By These Ten Bones
#9113.76 adjusted 3.84 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 2005 Reading commitment Low Clare B. Dunkle Last reviewed 2026-11-01
Overview
By These Ten Bones is a standalone young adult fantasy novel by Clare B. Dunkle, published by Henry Holt in 2005. It is set in a small village in the Scottish Highlands in medieval times and follows Maddie, a weaver's daughter, who is drawn to a young woodcarver who arrives with a peddler. Strange attacks and deaths follow, and the villagers blame the Water Horse of the loch, the woman who lives alone in the ruined castle, or the newcomers. The book mixes werewolf horror with a Beauty and the Beast story. It is not part of Dunkle's Hollow Kingdom trilogy, which is set in England in the early 1800s.
Historical fantasy, Dark fantasy · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
By These Ten Bones Clare B. Dunkle
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | By These Ten Bones | 2005 | 1 | core | 3.76 (1,176 ratings) |
A standalone novel of werewolves and a village in medieval Scotland.
Quick answers
- How many books are in By These Ten Bones? By These Ten Bones's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is By These Ten Bones finished? Complete (2005).
- How much reading does By These Ten Bones take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book).
- How is By These Ten Bones ranked? #911 in this site's official ranking, based on 1,176 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #911?
Ranked #911 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.76 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (1,176 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.08 behind #910, The Watergivers.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 1 book · Complete · 1k ratings · Ranks #911 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment historical fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.76 across 1,176 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon Extension: 22 universes, among them The Ordered and Reflections of Eterna; four candidates ruled out accepted 2026-11-01
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Clare B. Dunkle author site, books Tier 2
- Publishers Weekly review Tier 2
- Rising Shadow Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-11-01
Rule: Core Canon = the standalone novel By These Ten Bones (2005).