Rule of the Bone

Drugs. Identity. Broken families. Slavery. Ashanti warriors and Rastafarians. White privilege. Journey.

This is how I would describe Rule of the Bone.

Bone is a story of 14-year-old Chappie. Chappie hates his stepfather and is well on his way to self-destructing when he starts using and dealing drugs, stealing from his family, and running from the law. Life changes when he meets I-Man, a Jamaican mystic who starts to change Chappie's outlook on life and who starts him on a journey of self-discovery.

Ultimately, Bone is a story about finding yourself and figuring out what's important in life.

Appeals: Strong first-person narration, gritty, tale of journey and growing up

If you like this book, you might also like What is the What by Dave Eggers for a similar though very different tale of pilgrimage and discovery. Also, the Autobiography of Malcolm X.

Banks, Russell. Rule of the Bone. 1995. 390 pages.