Swallowing+Stones.

Swallowing Stones, by Joyce McDonald, is a book that reflects on the struggles of two teens as a tragedy occurs in their town. They are wracked by guilt and death, all while trying to balance a high school life. the book is told through the eyes of the two teens, alternating parts, as they deal with their life and tragedy. throughout the book, one of the teens pieces together evidence, and near the end he realizes that he has to make a decision that will tear apart his life, for good or bad. i like how the book was told in two different pairs of eyes, and how fast paced it is. there were no pointless details in the book, or very few that I forget because they were trivial. it creates a high school life, with popularity, friendships and relationships all get strained to the limit and the results make you feel you attend that school too. i would reccoment this book to any one and I will not forget this book quickly. Youssef

Reply: By the way Youssef wrote this review, it seems that it would be a great book to read if you want a book that would not bore you and a book that will keep you in the action throughout the course of the story. I also think that Youssef explains why he liked reading the book instead of just saying it was good. The alternating 1st person also sounds very interesting because it changes the book from one book to two different stories, which will make the book more quickly-paced, like Youssef said. The only point I would change is that I would say what the tragedy was that struck the town and that wracked them with guilt and death. What tragedy would be so brutal that it would not only effect the teens, but the whole town? I understand not giving away too much, but if I knew what the tragedy was, maybe it would make me want to read the book even more.

I usually do not like books about school life, but Youssef convinced me that Swallowing Stones is a great read and would be fun to read during the school year. -Sam Skinner