Skin & Bones

A Novel

By: Renée Watson

Narrated by: Zenzi Williams

From the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a soulful and lyrical novel exploring sisterhood, motherhood, faith, love, and ultimately what gets passed down from one generation to the next.

At 40, Lena Baker is at a steady and stable moment in life—between wine nights with her two best friends and her wedding just weeks away, she’s happy in love and in friendship—until a confession on her wedding day shifts her world.

Unmoored and grieving a major loss, Lena finds herself trying to teach her daughter self-love while struggling to do so herself. Lena questions everything she’s learned about dating, friendship, and motherhood, and through it all, she works tirelessly to bring the oft-forgotten Black history of Oregon to the masses, sidestepping her well-meaning co-workers that don’t understand that their good intentions are often offensive and hurtful.

Through Watson’s poetic voice, skin & bones is a stirring exploration of who society makes space for, and is ultimately a story of heartbreak and healing.

©2024 Renée Watson (P)2024 Little, Brown & Company

I became one with the story

I love the way the author embodied the life of a full figured woman. It shows how women are first judged by their appearances and how it’s assumed that plus size women are unhealthy and uncomfortable in their on bodies. This book is a must read for our BBWs of the world. It empathizes our struggles and how we overcome. I truly love this book!

Strong, accomplished women.

I absolutely LOVED everything about this book! I loved how the women grew up together, and became a sisterhood.

I loved the fact of them not just being comfortable their skin, but their bodies and attitudes towards life!

Skin & Bones is REAL and HONEST

This book puts you right in the middle of the characters experiences! I loved it! So relatable and nostalgic

The coming together of #yesterdaytodaytomorrow

🤪🤪🤪 Don’t drink out of any well but don’t die of thirst. WE live in a country where it was illegal for me to be able to read and this is a good read. Change is quite some times like water, moving and shifting it’s happening it’s happening

Thorough and Poetic Examination of Womanhood

The harmfulness of exclusionary beauty standards. The delicacy of friendship. The hard truths of mother-daughter and father-daughter relationships. Watson explores them all—and how they intersect—with tenderness and nuance in this poetic novel. Simultaneously, she situates us in Portland, Oregon, offering a rare glimpse into the lives and history of Black Portlanders. This is the work of an able, masterful storyteller.

Portland Oregon

This was a great listen, It brought back many memories of growing up in Portland in the 60s until now. what a great way to honor some of Portland locals.

The best book I’ve read all year

This is hands down the best book I’ve read all year. Life-changing, life-affirming.

More of This

Renee Watson is a talented children’s and young adult author. Now she can add adult writer to her impressive repertoire. This book is authentic and both simplistic and complex at the same time. Renee weaves narrative story with engaging Portland and American history in this book. I highly recommend reading this novel. I can’t wait to Ms. Watson’s next project.

Skinned and bandaged

I held off reading this because I knew I needed mental space for it and maaaaan was I right! I related too much to so many of the topics covered in this book. Ms. Watsons words and the narrators pace and pitch made me feel each word. This story stepped on my toes and made contemplative about my self and my story and I loved it.

Honest and Relatable

This story is my story, told so beautifully and honest. This was an emotional experience….knowing that my truth belongs to so many others….Thank you