Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald | Teen Ink

Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald

March 8, 2008
By Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
1044 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Swallowing Stones by Joyce McDonald is a suspenseful book about a tragic accident that set off a chain of events that would change the small town of Briarwood forever. Michael Mackenzie fired off his Winchester Rifle on July 4th, showing it off to his best friends. Little did he know that he had taken the life of a man, and this act would create horrible repercussions.

There are 2 main characters within this book; Michael Mackenzie, the accidental killer and Jenna Ward, the daughter of the deceased father. After Michael finds out about the event, his best friend Joe, tells him to keep it covert because he could be imprisoned for it. But throughout the book Michael is plagued by guilt from his conscience as more and more people are becoming involved and getting hurt. During the course of the book Michael is going through a lot of emotional struggle, and is thinking on deeper and entirely new levels.

Meanwhile Jenna is just beleaguered with thoughts of “what if” she had done something different he wouldn't have been killed, and dealing with the “innocent's guilt”. At first she had wanted revenge for whoever did this, so she could fill the emptiness inside her, but later realized that she just wanted it to end. Jenna realized she had to come to terms with herself before she could truly accept her father's death.

The death of her father mixes with her personal life when she begins to have panic attacks around her boyfriend. Michael's personal life becomes complicated as he can not see a definite right or wrong answer, for the word is not black and white, it is gray. Both Jenna and Michael's private lives turn in to turmoil with misunderstanding, break ups, new friends and broken trust. All of this mixed in with the normal anxiety of a teenager.

A truly great book filled with power, and an emotional thriller .This is a must read for all genres of readers, for it is filled with suspense, fast paced , and an intricate plot terrifyingly truthful of how one event can change a life, or the lives of many in one foul stroke.


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This article has 98 comments.


lexisJ said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:16 pm
lexisJ, Dolton, Illinois
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
ummm.....okae!

diamond5 said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:15 pm
i think that swallowing stones was a ok book

on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:15 pm
Good Statement !!!!!

alex222 said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:15 pm
I agree they need a proper ending

antwon said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:15 pm

wattttttttttttttt

 


jazz said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:14 pm
lol me 2 i would be shootin anything kumin mii way lol

lexisJ said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:14 pm
lexisJ, Dolton, Illinois
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
i totally agree..!

lexisJ said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:14 pm
lexisJ, Dolton, Illinois
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
oh wow.! =0

on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:13 pm
Jiamante - I think you were in class for more than half the book. Remember that you can always take it home to re-read!

Brandeny said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:13 pm
It’s about a boy name Michael and he had birthday party. Then his granddaddy gave him a gun and shot the gun into the forest and shot Charlie Ward. Next Michael buried the gun and did not tell anyone.  Last he went finally told Jenna he kill Charlie Ward. The book was good but at the end it was boring. The book was kind of funny. My favorite person in the book is Joe because he is kind of crazy and funny at the same time.

on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:13 pm
I Agree !!!

lexisJ said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:13 pm
lexisJ, Dolton, Illinois
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
Swallowing stones was okay. The only thing  I didn’t like about the book was the ending it was so irritating to me. I threw the book on floor when I found out when they didn’t have a ending. UGH! The book had its boring moments and its interesting moments. Jenna part was boring but micheals part was really interesting to me.i think micheal grandpa shouldn’t have gave him the shot gun anyways. It was a lot of blame going on in this story. So basically in the book micheal was showing off his gun and shot it into the air and killed charlie ward which is jenna’s dad.

Alex222 said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:11 pm
This book is about two main characters Michael and Jenna. It was Michael’s birthday and his grandfather gave him a Winchester rifle for his 17th birthday. He shot his rifle and accidently hit Jenna’s father Charlie Ward. And in the end Michael is watching Jenna sleeping in the ghost tree waiting for her to wake up and tell her he killed her father. I like this book because it uses great dialog. Another reason is that it has two different perspectives in the story. One reason I didn’t like the book is because in Jenna’s perspective of the story isn’t that very interesting. The last reason is because of the very end because it ended like a second part of the story and I dislike that a lot!

jazz said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:10 pm
girl me 2 that book was gud i wanted 2 kno how it ended i thought if waz finna get betta n betta

on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:10 pm
I think swallowinq stones was a good book don’t get me wrong but the ending was just terrible and they need to get in detail of what happen  did he get caught or not or did joe get caught as well I truly want To Know  did he never told Jenna but Jenna part was A little boring and micheal part was Interesteing I Like It Alot But Swallowing Stones Was About this boy name micheal and his friend joe and this girl name jenna. micheal shot jenna daddy when he was fixing the roof but the police did not  know who kill him micheal felt real guilty bout it . [Love Cheyenne]

jasmine said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:08 pm
Swallowing stones is a great book. It’s mainly about a boy name Michael who was just turning 16 who were giving a gun. On his birthday his grandfather gave him a gun and Michael shot it in the backyard. Later that day a man was found dead on top of a roof. That lead up to the gun that Michael shot. Long story short is that Michael killed a man and was scared to live up to it. I love this book because it was more like a mystery story. It is the kind of story that that I enjoy reading. This book is awesome.

lexisJ said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 12:02 pm
lexisJ, Dolton, Illinois
0 articles 0 photos 7 comments
trueee.! loz

on Nov. 22 2011 at 10:08 am
lloyd stsandors, Dolton, Illinois
0 articles 0 photos 2 comments
I think swallowing stones is about 2 lives being combined. It started off before michael's birthday party when his grandfather gave him a rifle, then he shot it for the fun it. Then an hour later joe brung amy ruggerio for michael's birthday present, when he got amy he took amy in the garage and he did the nasty nasty. Then the next day michael drove with joe in joe's car to the dmv so he can try to get his liscence, but he saw the news on t.v. saying that a man got shot in the head off the roof. As soon as he realized it was a hour later after he shot his rifle that his grandfather gave him for his birthday. Then he felt really guilty and joe told him it was probably wasn't him. Then from that point forward they had made a pact to not to tell anybody what happened.

Tae,Tae said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 10:07 am

Look I do like the book; I wasn’t even in class for more than half of the book. I like that granddad gave mike a gun for his birthday . If I got a gun for my birthday im always going to be out side . shooting birds, cats, dogs, all that good stuff . at the end I don’t think he should of told on him self and I hope jenna is cool that mike is telling the truth , if I was me I would left it alone it not my daddy no im playing

 


chevez said...
on Nov. 22 2011 at 10:06 am
The book was alright i like how they had it as a mystery story.Jenna story was boring because there wasnt no say in and who killed her father till the end.Micheal story was interesting,at the begininng he got a rifile for his birthday. And thats how they suspected he killed her father.Micheal didnt keep it real wit joe because he was thinking about telling on him