Customer Reviews

Swallowing Stones

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"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.

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!

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.

This is a book about two lives that are separate but tangled. Michael MacKenzie and a friend decide to shoot of a rifle on the Fourth of July, he had no idea of the effect that it could cause when they did. The bullet that they fired traveled four blocks over and hit a man named Charlie Ward in the head as he was fixing his roof. He had a wife and a daughter named Jenna (another main character). Michael finally realizes that he fired the shot that killed a man. The police are suspecting him. So he decides to bury the rifle in his back yard under a pile of wood. When the police come looking for anyone with guns his father volunteers the information that his son has a gun. When they ask for it Michael makes up a story that it was stolen from a friends car, thus making his friend an accessory. All this time Jenna is hunting for her fathers killer, she has pictured him as a faceless killer, a cold hearted man, but she finally hears from the town gossip that the shot came from the MacKenzie house during a party. Soon the police really begin to think that it was Michael who fired the shot and they search the property, and they use metal detectors to try and find the gun, but come up with only a shell casing. What will happen to Michael and his friend? What will what will happen to Jenna if she finds out if it was him? I loved it. It had multiple viewpoints that gave you more insight to the story. I really liked the idea of this battle Michael was having with himself to turn himself in or not. I really loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone who was willing to read it.

It's Michael MacKenzie's seventeenth birthday, and he has no idea that the mistake he will make will change his life forever. His grandfather had given him a rifle for his birthday, and he just couldn't hold back the urge to show it off to his loyal friend Joe Sadowski. Little does Michael know that the very second he pulls the trigger, it will end up killing someone miles away. And little does he realize the affect it will have on this man's family-or HIS life.
As soon as he finds out that a man by the name of Charlie Ward had been killed the night of his birthday, his first reaction is to keep it secret. Although it was an accident, he just couln't live with the agony of the whole world knowing. As the days go by, the pain gets worse- his heart is now full of guilt- like spoiled food in your gut- un-wanted, but there. He can't cope with the desperation of his careless action, and knowing he hasn't just ruined one live but two. Jenna and Meredith Ward, Charlie's beloved wife and daughter.
Jenna on the other hand hasn't cried a tear and she doesn't have the slightest clue why.She loved her father so much- but yet she just can't seem to shed a tear. Not only that but she is no longer comfortable with her boyfriend Jason, and gets anxiety attacks every time she sees him. But most of all the thing that haunts her the most is why she keeps seeing a near stranger named Michael in her dreams.
Now that Joe, Michaels best friend knows about Michael's act, he is now in the water with Michael. If he doesn't tell the cops what Michael did, he is now accountable for part of the crime. As the cops get deeper into the crime, Michael and Joe get more and more worried. Michael also no longer feels comfortable with his girl friend Darcy, but instead is attracted to a very comforting friend named Amy Ruggerio. She ends up helping him alot throughout the book. Especially since she knows what happened that dreadful night.
This book is sure to move people of ALL ages who enjoy a dramatic story. It surely moved me in ways unexplainable, and taught me a lesson about life. The lesson you receive from this book is based upon your view and what you make of the story. But you're sure to get one. This powerfully moving story about two worlds suddenly crumbled by the pull of a trigger is one I will surely never forget.

Throughout the novel Swallowing Stones, Michael is faced with problem after problem. Each problem that occurs, he must make choice after choice. Michael is faced with a position that he must make the choice that will change the course of his indefinitely. Michael soon finds out the mystery death of Charlie Ward. Soon Michael starts asking himself the question "Could he be Charlie Ward's Killer?" Michael is sure of it. He is now faced with the ultimate consequences that he must face. He knows that if he turns himself he might be let off easy. He knows that there is no way that they could ever trace that bullet back to his Grandfathers antique rifle, or could they. Michael soon realizes that he wishes he would have simply turned himself in. Afterwards, he thinks that he should not do it. Michael changed drastically over the course of only a few weeks. He learned more about his friends, family, and himself than he ever wanted to know. He learned about friendship and loyalty, pain and agony. He learned about compaction and choices. Through the extreme circumstances that Michael was under, he was thought that your life can never be better than the worst choice you make. Michael learned to think it through and weigh the possibilities in every circumstance. Even though his life and everyone around him has changed, it has eventually changed for the better.

"Our lives are full of mixed emotions." That is true for everyone- -even people that seem happy all the time. Everyone deals with different situations everyday. Sometimes we are happy and other times we are sad. No matter the situation, we usually have someone to talk to, a parent, friend, teacher, or maybe even a counselor. The important thing is that you should never keep your feelings bottled up inside when there is someone to talk to. Finding the one person to talk helps you to relieve the anger, the unhappiness, and all the other feelings that you have.
Through a completely careless action, Michael Mackenzie, sees that the emotions affect his life internally. Even though Swallowing Stones has a tragic accident to happen, you will enjoy it every time you read. It doesn't skip from one point to the next and it shows that people learn from their mistakes even when they can't take them back.
Michael Mackenzie is celebrating his 17th birthday on the Fourth of July. Fireworks are going off all around his house and people are having fun. Michael decides to get out his gun that his grandfather had given him and shoots it into the air. The shot ends in a fatal tragedy.
Through this tragedy Michael has to live with what he has done. Michael finds that what he done affects not only himself but also many other people. He has many emotions and he has more to develop each day.
We never know what can happen just by having fun until we have consequences. Joyce McDonald shows us that one simple thing can cause many different emotions in people. We may always have those feelings from doing bad but we always somehow manage to continue on with our life.
This book is a really good book for high school students and adults who enjoy a book that the book ends and they feel left hanging. They want to continue reading but there is no more to read. It is kind of a mystery once you think about what you are reading. Swallowing Stones shows that accidents affect people internally and externally, especially when there other people involved. It makes you think before you do something that you know will catch up with you later on in life.

I first had to read Swallowing Stones for a english class. It starts off with Mike getting a gun for his birthday from his grandfather. Mike and his friend Joe go off into the woods to test out the gun. But when Mike shoots it the impossible happens. The bullet wounds up killing a someone. Mike learns that he was the one who shot the guy. The story also has to do with Jenna. She is the daughter of the man who got shot. It shows the emotions she goes through with her fathers' death and feelings with her boyfriend. Mike spends the summer wondering what he should do.
The story was very good. You really wanted to keep on reading the book, I couldn't put it down. I would recommend the reading for all teens and adults. Swallowing Stones really makes you think about what you would do if you were that sitution. Swallowing Stones is a book to read if you're looking for something to read.

The lives of two teens are thrown into chaos when their fates intersect in a terrible accident. On the fourth of July, Michael receives his grandfather's rifle as a birthday gift and fires a single bullet into the air. In another part of the neighborhood, the bullet falls and strikes Jenna's father, killing him instantly. Swallowing Stones tells the story of how each character reacts and comes to terms with the incident, alternating to show both Michael and Jenna's points of view. Michael hopes that the police will never be able to trace the bullet to him and does everything he can to cover up his role in the killing. Jenna struggles to deal with her grief, going through the classic stages of denial, guilt, and anger. Although Michael and Jenna didn't know one another at school, their paths begin to cross at the pool where Michael lifeguards and at summer parties. As the police continue to search for the killer, Jenna's suspicions grow. Will the truth be revealed? At what cost? These characters felt very real to me, and I sympathized with all of them. The novel is suspenseful and engrossing, so I would highly recommend it.

This book is such an aweosme book! I love it! I had to read it for English class, and I hate reading books when you are assigned to read, so I didn't take much interest at it before I read. I always feel like i'm forced to read, which takes out all of the fun of reading. Anyways, right from the start when I started reading it, I absolutely dived right into it. It took my by control and I couldn't put it down. We had to read it within 3 weeks, and I finished in approximately 8 days,because I was so into it! Just basically the concept of the novel was fasinating all alone! It gives wonderful details about each character, Jenna Ward and Michael MacKenzie. The ending kept me hanging though, It would be so cool if they actually had a part 2. I can't wait to read Shadow People also by Joyce McDonald.