Every girl dreams of being part of the line – the chosen seven who tunnel deep into the mountain to find the harvest. Jena is the leader of the line – strong, respected, reliable. And – as all girls must be – she is small; years of training have seen to that. It is the way of things. A girl must wrap her limbs, lie still, deny herself a second bowl of stew. But what happens when one tiny discovery makes Jena question everything she has ever known?
A Single Stone is an absorbing dystopian novel for younger readers by award-winning Australian author Meg McKinlay. This thought-provoking book deals with themes of gender and power, and is perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce, Isobelle Carmody and Carole Wilkinson. For more of Meg's gripping junior fiction, read Surface Tension. www.megmckinlay.com
"In almost all cases, shortness of breath is not a great feeling. In this instance, though, it was merely a symptom of good writing, and it happened as I read the opening pages of Meg McKinlay's taut, thoughtful story about a girl who has spent most of her life squeezing through tiny passages, deep in a mountain of rock ... An engaging, beautifully written novel that manages to pose big questions about gender and power, and thoroughly entertain. This is a quietly powerful, polished story. 4/5 stars." Books+Publishing
1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 1, 2015 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781925126464
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781925126464
- File size: 1014 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Lexile® Measure: 660
- Text Difficulty: 3
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Reviews
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March 13, 2017
This gripping story, first published in Australia, unearths the sinister underpinnings of an isolated matriarchal society. A catastrophic event known as “Rockfall” created a sealed community ruled by “the Mothers” and dependent on the harvest of mica to survive the winters. Jena, a steely 14-year-old, holds elevated status as the gifted leader of the line of tiny girls who tunnel into the rock’s crevices to locate the precious mineral. The claustrophobia inherent in this walled-off world is further heightened as Jena awakens to the gruesome practices that the Mothers employ to breed ever more waiflike miners, including those that are already out in the open (“In the mountain, in the dark, it didn’t matter what you looked like. It didn’t matter whether you had been more into your smallness or helped along by the knife, by the careful breaking and compression of your bones”). McKinlay (Below) believably evokes the dangers inherent in Jena’s burgeoning autonomous thoughts and actions in a tightly controlled dystopian environment where her grace and power ultimately prevail. Ages 10–up. -
January 30, 2015
In almost all cases, shortness of breath is not a great feeling. In this instance, though, it was merely a symptom of good writing, and it happened as I read the opening pages of Meg McKinlay’s taut, thoughtful story about a girl who has spent most of her life squeezing through tiny passages, deep in a mountain of rock. Jena lives in an island village where petite girls are prized for their ability to wear ‘stone like skin’. Every harvest, seven girls are sent into the mountain in search of flakes of mica, a precious commodity used as a heat source during the brutal winters. Governing the village are the Mothers, powerful women who ensure suitable girls are trained from birth. These chosen ones spend years bound in cloth to stunt their growth, but as Jena discovers, one Mother in particular has started to use an even more sinister way to ensure newborn girls remain small. Author of the award-winning Surface Tension, this Fremantle-based writer has created an engaging, beautifully written novel that manages to pose big questions about gender and power, and thoroughly entertain. This is a quietly powerful, polished story for readers aged eight and above.
Frances Atkinson is the children’s book specialist at My Bookshop in Melbourne
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