is treated to her uncle relating the family's long, cursed history in the graveyard next to her grandfather's grave. Candy was born on the day her grandfather died, a tradition or curse that stretches back for generations. Candy will soon learn that the family curse is affecting her life in more ways than s ...more

"take a stone, take a flower flower flower
these will only last an hour
but take a bone or take some strife
these will last for all my life
she's so mad mad mad
she's so very bad."
Wow, what a wonderful 2nd book. I didn't even know this was a duology until I was going through new releases and this one popped up. I was wary - I'd loved book 1 - the lyrical quality of the writing, the lore and the Louisiana southern flair - I'd loved all of it in the first book. So I was worried a 2nd book wouldn't comp ...more
these will only last an hour
but take a bone or take some strife
these will last for all my life
she's so mad mad mad
she's so very bad."
Wow, what a wonderful 2nd book. I didn't even know this was a duology until I was going through new releases and this one popped up. I was wary - I'd loved book 1 - the lyrical quality of the writing, the lore and the Louisiana southern flair - I'd loved all of it in the first book. So I was worried a 2nd book wouldn't comp ...more

Summary:
Candace Craven Pickens has been having a rough time. Following her birthday, she receives some not so great medical news, she's still the only one in town who can't see the swamp shine or ghosts and a family of paranormal investigators show up in town.
Candace has no idea it's all connected and the discovery will change her life forever.
Personal Opinion:
I did enjoy Beware The Wild a bit more than this follow up. I had a harder time getting into this one as it began to tell the story of ...more
Candace Craven Pickens has been having a rough time. Following her birthday, she receives some not so great medical news, she's still the only one in town who can't see the swamp shine or ghosts and a family of paranormal investigators show up in town.
Candace has no idea it's all connected and the discovery will change her life forever.
Personal Opinion:
I did enjoy Beware The Wild a bit more than this follow up. I had a harder time getting into this one as it began to tell the story of ...more

This was one of my most anticipated books for 2016 and I am so happy to say that it lived up to my expectations!!! It's a perfect companion to Parker's debut, Beware the Wild and I was SO happy to return to Sticks and these characters! This book is so creepy and so damn country I can't even stand it!!! I was enchanted from the start and I am crossing my fingers that there will be a third book because I am not ready to leave the swamp!
...more

Dec 03, 2015
Tee loves Kyle Jacobson
rated it
it was amazing
Shelves:
around-the-world-arc-tours,
december-2015
Oh man I do not know where to start with this review because I don't want to spoil it but there is so much in this book from suspense to folk lore.
We meet Candy and her friends who live in a small town steeped in folk lore and stories that may or may not be true. See Candy has been obsessed with the swamp lore of her tiny town. Then one day her friends decide to enter the swamp and when they come out everyone is different when they come out except Candy. Candy can't see anything her friends see ...more
We meet Candy and her friends who live in a small town steeped in folk lore and stories that may or may not be true. See Candy has been obsessed with the swamp lore of her tiny town. Then one day her friends decide to enter the swamp and when they come out everyone is different when they come out except Candy. Candy can't see anything her friends see ...more

This 2nd book is from Candace' perspective and her immunity to the shine. Then there is the King family and their interest on making the mystery of the shine into a TV show. I struggled a little bit with the first half of the book and almost DNF. Also Sterling did seem to have a different voice than the first book - lost her depth. However, the pace picked up and the story redeemed itself. 2 for the first half, 4 for the 2nd half.
...more

4.25ish but this was pretty much all that I wanted and was scared to hope for in a sequel to Beware the Wild. It was gothic, eerie, atmospheric, the supernatural elements tied in naturally, the characters were diverse and inclusive, and the plot was tied to the first novel's but was not dependent upon it for understanding or advancement of this second story.
Series review to come. ...more
Series review to come. ...more

This book is an excellent twist on fiction as it has a realistic and really paints a picture. The title of the book captivated me and motivated me to read. I often enjoy a good fiction book and love to dissolve into the world that the author created. Every night I would read for hours much past the time for which sleeping should take place. On the board this completes 1E which is having a female main character. In the book it's hard not to get lost as so much happens, yet instead of it being a d
...more

Arc received courtesy of Goodreads.com first reads giveaway.
I liked reading Behold the Bones. The characters, and the story were good. I haven't read the first book in this series, however, I as able to enjoy it. ...more
I liked reading Behold the Bones. The characters, and the story were good. I haven't read the first book in this series, however, I as able to enjoy it. ...more

3.5 stars for a companion novel that was awesome but perhaps not as awesome as the original, Beware the Wild.
I loved being inside Candy's head, experiencing her close, odd, superstitious family; her loving cousins; her deep friendships; and her rebellious spirit. Seeing Sticks, LA through Candy's eyes was entirely different (in a great way) than being inside Sterling's in the first book, but I thought the plot of this book didn't quite measure up.
This story certainly had pros, not the least of w ...more
I loved being inside Candy's head, experiencing her close, odd, superstitious family; her loving cousins; her deep friendships; and her rebellious spirit. Seeing Sticks, LA through Candy's eyes was entirely different (in a great way) than being inside Sterling's in the first book, but I thought the plot of this book didn't quite measure up.
This story certainly had pros, not the least of w ...more

Jun 24, 2015
Christina (A Reader of Fictions)
rated it
really liked it
Shelves:
arc,
series-read-in-full
Since I ran out of time for rereading Beware the Wild, I was concerned I would be lost in Behold the Bones, and that my enjoyment of it would suffer as a result, but Behold the Bones actually stands alone really well. Plus, Parker does a great job of refreshing you on what happened in the previous book naturally, without beating you over the head with a recounting at the start.
Behold the Bones actually worked for me even better than Beware the Wild, though I think the plot was a bit less consist ...more
Behold the Bones actually worked for me even better than Beware the Wild, though I think the plot was a bit less consist ...more

I've gotten used to the depressing way Hollywood depicts the Deep South as a land of exoticized red neck halfwits who spend their days wrestling alligators and fiddle-dee-dee-ing, but I hadn't realized how acclimated I'd gotten to seeing that same overwrought cliche in fiction until I read Behold the Bones. Natalie Parker's Louisiana bayou is ghost-filled and creepy and thick with tradition, but her characters aren't the Southern simpletons you so frequently see depicted, and the fact that they
...more

*Source* Publisher
*Genre* Young Adult, Paranormal
*Rating* 3.5
*My Thoughts*
*Main Characters: Candace (Candy) Pickens, Sterling Saucier, Abigail Beale, Heath Durham, Gabe and Nova King.
*Setting: Sticks, Louisiana
*Summary* Behold the Bones, by Natalie C. Parker, is the second installment in the Beware the Wild series. While Beware the Wild was from Sterling's perspective, this story is from Candace Pickens. Every year, on her birthday, Candy's rather large family of cousins, aunts, and uncles get t ...more
*Genre* Young Adult, Paranormal
*Rating* 3.5
*My Thoughts*
*Main Characters: Candace (Candy) Pickens, Sterling Saucier, Abigail Beale, Heath Durham, Gabe and Nova King.
*Setting: Sticks, Louisiana
*Summary* Behold the Bones, by Natalie C. Parker, is the second installment in the Beware the Wild series. While Beware the Wild was from Sterling's perspective, this story is from Candace Pickens. Every year, on her birthday, Candy's rather large family of cousins, aunts, and uncles get t ...more

Behold the Bones is a fantastic return to Sticks, Louisiana.
Told primarily from the point of view of Candace Pickens, this book is a lesson is how to paint relationships in a story. Couple that with some excellent world-building and Sticks' unique flavor of magic, and you have one hell of a good read.
I particularly enjoy Natalie's ability to illustrate a characters thoughts in a way we can't help but know exactly how they feel:
"I sweep my light at the level of the water, ready to pee if I spot t ...more
Told primarily from the point of view of Candace Pickens, this book is a lesson is how to paint relationships in a story. Couple that with some excellent world-building and Sticks' unique flavor of magic, and you have one hell of a good read.
I particularly enjoy Natalie's ability to illustrate a characters thoughts in a way we can't help but know exactly how they feel:
"I sweep my light at the level of the water, ready to pee if I spot t ...more

I was really excited to read this second installment because I really enjoyed the first book. Sadly, it failed and disappointed me because of that sinister freakin' bloody f-bomb! Curse that f-bomb! Seriously, YA books are getting worse with the use of the f-bomb, other expletives, and sex.
...more
...more

I thought Beware the Wild was a unique tale in the YA genre. I was a little hesitant about Behold the Bones, because sometimes, when a first book is so good, the second one has a lot (perhaps too much) to stand up against.
I think that's what happened here.
It wasn't a bad book. I liked it, but I did not like it nowhere near the same amount as I liked Beware the Wild. Maybe it was Candy, the new narrator. She's a rougher person than Sterling. She is rash, bolder when it comes to social situation ...more
I think that's what happened here.
It wasn't a bad book. I liked it, but I did not like it nowhere near the same amount as I liked Beware the Wild. Maybe it was Candy, the new narrator. She's a rougher person than Sterling. She is rash, bolder when it comes to social situation ...more

4.5. Almost as good as the first book. Almost everything about this book was great, and I loved the way it expanded in the swamp lore laid down by the first book. The only place this book went wrong was with the boys, specifically Gage and Riley, but also Quentin. There was just too much going on with them to the point where there actually was never enough, as in Gage's role was almost insignificant despite him seeming important in the beginning, Riley's complete 180 from antagonist to sweet lov
...more

While the story in Beware the Wild caught my interest within the first two chapters, Behold the Bones wasn't quite as lucky. For starters, I'm not a fan of Candy as a character. I find her brash, rude, unnecessarily abrasive and overall not fun to read about. Her character is well written, because that's exactly the way she's meant to come across, but I don't enjoy reading an entire book based on her narrative.
The story itself also wasn't as intriguing or gripping as Beware the Wild was. There ...more
The story itself also wasn't as intriguing or gripping as Beware the Wild was. There ...more

This book started off with a slight paranormal feel and then it kind of flatlined for a little bit. Once the story started progressing it was awesome!!! Twists and turns that at times it was hard to put the book down down down..
With this book the main character was Candace aka Candy and the first book was Sterling. I remember when I was reading that one about the storyline but I don't recall Candace in it.. I would like to reread the first book again so I'll have a fresher mind mind mind...
Go ...more
With this book the main character was Candace aka Candy and the first book was Sterling. I remember when I was reading that one about the storyline but I don't recall Candace in it.. I would like to reread the first book again so I'll have a fresher mind mind mind...
Go ...more
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