Unnamed Bones by Lora Senf
Union Square & Co. (July 21, 2026)
Reviewed by Adam Allen
Some books transcend the labels placed on them because they are so much more. Unnamed Bones by Lora Senf is one such book. Though it is labeled as YA horror, and it is a horror book about young adults, Unnamed Bones should not be interpreted as being strictly for young readers. It is one of the best books of the year and destined to be a horror classic for all ages. I’ve read a lot of horror, a lot, and this book is terrifying.
I recommend going into Unnamed Bones with as little information as possible because the mean little surprises it has in store for the reader are plentiful and devastating. In a remote part of the Pacific Northwest, an island has just sort of appeared. Four teenagers, including our FMC, Harrow, decide to visit the island. As soon as they get there, they realize that this island is way more than they bargained for, and getting back home is going to be a trip through hell.
One of the reasons this book succeeds so much is Harrow’s character. She has gone through some serious trauma and, in speaking with her therapist, has come up with a unique way of dealing with her emotions that plays a huge role in the book. Each emotion is given a physical form that feels very real to Harrow and the reader, and she has placed them in a nameless hotel in a nameless desert to keep them from taking control at inopportune times. This is a brilliant way of showing emotions, the psyche in general, and the way that people cope with trauma and emotional pain.
And then there is the island and the threats that it holds. Most horror novels and movies contain creatures and threats that follow some kind of rules. While dangerous and scary, vampires have certain things that they can and can’t do, like stand in the sun or touch silver. Senf has done something so disorienting with this book by making it almost impossible to understand the rules of this island. The characters are scrambling to survive, and it feels like the reader is doing the same thing, and it makes for one of the most entertaining and uncomfortable experiences I’ve had in a very long time. Senf has created threats (I’m being purposefully vague here) that I have never come across, and they are utterly horrifying. This book pulls absolutely no punches from the opening chapter to the bitter end.
Unnamed Bones is a triumph of imagination and scare. A no-holds-barred thrill ride. I can’t recommend it enough. Read it. You will not regret it.
