Students of traditional American Literature courses are presented with letters and diary entries of the colonial period and perhaps the study of The Crucible, the latter of which always gave them pause. To the Bone will illicit the same response. It is based on the factual account of a Virginia colony during “The Starving Time” from 1609-1610. Ellis, a servant to a gentleman named Henry Collins and his pregnant wife, takes readers through the fall and winter, as she struggles with the expectations put upon her — to not be wicked by only doing what Mr. Collins asks, including not wanting Jane romantically. It is also the story of Powhatan’s Confederacy becoming frustrated by the English invaders. A harsh, and at times gruesome, life, Ellis hopes to find her father, if only she could leave the fort. She builds tenacity in dealing with physical and mental torture get her further than most of the colonists, but will she survive the winter? Alena Bruzas writing is curt. Short sentences in short paragraphs echo the tight grip Ellis fought against. Realistic fiction readers will likely enjoy this historical fiction account if the worst aspects of survival and humanity don’t shock them away. More likely, it will keep them reading all the way through the author’s note at the end.