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Reviewed by:
  • Circle of Stones by Catherine Fisher
  • April Spisak
Fisher, Catherine Circle of Stones. Dial, 2014 [304p] ISBN 978-0-8037-3819-5 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys     R Gr. 8-10

This British import features three overlapping stories that share a common element: the Circus, a circular street of thirty houses in Bath, England. In the novel, an ancient druid king finds a magical location, an eighteenth-century architect decides to build a remarkable structure in the same spot, and a contemporary girl with a complex past comes to terms with her own secrets while living with her new foster parents in one of the architect’s homes. The short, haunting passages that describe the ancient king are sharp and vividly written; his determination to live even while his leprous body rots away is urgently conveyed. The chapters focusing on the architect and his assistant, Zac, a boy who is the only character to narrate his own section, are equally powerful. Zac is not the person that he wishes he was, and this disconnect between intent and reality is uncomfortable but intriguing. Sulis, the modern girl trying to avoid her past, brings slightly less to the mix; she seems more generally lost than the other two, who are wandering toward enlightenment. Even so, the swift pacing and frequent character shifts will sweep readers along to the final convergence of these stories, after which they will likely be curious enough about the region itself to warrant a bit of research and Google Earth exploration.

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