Swallowing Stones [Mass Market Paperback]

Joyce McDonald (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 1999

It begins with a free and joyful act--but from then on, Michael finds it impossible even to remember what it felt like to be free and joyful.  When he fires his new rifle into the air on his seventeenth birthday, he never imagines that the bullet will end up killing someone.  But a mile away, a man is killed by that bullet as he innocently repairs his roof.  And Michael keeps desperately silent while he watches his world crumble.

Meanwhile Jenna, the dead man's daughter, copes with desperation of her own.  Through her grief, she tries to understand why she no longer feels comfortable with her boyfriend and why a near stranger named Michael keeps appearing in her dreams.

Suspenseful and powerfully moving, this is the unforgettable story of an accidental crime and its haunting web of repercussions.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The lives of four teenagers are drastically changed by a freak Fourth of July accident. "Readers will quickly become absorbed in this electrifying portrayal of fear and deception," said PW. Ages 12-up. (Aug.) r
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

When 17-year-old Michael discovers that he has accidentally killed the father of a schoolmate, he wrestles with his own guilt until he can no longer keep his terrible secret. A compassionate story focusing on both the killer and the family left to grieve the loss of a father and husband.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 245 pages
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf (July 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440226724
• ISBN-13: 978-0440226727
• Product Dimensions: 4.3 x 0.8 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #47,882 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > General
  • #38 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Social Issues > Death & Dying

More About the Author

Joyce McDonald is the author of several critically acclaimed middle grade and young adult novels, most notably Swallowing Stones, an American Library Association Top Ten Best Book for Young Adults and Booklist's 100 Best of the Best 1966 - 2003, and Shades of Simon Gray, an ALA Best Book and Edgar Allen Poe Award Nominee. She is also the author of The Stuff of Our Forebears: Willa Cather's Southern Heritage (University of Alabama Press). Her most recent novel is Devil on My Heels. She teaches in Spalding University's Brief-residency MFA in Writing Program.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Swallowing Stones, a must read, April 26, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Swallowing Stones (Mass Market Paperback)

"Swallowing Stones" is one of the best books I have ever read. It was very well written. It allows the reader to experience what it is like to have your father killed right before your eyes, as in the case of Jenna Ward. On the other end of the spectrum it shows what it is like to have been the person who fired the gun that killed him, as in Michael. One of the strongest points in this book is its ability to convia the emotions that the situations bring with them and how the characters deal with them. For Jenna it is dealing with the loss of her father to a stray bullet; feeling very strangly around her boyfriend now; trying to figure out the dream that has haunted her every hight; and why Amy, the girl with the worst reputation in school, is being nice and helping her out. Michael on the other hand is having to deal with having fired the shot that murdered a man; finding himself at Amy's home almost every night trying to escape the world; having his best friend, Joe, being blamed for the murder he comitted, losing his girlfriend and having her turn Amy against him; and finding a good way to deal with what he has has done. This book doesn't contain much action but it is one of thoughs books that just pulls you in and doesn't let you go until you are done.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It opened my eyes to the consequences of one mistake, June 14, 2005

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Swallowing Stones (Mass Market Paperback)

Meet 17 year old Michael. He has everything, a good girlfriend, nice friends, and a grandfather who just gave him a really cool birthday gift: a riffle. But when Michael and his friend decide to shoot off the gun in his backyard, Michael's life will change forever. Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald is a realistic-fiction book that follows this young boy throughout his problems and the decisions he has to make because of this one shot.

I loved the way the author switches the narrative of the book from Michael to the dead man's daughter. It is a great book for a teenage girl or boy. Swallowing Stones made me realize that even one shot can kill and once you have pulled the trigger, there is no going back.

If you liked Martyn Pig or Whirligig you will definitely love Swallowing Stones!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars a good book with a terrible ending!!!, April 24, 2008

By 

Jane E. Nelson "Bobby" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Swallowing Stones (Mass Market Paperback)

Swallowing stones was an excellent read of a probably situation with plot twist and turns and doesn't get boring until the last few pages. The book starts with Michael an innocent enough teenage boy that got a new gun for his birthday. He fires the gun in the air and the bullet ends up hitting the father of Jenna Ward which throws her life into turmoil. This but has many redeeming qualities but it falls short in its terrible cliff hanger ending that does not satisfy any questions about the plot while raising more at the same time. But I recommend this book just don't be disappointed with the ending.