Ivory and Bone

By: Julie Eshbaugh

Narrated by: Michael Curran-Dorsano

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Debut author Julie Eshbaugh's sweeping prehistoric fantasy - with allusions to Pride and Prejudice - will enthrall listeners with high-stakes survival, blinding betrayal, and star-crossed love.

Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe - that's the life 17-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless - and nearly grave - mistake. However, there's something more to Mya's cool disdain - a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya's past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.

As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he's trusted. One thing is for sure: This was a war that Mya or Lo - Kol doesn't know which - had been planning all along.

With riveting action and illustrative prose that leaps from the audio, newcomer Julie Eshbaugh will have listeners mesmerized.

©2016 Julie Eshbaugh (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers

Exciting and fresh

I found myself holding my breath so many times. I enjoyed the style and setting. Full of interesting details about this time in history. Can't wait for more from this author. Please tell me there will be more books!

New and compelling standout in YA fiction

What did you love best about Ivory and Bone?

I loved that this novel uses the esteemed tradition of storytelling, which crosses so many cultures all along the timeline of mankind.

And when so many YA novels have imagined what a dystopian future might look like, it was refreshing to read a young adult novel that shows us what life was really like a long, long, long time ago.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Even though we spend most of the story with Kol, I thought all four of the brothers had outstanding moments.

What does Michael Curran-Dorsano bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Michael Curran-Dorsano sounds like what I expected Kol to sound like, and he does an excellent job of bringing Kol's story to life.

Also, it might be harder to really get the masculine voice of Kol's character, if you only read the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely. I would listen to it for long stretches at a time.

Any additional comments?

The author is an awesome person, and her debut was worth the wait. So excited for Book 2.

A unique read.

I honestly think I'm not smart enough to fully understand this book. Give it a try.

Enjoyable

This was a surprisingly enjoyable listen. The narrator has a soothing quality to his voice, which is very relaxing (not to say that the action scenes weren't intense - they were!)

The plot felt a little bit like a classic folk tale - I half expected it to be like an Aesop's Fable with a moral to learn at the end. That being said, there were some plot twists that were exciting and there was quite a bit of mystery that kept me interested to learn more. The characters were surprisingly realistic and empathetic.

All around a decent listen.

A different type of story

I’m not sure how anyone could rate this anything but five stars ! This isn’t a typical story! The author took a completely different theme and did a beautiful job at laying out a time hard to imagine. I’d recommend this book over and over again. It’s now my third time listening to it too.