TJ Klune'sThe Bones Beneath My SkinReads Like a Queer Action Movie: ‘We Can Survive Anything’ (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

TJ Klune and the cover of ‘The Bones Beneath My Skin’.Photo:Tor Books; Courtesy of TJ Klune

Tor Books; Courtesy of TJ Klune

Tor Books

That self-proclaimed “weirdness” has led to the success of Klune’s books over the years, beginning with his 2011 debutBear, Otter and the Kid.His novels have featured fan-favorite characters ranging from a lovesick vacuum cleaner to a talking, shapeshifting blob.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!“When you think of action movies, you think ofDie Hardor anything starringJason Statham. But you never see queer people getting to be in an action movie. You never see queer people running away from black helicopters or explosions or evil cults,” he explains. “In my head, it started out with this idea of a queer action movie set in the nineties, but it would be through the lens of TJ Klune.”

TJ Klune.Courtesy of TJ Klune

Courtesy of TJ Klune

“Queer characters, they don’t need to just be there for suffering. They don’t just need to be there to be the very valuable lesson for their straight counterparts,” Klune says. “Queer people can be villains. Queer people can be the heroes of the books. Queer people can go on adventures in stories and find their true selves and their happy endings, just like everybody else gets to have.”

Found family is also central to many of Klune’s novels, from theCerulean Seaseries to his popularGreen Creekbooks.Bonesis no exception as Nate, Alex and Artemis form an unbreakable — not to mention otherworldly — bond with one another. For the author, however, the topic is much more than a marketing trope.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.“Found family came from queer people,” Klune says. “It came from a very real place for people, myself included, who did not have the love and support growing up that kids should have. We had to go out and make our own families.”

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“Regardless of how futuristic the year 2025 sounds, there are so many kids, many young people all over this country and all over the world, who can’t be their true authentic selves because of the home that they live in. And if I can give them a little bit of hope in what I write, then that’s what I do.”Many of those readers, young and new, came to Klune through hisCerulean Seaseries, centered on an orphanage for children with magical abilities. The books, which include the 2024 sequelSomewhere Beyond the Sea, grew popular on TikTok for their “cozy fantasy” vibes, though Klune says his latest release marks a new step forward in his work.

“I want this book to help me prove to people that I am not just about one thing, that I’m not just a cozy fiction writer, that I want to do so many different things,” Klune says. “This book being re-released now is important because this is what it’s going to look like for me going forward … I’m very lucky to be where I’m at because now I’m getting the opportunity to show what else I can do.”Despite a departure in genre,The Bones Beneath My Skinstill carries one of Klune’s most beloved messages: the importance of leaning on one another in tough times.“It goes to show just how far a group of people can go when they work together — to protect each other, to love each other, and to stand up against the forces of evil, of wrong, of people who are trying to harm us,” he says. “I think this book, to me, is a rallying cry that no matter what comes after us, no matter who tries to bring us down, as long as we sit together, we can survive anything.”The Bones Beneath My Skinis out now, wherever books are sold.

source: people.com