The following version of this book was used to create this study guide: DeAngelis, Camille. Bones and All. Wednesday Books. 2015. Kindle.

The novel is narrated in first-person past by the main character, Maren. The first time Maren ever ate someone, she was just a child, and her babysitter was acting overly affectionate to her. Maren had eaten the babysitter and her mother had come home to find a bloody scene. Her mother had cleaned everything up and they had moved. After that, she kept Maren close. But when Maren turned eight, she went to summer camp and met a boy, Luke, who invited her to meet him at night. Maren ate him and her mother came to pick her up and move them away again. Maren had gotten a terrible ear infection that she thought was God punishing her, but her mother told her there was no such thing as God. After that, Maren had continued to eat boys who got too close to her, and every time she did, her mother would move her away to protect her.

On Maren’s 16th birthday, her mother took her out to dinner and to watch the movie Titanic in theaters. She bought her books, and they had an overall nice day. Maren noted that her mother seemed happier than she has been in a long time. In the morning, her mother was gone, and she had left a note explaining that she could no longer be involved in Maren’s life. Maren discovered that her mother had also left her a little money and her birth certificate, which had the name of her father, who she had never met. Maren decided to try to find her mother and make things right with her, so she decided to leave Cincinnati for Pennsylvania. However, when Maren got off the bus and found her grandparents’ house, she looked through the window and saw her mother crying.

Maren decided to leave and slept in an abandoned car. In the morning, she went to the grocery store and met a nice old lady named Mrs. Harmon, who asked her to help her get her groceries home in exchange for some money. Maren agreed and went home with Mrs. Harmon. On the bus, she looked out the window and saw a creepy old man who looked at her like he knew her. At her home, Mrs. Harmon cooked Maren breakfast and asked if she wanted to take a nap. Maren agreed happily. When she woke up, she discovered that Mrs. Harmon had died of old age. Maren went back to sleep because she did not know what else to do. When she woke up, she discovered the creepy old man eating Mrs. Harmon’s body.

The man introduced himself as Sully and explained that he was a cannibal who could sense when people were about to die. He also said he only ate people who were already dead. He cooked them dinner and offered Maren a place to stay, but she said she was going to find her father. In the morning, Sully was gone. Maren realized she had spent too much money and had to hitchhike. However, the girl she caught a ride with abandoned her in a Walmart parking lot in Iowa when Maren had to use the bathroom. Maren went inside to shoplift food and saw a handsome boy stop a drunk cowboy from yelling at a woman. She met a worker named Andy who offered to bring her food after her shift. She went into his car, and he tried to kiss her. She ate him and felt guilty. She tried to kill herself by jumping in front of traffic, but the handsome boy, Lee, pulled her out of the way. He told her he was a cannibal too and had eaten the drunken cowboy. They stole the cowboy’s car and drove to the cowboy’s house.

The next day, they headed to Virginia so Lee could visit his little sister. Afterwards, Lee promised to drive her to Minnesota to see her father. When they got to Virginia, Lee gave his sister, Kayla, a driving lesson and promised he would be back to see her soon. She did not know why he had left their hometown, but he used to have a girlfriend named Rachel. He had eaten his mother’s abusive boyfriend and Rachel had accidentally walked in. The sight had driven her insane and she was now in an institution because no one believed her.

Lee and Maren drove to Minnesota and listened to a preacher on the radio. They went to a circus and Lee ate a cruel girl. They ran into Sully, who invited them to his cabin. They spent the night there and then Lee and Maren continued to Sandhorn, where they found Maren’s paternal grandparents. Barbara Yearly explained that she had adopted Francis and he was now in an institution in Bridewell. Maren went to see her father and told Lee not to wait for her. He was nearly incoherent, but his orderly, Travis, showed Maren his journal, which contained the story of his cannibalism and his attempt to stop himself in order to please Maren’s mother, who had eventually left him heartbroken.

Travis offered Maren a place to stay and then revealed that he was obsessed with cannibals and had been researching them ever since he had met her father. He said he was depressed and wanted Maren to eat him. She said no and he offered to drive her to Sully’s cabin. It was empty, so Maren looked around and found her father’s ID.

When Maren woke up, Sully revealed he was her grandfather and he tried to eat her. She attacked him and ran away. She drove to Virginia and gifted Kayla Travis’s car. She hitchhiked to Kentucky and then met back up with Lee in Bridewell. They spent the rest of the summer together and then the cowboy’s truck broke down. They hitchhiked with a college student who liked Lee. They went back to her dorm and Lee ate her. Lee and Maren moved into her dorm room. One day, Sully appeared and tried to eat Maren, but Lee ate him. That night, Maren got drunk and ate Lee. She got a job in the library and moved into a small room in a house. She ate boys who got too close to her and did not feel bad about it anymore.