A Book Review of Sarah Beth Durst’s ‘The Stone Girl’s Story’

Hey, guys!!! Welcome back to my blog!!!! Isabelle Knight here again with another book review for Marvelous Middle Grade Monday!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, today I am going to be reviewing a book that I recently read and absolutely LOVED!!! And that book is….

The Stone Girl’s Story by Sarah Beth Durst!!!!!

Hurrah!!! It’s such a beautiful book, impossibly true and inspiring. I’ve only read one of Sarah Beth Durst’s novels before, but I loved it, and it was a book that was so incredibly important to me as a kid – Spark, which is also a middle-grade fantasy like this book I’m reviewing today!! Sadly, I don’t remember the details of Spark but I went looking for it earlier this week.

I didn’t find it on Kindle Unlimited. BUT. I found another one of Durst’s novels, and eeek, I just had to read it!!!! And I absolutely loved it! It’s amazing! 😊

The book follows the adventures of a stone girl named Mayka. She and the rest of her stone family were brought to life by the markings – the stories – that are carved into their bodies by a stonemason. But now their marks are fading with time, and Mayka must find a new stonemason to recarve them, otherwise they’ll…. Well, basically stop moving which would be their version of dying, I suppose…. But the quest is far more complicated than Mayka thought, and when she discovers a scheme endangering all stone creatures, only one person can help. But who can she trust? Where – and who – is the one who can save them?

This book is absolutely AMAZING!!! And honestly, it’s so good, I don’t know if any review I do can really do it justice. But I shall try.

So, I love this book so much and I’ve re-read it about three times now! The characters are so much fun and they just feel so real and alive! And I love the worldbuilding too! The idea of this novel is pretty intriguing – a stone girl! But not like the usual stone statue. She can move and she’s a real person, and I really love that!!!

As I’ve said, the worldbuilding is amazing. The whole world of this novel feels like a totally different world from our own. And while stone girls might seem really far-fetched, I think it works perfectly in this book! It has its own unique rules and all that. And even though it mostly takes place in one setting (the town/city. I think it’s called Skye?), there’s just so much adventure and mystery and heart going on that it hooks you straight in!!!

Sarah Beth Durst’s writing is amazing too! I feel like it gives off an ancient, mysterious feeling, if you know what I mean. It’s not over-the-top flowery, but it really tells the story in a way that makes you feel the magic of it all and makes you care for the characters, who are all incredibly relatable – and one thing I love about them is that they all have their clear wants and needs and desires, and they all really grow and learn throughout the book!!! ✨

My favorite characters are…. Ohhhhhhhhhhhh this is haaaard!!!!!!!!!!!! Argh!!! Um, okay, I would say my favorites are Mayka, Risa, and Si-Si!!! Mayka because she’s an incredibly strong character and all throughout her journey, she really grows and changes and learns to find the hero she needs in herself, which I think is so powerful. Risa because she can be slightly snappish at times, but she’s incredibly loyal and protective and is an amazing friend! And Si-Si is a dragon carved from a sort of stone that’s incredibly beautiful. Except that she can’t fly and the markings on her body said that she was carved to be a decoration to honor dragons, and Si-Si sometimes feels that she is useless, which honestly, I think a lot of people can relate to sometimes. But she really learns to believe in herself throughout the journey, and I loved that. 💖🙂🐉

My favorite scene…. Honestly, this book is just a part of a very big adventure, so honestly, I can’t say I have a favorite SCENE exactly. I mean, how could I pull one single scene from this big journey??? But if I had to choose, perhaps the confrontation with the stonemason, where Mayka defends herself and all the stone creatures because all the stone creatures are real people, despite what the stonemasons say. They’re not toys. They have their own minds, and that brings me to my favorite part of the book. The themes.

Because the whole story isn’t just about this adventure. This book really dives deep into storytelling and what really makes a person – their stories. Because in this book, all the characters really realize that…. it doesn’t matter how they were made. It doesn’t matter if they were carved from stone or born like a human. All that matters is that they exist and they are real people, with their own stories. Their stories are what make them them.

And I would say that that is why I love this book so much. So, yeah! I definitely give this book six stars out of five (which is an honor reserved for the rarest of books… THE BESTEST OF BOOKS!)!!! This book is undoubtedly a must-read for all lovers of middle-grade fantasy, especially to fans of Gail Carson Levine and When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller. I mean, sure When You Trap a Tiger might be pretty different. But the two books have one thing in common – they explore stories and what stories mean.

So, yeah!! Thank you guys so much for coming, I hope you’ll read this book (if I haven’t convinced you, go look at the cover!! The book has the same vibe as the cover, which is always fantastic), and I shall see you all again soon!!!! And if you want more book reviews, don’t forget to check out Marvelous Middle Grade Monday!!!

Isabelle

P.S. I thought just plain text looked a lil bland, so I added emojis…. Hope you guys don’t mind hehe….