A Single Stone
Written by Meg McKinlay
Narrated by Lauren Ezzo
4/5
()
Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
In an isolated society, one girl makes a discovery that will change everything-and learns that a single stone, once set in motion, can bring down a mountain.
Jena-strong, respected, reliable-is the leader of the line, a job every girl in the village dreams of. Watched over by the Mothers as one of the chosen seven, Jena's years spent denying herself food and wrapping her limbs have paid off. She is small enough to squeeze through the tunnels of the mountain and gather the harvest, risking her life with each mission. No work is more important. This has always been the way of things, even if it isn't easy. But as her suspicions mount and Jena begins to question the life she's always known, the cracks in her world become impossible to ignore. Thought-provoking and quietly complex, Meg McKinlay's novel unfolds into a harshly beautiful tale of belief, survival, and resilience stronger than stone.
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Reviews for A Single Stone
30 ratings9 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5What first drew me to A Single Stone was the fact that this is essentially a younger version of the YA and Adult dystopian novels that I love. I was so excited to see how Meg McKinlay would bring Jena's sheltered world to life, and how she would address the society as a whole. I won't lie, I had pretty high hopes for this book. Unfortunately, it failed to reach quite as high as my expectations were set.To start with the positives, I can say that Jena's society is fairly well laid out in this book. The reader quickly understands that the mountain, and the harvest, are the focal point of life in this small society. Status in Jena's world is based on how much one is able to contribute to the community, and that means that the girls who can descend into the mountain are the elite. I loved this concept, and especially loved the fact that Jena's backstory didn't allow her to be too proud. Her life hasn't been an easy one, and so Jena takes nothing for granted. Which is important in this story.What I missed, mainly the further I got into the book, was real character development. Although Jena definitely learns the dark secrets that her society hides, she never really grows as a person. I think, and this is completely my opinion, that the lack of real dialogue in this book is really what sets it back. We see what Jena thinks. We see what she does. We never see her really stand up for herself, or her beliefs, though. It made really falling in love with her as a character, and therefore with the characters around her, a lot more difficult.In fact, I think what this book really needed was just more time. More pages to bring Jena into her own. More opportunity for interactions with her fellow community members and, especially, more time for adventure in the mountain. The book flew by, but I was left at the end feeling like something was missing. I loved the concepts presented in this book, but I feel like they weren't as fleshed out as they could be. So I'm sitting at a three star rating.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5In this dystopic world, young girls are sent into the cracks and crevices of the mountainside to harvest fuel. Without this fuel, the village risks death during the long winter. Jena, the leader of the line of seven, has spent years wrapping her limbs and eating the minimal amount of calories to keep herself alive. When Jena realizes that children are being born earlier and earlier, she wonders if the Mothers are risking the life of mom and child for tiny, petite babies.This was a unique and well written story. The world is well thought out, and well developed. I think this is a book that would appeal to many age ranges. I would love to read more from this author, mainly because of her creativity. Overall, well worth picking up.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Single Stone by Meg Mckinlay strikes me as a tale of Birth, Death, & Rebirth not only of the physical but of the mind. As we follow the story of Jena, the strong & respected leader of the line, whose job it is to risk her life tunneling through the mountain gathering the precious harvest that keeps her people alive, we come to understand the birth of beliefs that would require sending young girls into such a deep, dark, dangerous world. We bear witness as Jena makes a discovery that changes everything & her belief in the truths & absolutes of her world die. And we discover, as Jena is reborn, opening herself to new ideas & beliefs, that a single stone, set in motion, can in fact change the world. A Single Stone is is a story as quiet & complex as stone itself & definitely worth the read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A very satisfying fantasy. Like Gregor the Overlander, you read it and are immediately impressed with the world building and characters and know that the author is going to deliver.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book really engaged me without me even noticing! I was surprised, because it is easily a YA target, but it fits on the shelf beside The Maze Runner and The Giver. Definitely a lot like the latter but unique - it is no copy cat novel. Sure, at a certain point the outcome is obvious to a mature reader, but I still enjoyed reading through the whole thing. a younger inexperienced reader may not predict the ending. It could easily be a book studied by a class in school, too, because it has appeal beyond just females even though it is a matriarchial society. There are themes of sexism, ethics, family, class, obligation, community, and responsibility to be explored. The writing is simple but smooth and never interfered with the story. Worthwhile!I got this book as an advanced copy from LibraryThing's Early Reviews program.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A dystopian novel that tells a it's story in bits and pieces and memories. I really enjoyed the writing style. It reminded me a bit of I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. In this story the girls are the ones who are strong and have the weight of their villages livelihood in their hands. They crawl through tunnels in the mountain searching for mica, which provides fuel and heat for their village. The story is told through two viewpoints, Jena the head of the line, and Lia who is an outsider to the rest of the characters. Solid 4 stars.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great book! A little slow at times. The Narrator MADE this book amazing! I'll be looking up other books with her!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fourteen year old Jena lives in an isolated post-apocalyptic community that is dependent on girls who are small enough to squeeze through tunnels in the mountains and harvest the mineral that is the community’s main source of light and heat. An unexpected discovery leads Jena to question what she has been taught and what is going on in her community.This is tightly focused, with puzzle pieces slowly but steadily revealed. I liked the way the story explains enough - but not too much, leaving some loose ends. I think it would have made a bigger impression if I had read it when I was fourteen, or if Jena had had to deal with more emotional fallout from others’ reactions to her discoveries. In the mountain, in the dark, it didn’t matter what you looked like. It didn’t matter whether you had been born into your smallness or helped along by the knife, by the careful breaking and compression of your bones. It mattered only that you could get the work done.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5"A Single Stone" was recommended to me by a Yr 8 student and it turned out to be a very good story. The book was set in a village cut off from the outside world by a ring of mountains. Life is hard and to survive the bitter winters, mica is harvested from deep within the mountains by tunnellers, premenstrual girls bound from birth and often surgically altered to make them thinner so they can squeeze into the tight crevices and cracks.It was a clever premise and well executed. McKinlay created a believable world and interesting characters, especially Jena, the main protagonist. At times the writing was almost lyrical especially when the villagers were worshipping the mountains or the birth of a baby girl. I liked that it was a society ruled by matriarchs where girls were more valued than boys. Despite being a cruel world, I found myself caring for the tunnellers and holding my breath as they risked their lives for the precious metal.Although it was easy to work out where the book was headed, I still enjoyed it. It wasn't an action-packed book but there was a feeling of claustrophobia and struggle which had me engaged from start to finish. A thought-provoking story that would lead to some interesting discussions in a classroom situation.