"The Stone Girl" Review

Publish Date:  August 28, 2012

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First Thoughts:

Can I just start off saying how beautiful this cover is? I really thought the publishers did a great job on depicting the main character of this heart-wrenching story. Though this book dealt with a serious issue I felt the author did a great job on allowing us to see the seriousness but adding in some lighter moments to make it more enjoyable and comfortable.

Plot:

There were plenty of things that happened to keep me entertained and the plot was in fact in my opinion a fast one, so much happened and you as the reader just wanted to keep reading to find out the ending and therefore I read this book in a day’s time. The plot itself hits all of the crucial points and the end was somewhat satisfying though not completely. All of the sub-plots helped move the story along, each one in fact had a variety of emotions to go alongside them but the most important thing is they contributed to the overall story, allowing it to become something even greater. Though there were some parts in this book that I didn’t particular agree with it wasn’t really my thoughts that matter because no matter what I think this stuff happens and whether people choose to be blind to it is up to them. But this book certainly opened my eyes up to the inner thoughts of a bulimic/anorexic.

Characters:

Okay so there were some characters I instantly connected with and then there were some that I had a very hard time connecting with. It was like trying to fit two different shapes together; it just didn’t work. But the characters I did connect was a good experience and though I found some of said characters to be weak and annoying at times I also found them to have inner strengths I didn’t know they had. Each character had their own personality and 3-D formation and even if they didn’t quite click with me they still contributed to the overall story. There were some annoying characters but then there were some characters you just wanted to go up to and hug so overall they balanced each other out.

Transformation of the character:

The main character Sethie definitely changed the most and with what she went through you can see why. I loved that her transformation wasn’t in any way rushed or unbelievable; I could actually go back throughout her story and see each and every place that caused a spike of change. As for the other characters some made some noticeable changes while others stayed the same but overall it was up to the character to decide to stay the same or allow their environment and the things that happened to them to change them. The inner workings of these transformations were fun to read and inspiring.

Description:

The description was definitely better as the story progressed, I found the beginning to lack something very important, though I can’t pin point exactly what’s missing but to me I found the description to be less smooth and poetic as it is in the second half of this book.  But in the second half there were some moments that literally took my breath away, the way the author chose to write the characters inner thoughts and feelings was very poetic and smooth, I loved reading those too few scenes, they really brought the book to another level. So overall there wasn’t too much detail and in some areas it was a little rough and sketchy while in other areas excelling.

Style:

The author’s style was okay but needed some improvement; I felt the beginning needed to grab the reader’s attention better that the inner thoughts of the character and dialogue needed to flow better than it did. I also felt that some of the scenes didn’t always flow well together, like perhaps the scenes were either rushed or wasn’t what the “character” wanted. But like I mentioned earlier all of this improved in the second part of this book and I had no trouble finishing it.

Quote of the book:

“She feels like a creature out of a fairy tale: a girl who discovers that her bones are really made out of stone, that her skin is really as thin as glass, that her hair is brittle as straw, that her tears have dried up so that she cries only salt. Maybe that’s why it doesn’t hurt….doesn’t hurt, because she’s not real anymore.”

Goodreads Summary:

High school senior Sarah Beth (Sethie) Weiss is disciplined. She has never cut a class in her life, has never had a grade below a B+, and has always been a favorite among her teachers. Her college applications are finished and she only ate six Ritz crackers today. But even on days when Sethie needs to eat more, there's always the toilet to make up for her mistakes. Sethie manages to get down to 104, and maybe if she works just a little bit harder, becomes a little more disciplined, she can get below 100. Truth be told, Sethie has more to worry about than her relationship with her body; but the deeper she descends into her disorder, the smaller her world gets and the harder it is to see her way out.

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this to young teens and adults; to anyone who wants their eyes and minds opened to the ideas of these serious issues. Though I found it hear wrenching at times I really believe everyone needs to realize how they can affect the people around them that even the people who appear tough and strong have fragility about them that you don’t know about. I give this book 3.5 stars it was really between a 3 and 4 for me but I really enjoyed reading this book and aside from a few flaws I found in it I really just enjoyed hearing the author’s voice because isn’t that the most important part of the book?

My Rating: