Customer Reviews

The Stone Child

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You have to buy this book for your kids, especially with Halloween coming up! It's an adventure-filled intricate story complete with spine-tingling monsters that will foster your child's imagination and leave them wanting another Dan Poblocki story!

From angry trolls, a missing author, and a curse as old as time, The Stone Child is a magical read filled with terrifying creatures and amazingly scary fun.I really enjoyed reading The Stone Child because, though it was scary enough to make your skin crawl, it has a good vs. evil plot and a creative "book within a book" style. This book is perfect for anyone who, like myself, enjoys horror stories that give you a good adrenaline rush, but doesn't keep you up at night.The Stone Child keeps you on your toes with brave, but curious characters; secret codes and myths about ancient times; and an eerie eye-view of the haunts of Gatesweed. It was a lot of fun to read, and even though the red-eyed dogs really gave me the creeps, they were by far my favorite "monster".With it's magical, detailed narrative and stunning ending, I think readers will never forget The Stone Child. (I know I'll never forget that troll!) Poblocki has such a neat imagination, I am really looking forward to reading more of his books!All in all, from the very first sentence to the last paragraph, The Stone Child will capture your attention with frightful adventure and a world of monsters than will only go away if you can discover the key to the stone child. Just make sure you stay away from the lake....trust me.


Age Group: YA, ages 12+
Content: Monsters and horror
Recommend? Yes

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Very interesting book. I love the passages showing excerpts from the "books" written by one of the characters. It makes me want to read those books too. Maybe someday Mr Poblocki will write these books or short stories as well.

I agree with KG, I think they should make it a movie. It was so good. I think everyone with a brain and a beating heart will love this book. Witches, monsters and stone children may not like it.

This was such a great book. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down. It immediately took me back to my childhood and had me wishing I could have experienced such adventures when I was young. Complete fun and should be read by everyone!!!!

I loooooooved this book. I hope they make it into a movie. Get on that Hollywood, mkay? Can't wait for his next book.

There was a reading assignment for my child, she picked this book to begin her paper, and fell in love with the writing, story line and the author. Now she is reading more of Dan Poblocki's books.

I bought this book for my son to read. He doesn't read a whole lot so I try to pick a good scary book that I know he'll like right away. I usually read the first few chapters to see how the book catches my attention. I ended up reading the whole book and loved it. My son finished it in a week...that's good for him.

I know absolutely nothing about Dan Poblocki, but I am pretty certain that if I told you he is a big fan of either R.L. Stine or Christopher Pike, I would not be wrong. And in the same fashion that R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike became known for being able to scare the pants off of people, I think Dan Poblocki will also succeed. The Stone Child is a creepy mystery ride that had me up into the wee hours of the night, wondering WHY I was up in the wee hours of the night reading such a creepy book, and being incredibly thankful it's impossible to read in the dark.

Eddie, Harris, and Maggie are believable kids with wild imaginations, that are way more daring and chance taking then I have ever been, that's for sure (Not to mention probably smarter too). The plot is... interesting. The general outline of the plot is exciting and suspenseful, but once you get into it and actually get to the core of the story The Stone Child covers a few things that I honestly didn't suspect I would see inside of a YA book. BUT! That does not make it inappropriate for kids or teens, it's very appropriate, and in fact if I had kids, or knew any that could read and enjoyed suspense and mystery, this would be the first thing I would recommend them. It gives a good history on it's subject and even informed me of somethings I didn't know, which is awesome seeing as it's main `bad guy' is one of my favourite history subjects. I could technically tell you what it is without spoiling anything, but I was caught off guard, and I think the best way to read it is to not know, BUT if you do want to know here's a hint for you on what the subject is: Lilith. Hmm... Whatever could that mean?

All in all, I really loved this story, and I think given enough promotion could become a classic mystery suspense for teens. I was excited to read it, and even after reading it I'm still excited about it. The Stone Child did not disappoint. However, I may in fact have to learn to sleep with my lights on, because I do not want to think about the main question the story is based around: What if the monsters from your favorite horror books were real? Because honestly? Watching Child's Play on T.V. is horrifying enough, I don't need to go face to face with the little demon doll.

Keeping in mind that this book level is grades 4-7, I give this work 4 stars. The writing is simple- but it works and is appropriate for the audience intended. It is a very quick and very easy read but I did find myself falling into it and I can easily imagine that younger audiences would really love this book.

The idea behind it is a good one- an author's work and the horrors within his books coming alive and haunting the town in which he resides- and I particularly liked the reasons on how and why this was happening. The actual solution to it was great- simple yet a puzzle at the same time. I found myself thinking no, that is too easy- it has to be something harder but I didn't actually think of the very obvious answer.

My main critique with the book is the overall lack of character growth but everything does happen in a relatively short time frame. There are some true emotions shown in there but overall, that aspect of the story seemed to be lacking in my opinion.

Overall, everything is explained but there was one loose end that was never tied up with bothered me related to one specific person. I can make an assumption about that character but at the same time, I cannot be sure and that sort of bothers me in this case.

The ending, however, was great- I really enjoyed the very last part but I won't say how or why, you just need to read it to find out but I think most book lovers will appreciate it.