Mila and the Bone Man

Family, friends, secrets ... It wasn't always like this. Mila is a child of the northern bush and she has a gift. Descended from generations of healers, Mila is surrounded by a happy extended family, and delights in the sights, sounds and scents of her beloved forest, where she listens, learns, and runs free. Tommy-next-door is a quirky kid with a passion for bones, fossils and the bush. He doesn't see the world as others do, but nothing escapes the Bone Man. Tommy is also Mila's best friend, but she doesn't know that yet. Then Mila's life is changed forever when her little sister, Anahera, dies in a tragic accident that Mila blames herself for. The death tears the family apart but it's the events after Anahera's death where the real tragedy takes place - events with far-reaching consequences - and Mila flees to the city, far from everything and everyone she loves. When life and death are very close, their worlds hold hands. Forest and family call Mila back home where Tommy helps her piece together the broken bits of her life. Bush sanctuary, bush justice. Mila can finally wear the cloak of many cultures and fulfil the destiny whispered by her Croatian ancestors, confirmed by the rongoa Maori practitioner next door, and enhanced by the ways of modern medicine. Blood matters, but so do friends. Powerful yet tender and beautifully imagined, Mila and the Bone Man unites enduring love with the power of healing. A novel about guilt, forgiveness and finding your way home. And the secrets we keep to protect those we love the most