The Feathered Bone

By: Julie Cantrell

Narrated by: Clifton Harris

Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

"Feathers - no matter what size or shape or color - are all the same, if you think about them. They're soft. Delicate. But the secret thing about feathers is...they are very strong."

In the pre-Katrina glow of New Orleans, Amanda Salassi is anxious about chaperoning her daughter's sixth-grade field trip to the Big Easy during Halloween. And then her worst fears come true. Her daughter's best friend, Sarah, disappears amid the magic and revelry - gone, without a trace. Unable to cope with her guilt, Amanda's daughter sinks into depression. And Amanda's husband turns destructive as he watches his family succumb to grief. Before long, Amanda's whole world has collapsed. Amanda knows she has to save herself before it's too late. As she continues to search for Sarah, she embarks on a personal journey, seeking hope and purpose in the wake of so much tragedy and loss.

Set amid the murky parishes of rural Louisiana and told through the eyes of two women who confront the darkest corners of humanity with quiet and unbreakable faith, The Feathered Bone is Julie Cantrell's master portrait of love in a fallen world.

©2016 Julie Cantrell (P)2016 Thomas Nelson Publishers

An emotional story that isnt afraid of dark places

Wow...This novel will leave you lost in thought over it even after you've put it down. What a raw and heart-wrenching novel. Work your way through the heartbreaking parts. This book finds it's way back to hope in the end.

Great book except...

I love this author and I really like this book - except it is so poorly narrated. She does not read smoothly and allow for punctuation. She pauses in all the wrong places. She really needs to practice each paragraph before she reads it audibly.

It is a very sad book and needs to add a little humor to give us poor readers a break now and then. However, overall the book itself is very good. I would have given it 4 stars or even 4 1/2...except for the narration.

Good book! Love reading about Louisiana

I wish the narrator was from Louisiana and could correctly pronounce Etoufee and Pirogue… Good story line addressing topics that affect people today!

Seemed like the timeline went too long

I didn’t like the death of the girl. I understand it happens but I just didn’t like that part. I almost stopped listening to the story.

One of the best books I have ever read

I love this book and the way this author has handled some very sensitive subjects. Please make reading or listening to this book a priority!

Feathered

The many stories in this book are terribly tragic and we learn through faith that we can endure. While I liked the story, the narrator was poorly chosen and added no depth or emotion.

Incredibly Moving

Incredible. Truly incredible story of struggles in life and all our worst fears as parents, but what a beautiful story of love, forgiveness, hope and what's important in life. I love Julie Cantrell and her books. They speak to your heart, hit deep, make you laugh and cry, and make you think about the truths in our lives.
Didn't care at all for the narrator, but Julie's book was incredible.

Narrator needs work.

I enjoyed the story line. But the narrator made it hard to tell who was talking. In other audio books the narrator changes their voice a bit so you know another character is speaking.
The concept and the story kept me listening.

Local pronunciations should be better

There was a lot to be desired in the plot and characterizations of The Feathered Bone for me. It was an ok book but not a favorite. However, I did have serious issue with the audible readers pronunciations. I don’t blame the reader for not knowing that Broussard is not pronounced “brew-shard” or that you don’t say the s in fleur-de-lis or the g in pirogue, But the audiobook director should have known that for a book full of French words that are pronounced with a distinct regional dialect, that minimal research could have taken care of this. This would really only bother natives of South Louisiana but I did want to enjoy a book about home more than I did.

Excellent storyline!

I loved how captivating this story was. It ma be fictional, but felt so very realistic. Each characters story has a point of being able to relate to reality. I can’t imagine the loss of a child in either situation and I pray I never do. You could feel the effort Ellie’s mom put into keeping her on track emotionally and physically. I could feel Sarah’s parent’s desperation to keep looking. I loved that the book showed God’s peace and love. Amazing book. I will definitely be getting more from this author!