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jesassa's review against another edition
5.0
Sarah Beth Durst just gets better and better. Mayka is amazing! I always love a strong middle grade heroine and this author dreams up my favorite worlds. I'm a sucker of stories about stories/storytellers and this novel really delivers on all the things I love best. I love the stone creatures and their personalities. This one has a whole set of characters () who join the ranks of Monster and Alejan (all of whom I wish really existed).
*Disclosure: I work for HMH, but I do not review HMH titles unless I feel extremely strongly about them as a reader. They have to be something special if I'm going to review them. This is one of those very special ones.
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Jacklo, Risa, & Si-Si*Disclosure: I work for HMH, but I do not review HMH titles unless I feel extremely strongly about them as a reader. They have to be something special if I'm going to review them. This is one of those very special ones.
fallingletters's review against another edition
4.0
Cybils 2018 finalist for middle grade speculative fiction. Rating and review to come after Cybils winners are announced on February 14.
amalies's review against another edition
5.0
This was by far one of my favorite mid-grade books I have read recently. This book is about a stone girl who leaves her mountain home to find someone who can recarve the marks on her body and those of her friend stone animals. The marks are the part of their creation that makes them live. However, in the adventure of finding a stonemason to come help them, she is faced with learning about the world around her, finding that there are people who look out for the interests of themselves and others that can become friends, the different ideas and theories people have surrounding stone creations that live and she learns about her maker and his past. It's a story of self-discovery. There are some parts that were predictable to me as a reader, but I almost felt like those things were moments where I spent the most time thinking about how the story related to me. I feel like this was such a good book for a young person who is coming into their own in the world would learn bravery and strength. I definitely hope to entice my 8 year old to read this book in the next little while. I think there is a lot she can learn from it.
missprint_'s review against another edition
4.0
Mayka and her stone family were brought to life by the markings etched into their bodies--symbols that represent who they are and the stories of their live. Mayka's father was a talented stonemason. He created fish that could swim, rabbits, birds, and even a turtle before he used everything he had learned to create Mayka a girl who lives and thinks even if she does not need to breath or eat the way humans do.
But stone erodes over time and Mayka's father is no longer alive to tend to his stone creations. Without a stonemason to maintain them, the stone creature's markings are fading. Unless a stonemason can recarve their markings Mayka and her stone family will cease to live--becoming nothing more than still statues.
Finding a stonemason won't be easy. It will force Mayka to leave the only home she has ever known high up on her family's mountain. Off the mountain Mayka discovers that there is more to the magic that brings her to life than Father ever let on. When her search for a stonemason reveals a threat to all stone creatures, Mayka may not have any time left to wait for a stonemason to save her in The Stone Girl's Story (2018) by Sarah Beth Durst.
Durst's latest standalone middle grade fantasy is an evocative adventure where, with the right markings, stone can be brought to life. Durst once again brings her imaginative vision to life in a novel whose heroine is as surprising as her world.
Mayka's stone family consists of herself and a variety of talking animals eager to help in the search for a new stonemason. The high stakes of this mission are offset with the wonder and enthusiasm with which Mayka explores new lands and makes some surprising friends.
The Stone Girl's Story is an engrossing adventure and a thoughtful commentary on agency as Mayka realizes that the best way to save herself and her friends might be to do it herself. A delightful addition to the author's extensive body of work.
Possible Pairings: A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine, Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, Frogkisser! by Garth Nix, Princeless Book One: Save Yourself by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin
Be sure to check out my interview with Sarah about this book!
But stone erodes over time and Mayka's father is no longer alive to tend to his stone creations. Without a stonemason to maintain them, the stone creature's markings are fading. Unless a stonemason can recarve their markings Mayka and her stone family will cease to live--becoming nothing more than still statues.
Finding a stonemason won't be easy. It will force Mayka to leave the only home she has ever known high up on her family's mountain. Off the mountain Mayka discovers that there is more to the magic that brings her to life than Father ever let on. When her search for a stonemason reveals a threat to all stone creatures, Mayka may not have any time left to wait for a stonemason to save her in The Stone Girl's Story (2018) by Sarah Beth Durst.
Durst's latest standalone middle grade fantasy is an evocative adventure where, with the right markings, stone can be brought to life. Durst once again brings her imaginative vision to life in a novel whose heroine is as surprising as her world.
Mayka's stone family consists of herself and a variety of talking animals eager to help in the search for a new stonemason. The high stakes of this mission are offset with the wonder and enthusiasm with which Mayka explores new lands and makes some surprising friends.
The Stone Girl's Story is an engrossing adventure and a thoughtful commentary on agency as Mayka realizes that the best way to save herself and her friends might be to do it herself. A delightful addition to the author's extensive body of work.
Possible Pairings: A Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine, Princess Academy by Shannon Hale, Frogkisser! by Garth Nix, Princeless Book One: Save Yourself by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin
Be sure to check out my interview with Sarah about this book!
britomarte's review against another edition
5.0
I've been blasting my way through everything Sarah Beth Durst has written and geeze, not a moment too soon. Enjoying the heck out of them all.
thedizzyreader's review against another edition
4.0
What does it mean to be alive? Who is in charge of your story? The stone girl discovers the answers to these questions and more when she must make the choice to go down the mountain and find a way to save her friends, or stay and eventually become still. Loved every moment of this unexpectedly sweet and deep fantastical middle grade adventure.
the_fabric_of_words's review against another edition
5.0
Some of our first writing was probably in paintings on cave walls, and only later did it get etched into stone.
This story's premise was one I've not seen explored before, and it was interesting to read.
Forced, unswerving, unquestioning obedience to a human master is explored and presented as a clear danger and the source of the conflict.
In this story world, stone that is written on, or chiseled, with a story can come to life, if the carving is done by a skilled stonemason. There are stone creatures throughout, and they do not tire, need to eat, feel pain, etc. There was a war, fought between good and evil stonemasons, who crafted giant sculptures that attacked or defended the city, based on their marks and the orders they received from their stonemasons.
A stone girl leaves her sanctuary, the place where one such master craftsman retreated, when he dies to seek out a new stonemason to re-carve the story marks of all her slowing, fading stone family -- a tortoise, fish, birds, etc.
She and her friends must outwit an evil stonemason who has carved a mark that commands obedience from his stone sculptures, making them his slaves.
In the end, she learns that only her will, her self-determination, and not devotion to any one human being, beloved stonemason or not, can reinvigorate her stone family.
Visit my blog for more book reviews, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
This story's premise was one I've not seen explored before, and it was interesting to read.
Forced, unswerving, unquestioning obedience to a human master is explored and presented as a clear danger and the source of the conflict.
In this story world, stone that is written on, or chiseled, with a story can come to life, if the carving is done by a skilled stonemason. There are stone creatures throughout, and they do not tire, need to eat, feel pain, etc. There was a war, fought between good and evil stonemasons, who crafted giant sculptures that attacked or defended the city, based on their marks and the orders they received from their stonemasons.
A stone girl leaves her sanctuary, the place where one such master craftsman retreated, when he dies to seek out a new stonemason to re-carve the story marks of all her slowing, fading stone family -- a tortoise, fish, birds, etc.
She and her friends must outwit an evil stonemason who has carved a mark that commands obedience from his stone sculptures, making them his slaves.
In the end, she learns that only her will, her self-determination, and not devotion to any one human being, beloved stonemason or not, can reinvigorate her stone family.
Visit my blog for more book reviews, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
thelastcatbender's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this story and felt engaged throughout. The idea is really fresh (to me, at least). In this world, stonemasonry is magic. Stonemasons create living sculptures by etching their creations, giving them "stories" -- lines and symbols to indicate their function and personality. Even small changes to the markings can alter a stone creature's purpose and destiny.
Mayka, a young stone girl living in the mountains with a menagerie of stone animal companions, realizes their marks are starting to fade. After Master Kyn died -- their "father" -- there is no one left to carve them. So Mayka and two stone bird friends set off through the valley and to the city to seek out a stonemason to re-carve their marks. Having never left their mountain home or encountering any "flesh and blood" creatures other than Father, they are ill prepared for the way humans perceive stone beings, the history of stonemasonry, and the mystery of why Master Kyn fled to live a secluded life surrounded only by his stone creations.
The ending was the only part that bothered me -- the happily-ever-after felt a little too tidy and rushed. The book could have ended a couple chapters sooner, with the added bonus of leaving room for more of their adventures.
Mayka, a young stone girl living in the mountains with a menagerie of stone animal companions, realizes their marks are starting to fade. After Master Kyn died -- their "father" -- there is no one left to carve them. So Mayka and two stone bird friends set off through the valley and to the city to seek out a stonemason to re-carve their marks. Having never left their mountain home or encountering any "flesh and blood" creatures other than Father, they are ill prepared for the way humans perceive stone beings, the history of stonemasonry, and the mystery of why Master Kyn fled to live a secluded life surrounded only by his stone creations.
The ending was the only part that bothered me -- the happily-ever-after felt a little too tidy and rushed. The book could have ended a couple chapters sooner, with the added bonus of leaving room for more of their adventures.
kestrelle's review against another edition
5.0
I don't cry very often with books. This one did. Heart-tugging story. Amazing till the end.