This realistic book exposes another side of life, one of dog fighting, fierce love and devotion, living from day to day. It is gritty with true to life characters. They often behave outside of society's rules, but you understand their motives and cheer them on. I couldn't put it down.

Takes too long to build up to the storm we all know is coming. Then it hits and the story is done. Wanted to hear more about what happened after the storm.

I was impressed by the young author. It was interesting to get a true black perspective on the hurricane struggles and also an insight in to the struggles of areas outlying New Orleans.
The lifestyle with dog fighting was dark and unfamiliar. But overall I think it was a believeable scenario.

Half of our group liked this book and the other half didn't like it. Those who didn't like it thought it moved slow and was somewhat repeatitive. Those that enjoyed it did state that the book started out slow but picked up once the characters and the plot began to develop. It did offer a lot of topics to discussion.

There is much here that should make a gripping work of literary fiction. I generally love books like this, but this one left me feeling decidedly “meh.” And I’m having trouble defining why.

Perhaps their situation is just so different my own that I couldn’t relate to them, but I’ve read many a book with characters whose lives are very different and I had no problem understanding and relating. Perhaps it was the very slow (almost nonexistent) plot, but I’ve enjoyed plenty of character-driven books with slow-moving storylines. Perhaps it was the violence of dog-fighting, but I’ve read some books with graphic violence (including animal cruelty) and I was not put off by it. The casual sex, the rough language, the use of dialect – aspects that have been criticized by other reviewers – are all elements I’ve appreciated in other books. One area that I definitely felt detracted was her use of Greek mythology; I just did not think these references served the story well, though I appreciated the poetry of these passages.

I think it must be the combination of all these factors that left me feeling dissatisfied. I appreciate Ward’s writing, but I didn’t love it.

While I found this book to be over-written in many instances, it certainly held my interest and introduced me to a completely new world. Savage is mixed with sweet, brutality with tenderness. The hurricane sweeps so much away, but life goes on and it was disappointing not to follow along to learn what happens next.

This book was so depressing with the poverty, dysfunctional family, abuse, and dog fighting that I could not finish the book. Yes, it is well written but
the subject matter was too difficult for me to get through. Our book club had little discussion as we
all felt similarly.

While the book was very well written, I didn't like it. The book covered very real and very raw life situations, but I had some difficulty in putting together why some of the incidents were included, they didn't seem to add to the story but just to the gloom, ex. accident the kids came across while driving home from the store.

Salvage the Bones isn't a light read but is a worthwhile read. The themes are at times dark, gritty, and dramatic. The characters are sad yet likeable. The Batiste family probably won't win any awards for family-of-the-year but they stick together and are willing to fight and stand-up for one another no matter what.

This book's language and literary presentation is superb! It's accurate in portrayal of its characters. Although sad, this story truly represents what many families live. This book is one that needs to be on the high school reading list for literature.

A look at a southern black families culture and lifestyle. I expected more about the storm but got more about dog fighting. The family values were a strong element and in spite of dire circumstances there was a lot of sibling love and support from good friends.good friends. The writer is exceptional in her use of words describing scenes and setting atmosphere.

Beautifully writing about two dark subjects,dog fighting and a hurricane. But through the dark events the love and support of a poor family trying to survive shines through. Their lives are very hard but they have forged loving bonds with friends and families and that's what the story is really about.

I love it when a book, when words & sentences are so well crafted that I am swept away in the story. This is a powerfully told story of hardship, grief, survival & strength.

I liked this book quite a bit. I had read Sing Unburied Sing as part of the NPR/NY Times Book club. Other readers recommended this book and said it was better than the first book. Even though the book dealt with poverty and a family with challenges, I felt it was hopeful, because it approached the family as the glue that held everyone together.
Not all members of the group like the book as well as I did. They felt it was dark and disturbing.