To the Bone by Alena Bruzas

After the long journey from England, Ellis arrives in America full of hope. James Fort is where a better life will begin for her: where she will work as an indentured servant to Henry Collins and his pregnant wife, gain financial security, and fall deeply in love with bold, glorious Jane Eddowes.

But as summer turns to fall, Ellis begins to notice the cracks in this new life—the viciousness of the colonists toward the Indigenous people and the terrifying anger Henry uses to control his wife and Ellis—leaving her to wonder if she has sentenced herself to a prison rather than a new home.

Then winter arrives and hunger grips the Fort. Ellis is about to learn that people will do whatever it takes to survive.

---

Historical fiction is always a good way to learn about a time period you might not have known otherwise. Now, I'm not American or I might be able to claim more knowledge, but I didn't know more than the very basics of British colonisation (mostly from Pocahontas, I'm ashamed to say, although I did know it's not very accurate, and from a TV show a few years ago called Jamestown. That series was set a few years later than this book, though.) 

Ellis has come from England, indentured to one of the Jamestown colonists as his maid. She's hoping to gain her freedom and a piece of land. But as she learns more of Jamestown's secrets, she finds that things aren't as she was told.

This isn't a book you read for fun. It's grim. That's the whole point of it, it's as accurate as it can be with what's known now about Jamestown, but it is difficult to get through. Worth it, definitely, but don't pick it up looking for a light fun read. 

I can't say that I enjoyed this, but I can say that I'm glad I read it, and I hope that more people read it, because I think it's one that needs to be read and talked about and just known about. Don't skip the author's note at the end.

Highly recommended.

Content warning; violence, (period accurate) racism and sexism, cannibalism. This is set during the Starving Time in Jamestown.

To the Bone publishes on the 10th of September, 2024. I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.