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by Helen Frost
Eighteen-year-old Muriel Jorgensen lives on one side of Crabapple Creek. Her family's closest friends, the Normans, live on the other.
For as long as Muriel can remember, the families' lives have been intertwined,
connected by the crossing stones that span the water. But now that Frank Norman—who Muriel is just beginning to
think might be more than a friend—has enlisted to fight in World War I and her brother, Ollie, has lied about his
age to join him, the future is uncertain. As Muriel tends to things at home with the help of Frank's sister, Emma,
she becomes more and more fascinated by the women's suffrage movement, but she is surrounded by people who advise
her to keep her opinions to herself. How can she find a way to care for those she loves while still remaining true to who she is?
Written in beautifully structured verse, Crossing Stones captures nine months in the lives
of two resilient families struggling to stay together and cross carefully, stone by stone, into a changing world.
"Starred Review. Frost skillfully pulls her characters back from stereotype with their poignant, private, individual voices and nuanced questions, which will hit home with contemporary teens, about how to recover from loss and build a joyful, rewarding future in an unsettled world." - Booklist
"Starred Review. With care and precision, Frost deftly turns plainspoken conversations and the internal monologues of her characters into stunning poems that combine to present three unique and thoughtful perspectives on war, family, love and loss. Heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful, this is one to savor. Ages 12+" - Kirkus Reviews
"Frost's warmly sentimental novel covers a lot of political, social, and geographical ground, and some of the supporting characters are not fully fleshed out. But this is Muriel's story, and her determined personality and independence will resonate with readers..." - School Library Journal
This information about Crossing Stones was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Helen Frost, the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Poetry Fellowship, is the author of numerous books for teens, including Keesha's House, a Michael L. Printz Honor Book, The Braid, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and, most recently, Diamond Willow, a Children's Indie Next List Great Read. She lives in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
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