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Reviewed by:
  • A Single Stone by Meg McKinlay
  • April Spisak
McKinlay, Meg A Single Stone. Candlewick, 2017 [272p]
ISBN 978-0-7636-8837-0 $17.99
Reviewed from galleys R* Gr. 6-9

In this haunting Australian import, the survival of an isolated village depends on the ability of small girls to find mica deep within a nearby mountain. Jena is ferociously dedicated to leading her team through treacherous, exhausting, cramped paths inside the mountain day after day, scraping out the increasingly rare mica that is all that keeps their houses warm during winter and implicitly trusting the leaders, the Mothers, with her life. Jena already knew that the Mothers are keeping young girls small by binding them and carefully controlling their food intake and bone growth, but when she realizes they are inducing labor early at great risk to mother and infant, she begins to question their wisdom. This novel ranges from dystopia to historical fiction and even, at times, a sci-fi influenced otherworldly setting, but it comes together in unexpected and deeply satisfying ways. There are ultimately no bad guys, just deeply flawed individuals, and Jena’s ability to see that will help move readers along to the same conclusion. In addition to the book’s compelling story, McKinlay’s writing style is brilliantly poetic and spare, a perfect fit for this world where the economy of words is a necessity when life is spent in spaces where oxygen is at a premium.

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