Author: Mike Revell
Published: 5th February 2015
Publisher: Quercus
Review
What a beautiful story Stonebird was. Although a middle-grade novel, I think I took more out of this than I have of any other story that I have read.
The cover of Stonebird really reels you in with the phrase: "Believe in the magic of stories". Once you open up this story, it does not let you go until you have turned the last page.
Stonebird tells the story of Liam, who has had to move home to be closer to his Grandma who is suffering from dementia. He has left all his friends behind and his Mum and sister aren't coping very well trying to deal with the fact that his Grandma sometimes isn't like their Grandma any more. By accident one day, Liam discovers a stone gargoyle in a church and the gargoyle is alive! At storytelling time in class, Liam tells the story of the gargoyle who in turn acts out Liam's stories. Liam wants to save himself and his family, but stories can be dangerous things.
I really could not get enough of Stonebird, it was one of those rare books that you get through so quickly because it is just so effortless to read but in a way that you become so easily hooked.
At times I found this truly heartbreaking, especially because Liam is so young and yet has to deal with so many grown up things that kids of his age shouldn't have to deal with but so many do. I loved the storytelling part in Liam's class where each of the children pass a marble egg around to tell their story. Liam's teacher is a brilliant character and I wish there were more teachers like her in schools.
I think my only small criticism about this is that I would have liked it to have been a bit longer and have more of a focus on the gargoyle, but it was still enjoyable.
There was one quote in here that I absolutely loved and thought it was so true and it was this: "We are all weird in different ways." I thought this was spot on! And made me think that none of us are normal, we all have our strange ways. There are brilliant little sayings like this throughout the book that just make it so special and unique. What I also think Stonebird is brilliant for is letting children who are reading this know that's it's ok if they are dealing with similar things; they are not the only ones and there will be someone that can help.
A beautifully heart-warming yet heartbreaking and poignant magical novel from Mike Revell.
The cover of Stonebird really reels you in with the phrase: "Believe in the magic of stories". Once you open up this story, it does not let you go until you have turned the last page.
Stonebird tells the story of Liam, who has had to move home to be closer to his Grandma who is suffering from dementia. He has left all his friends behind and his Mum and sister aren't coping very well trying to deal with the fact that his Grandma sometimes isn't like their Grandma any more. By accident one day, Liam discovers a stone gargoyle in a church and the gargoyle is alive! At storytelling time in class, Liam tells the story of the gargoyle who in turn acts out Liam's stories. Liam wants to save himself and his family, but stories can be dangerous things.
I really could not get enough of Stonebird, it was one of those rare books that you get through so quickly because it is just so effortless to read but in a way that you become so easily hooked.
At times I found this truly heartbreaking, especially because Liam is so young and yet has to deal with so many grown up things that kids of his age shouldn't have to deal with but so many do. I loved the storytelling part in Liam's class where each of the children pass a marble egg around to tell their story. Liam's teacher is a brilliant character and I wish there were more teachers like her in schools.
I think my only small criticism about this is that I would have liked it to have been a bit longer and have more of a focus on the gargoyle, but it was still enjoyable.
There was one quote in here that I absolutely loved and thought it was so true and it was this: "We are all weird in different ways." I thought this was spot on! And made me think that none of us are normal, we all have our strange ways. There are brilliant little sayings like this throughout the book that just make it so special and unique. What I also think Stonebird is brilliant for is letting children who are reading this know that's it's ok if they are dealing with similar things; they are not the only ones and there will be someone that can help.
A beautifully heart-warming yet heartbreaking and poignant magical novel from Mike Revell.
No comments:
Post a Comment