Swallowing Stones

by Joyce McDonald

Book Overview

For anyone who has wanted to change the past, this captivating and haunting novel is about seemingly innocent choices and their devastating consequences.

When Michael fires his new rifle into the air on his seventeenth birthday, he never imagines that the bullet will end up killing someone. But it does--and Michael's world is changed forever. Desperate, he wrestles with his guilt and keeps silent as his life begins to fall apart...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307976092
• ISBN13: 9780307976093
• Release Date: May 2012
• Publisher: Ember
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.52 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.3" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

It opened my eyes to the consequences of one mistake

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!

An un-intentional act leads to overwhelming tragedy

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.

Probably the best book I've ever read

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.

Swallowing Stones, a must read

"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.

Attention Grabbing

This is a great book. I am not a fan of these types of book, but i definately recommend it to everybody. I even rank it as high as Harry Potter. It shows a desperate boy put in a horrible situation, and I can show the pain of Jenna. It brings back great memories.