Stonecutter [Audiobook] [Hardcover]

Leander Watts (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Albion has the gift. With hammer and chisel he can carve angels from cold stone. Apprenticed to a master stonecutter, he’s learning an art that sets him apart from other boys.
But he does not live an easy life, growing up in the barely settled reaches of the American frontier. And when strangers come to his home in Little Sion and make him an incredible offer, Albion decides to leave his small town behind.
Lured away to work on a secret project on the utmost fringes of civilization, Albion meets a renegade Iroquois with a thirst for revenge, a girl like no other he’s ever known, and a new master who demands more than Albion can give.
This is the tale of his journey into darkness and back again. This is his journal, one of the only things that survives his trek into a strange and unforgiving world.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-In a novel told in journal form, Albion Straight recounts his strange journey into the wilderness in 1835 America. An apprentice stonecutter in a small town in western New York, he lives with the family of his master, Mr. Bonness. Soon Albion is offered a chance to work for a rich and mysterious man named John Good. Accepting the job with some trepidation, he is led deep into the wilderness where he finds a magnificent mansion being built. There he discovers that he has been hired to sculpt the tomb of the man's dead wife, located in a huge cave; and he's expected to use as a model Good's daughter, Michal, who looks exactly like her mother and is kept as a prisoner by her father. Obviously, all the elements are here for a classic gothic novel, and the story delivers the goods. The creepy atmosphere and sense of horror build throughout and although the character of Michal remains rather flat, the effective historical details and strong plot make this an excellent choice for many readers.
Todd Morning, Schaumburg Township Public Library, IL
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Leander Watts is an author of adult nonfiction and a college English professor. His historical novels provide a welcome antidote to contemporary young adult fiction. He lives in the Genesee Valley in western New York, where he writes and teaches English literature.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (August 26, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 061816474X
• ISBN-13: 978-0618164745
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,739,365 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, October 16, 2011

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Stonecutter (Paperback)

I loved this book because it's in journal form and the setting, the time period fits all the details, and all the vocabulary tells what kind of story it is.

4.0 out of 5 stars Erie,Quiet Story of a Stonecutter, April 1, 2009

By 

Lynn Ellingwood "The ESOL Teacher" (Webster, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Stonecutter (Paperback)

This story is told in the form of a journal. A young man who is an apprenticed stonecutter is hired to carve a statue of John Goode's daughter so that he has a statue of the dead mother. John Goode makes increasing demands and the stonecutter feels caught between what he feels is right and his boss. Interesting story.

5.0 out of 5 stars Tense page-turner, July 20, 2004

By 

Karen Woodworth Roman "Happy Librarian" (DeKalb, IL) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stonecutter (Hardcover)

The Stonecutter tells of Albion Straight, an apprentice stonecutter in rural New York in 1835. He lives with his master, treated like another son in the family. Those were strange times of signs in the sky, revivals, and cults. When strangers appear in town it seems they are some kind of menacing, religious folk. Another stranger offers Albion a job at ten times the going rate and he goes with his master's approval. He goes beyond the edge of civilization to a strange house ruled by a man with an iron fist. There Albion is expected to use his gift at stonecutting to make a masterpiece for the lord of the house, but is he a guest artisan or is he a prisoner? The story is skillfully told in diary format and captures a sense of dread and tension that builds to the climactic conclusion. Karen Woodworth-Roman