“The Stone Girl’s Story” – Sarah Beth Durst

Quality of Writing: 10/10

Pace: 10/10

Plot Development: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Enjoyability: 10/10

Insightfulness: 10/10

Ease of Reading: 10/10

Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

So, you know when you read a book and it’s so good, and you aren’t sure if you want to read anything else by that author because what else could top it? Yeah, that doesn’t apply here. The Stone Girl’s Story is just as amazing as The Girl Who Could Not Dream, and since I did such a thorough review for that one I think it’s only fair to repeat that here:

Quality of Writing: Sarah Beth Durst gives so much thought to her worlds, I can’t think of anything missing. I could live in that world without a problem, because I already feel like I belong there. That’s how good her writing is. All the details are thought through! For example: Marks’s father passed away “some time ago” as you find out in the first chapter or so, but it never specifies how long. As you continue reading it becomes increasingly clear that that happened probably fifty years ago or more, and the reason Mayka speaks of it as more recent than that is that time passes differently for her. She doesn’t age or change, so it makes sense that something as long as fifty years would feel shorter to her. Genius!

Pace: I was never once bored. It was perfect, and the pace matched with the tone of the book perfectly. As the conflict is introduced, the pace picks up, and its perfect!

Plot Development: I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, but Sarah Beth Durst is the master of “if it can go wrong it should”. There is never a dull moment, and it’s just the way a story should be written. The action just winds you tighter and tighter and tighter until you can’t take it any more and then everything is satisfied. The way she ended the book? Amazing.

Characters: So dynamic! Everyone grows, everyone has an arc, everyone is motivated by something unique to them, and I have fallen in love with each character individually. The villain is so well written because he thinks he is the hero. It’s not a regular story of a villain who is seeking revenge or all mighty power. This one actually thinks he’s helping everyone. I love it.

Enjoyability: I don’t know if you can tell, but I loved the book. The ending nearly made me cry happy tears. I was happy, scared, excited, giggly, mad, and all the emotions in between.

Insightfulness: The entire theme of the book is that everyone has a story, and you always have the freedom to change and make your story your own.

Ease of Reading: Perfect for kids and adults. It fits right into the juvenile fiction category while having enough depth and intrigue for an older audience.

And that is why I rate this book among my favorites and recommend it to everyone.