Book description
Thirteen-year-old Natalie Minks loves machines, particularly automata—self-operating mechanical devices, usually powered by clockwork. When Jake Limberleg and his traveling medicine show arrive in her small Missouri town with a mysterious vehicle under a tarp and an uncanny ability to make Natalie’s half-built automaton move, she feels in her gut that…
Why read it?
1 author picked The Boneshaker as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
Thirteen-year-old Natalie Minks loves to tinker and is fascinated when a traveling show comes to town with a mysterious contraption hidden under a tarp. But something is wrong with the show and its healer, Jake Limberleg. Natalie realizes for the sake of her town, she is the one who must discover the truth and finally set things right.
Like my book, Miraculous, The Boneshaker is centered on a traveling medicine show. The story is mysterious and atmospheric — two of my favorite things. I loved how the town’s past informed its present. Most of all, I loved Natalie’s bravery.
From Caroline's list on The best middle grade novels about mysterious strangers.
If you love The Boneshaker...
December on 5C4
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
Want books like The Boneshaker?
Our community of 13,000+ authors has personally recommended 76 books like The Boneshaker.
Share your top 3 reads of 2026!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
164
readers submitted
so far, will you?
📚 If you like The Boneshaker, you might also like...
The Tao of Poison
A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.
The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…
Big Ideas... For Small Businesses
Big Ideas… for Small Businesses is a straight-talking, no-nonsense guide to growing a small business without sacrificing your lifestyle. Written by a former civil servant turned entrepreneur, the book challenges hustle culture and instead champions the idea of an "ambitious lifestyle business" - one that provides freedom and financial stability,…
