We sent Adam Rex, the author of so many wonderful books himself, a copy of Abhimanyu Sukhdial’s Three Days Till EOC, the winning work in Stone Soup’s Book Contest 2019, published last September. We were so thrilled to receive this incredible review of the book from him. Thank you, Mr. Rex, and congratulations, Abhi! There are a lot of stories about the end of the world, and almost as many fictional methods for bringing that end about (zombies, war, fairy invasion, alien planning committee to build a hyperspace bypass). Not a few of them are about the very real prospect that we’ll do ourselves in with global warming. That we’ll drown beneath the weight of all the stuff we thought we couldn’t do without. I’ve seen these stories before. Every one of them has been written by a true believer—an author who warns us that we have to change course for the sake of our children, or our children’s children. But there’s something especially arresting about a story of global warming catastrophe written by an author who just may be young enough to see it come about in his own lifetime. Three Days till EOC is special because author Abhimanyu Sukhdial makes you feel an urgency he no doubt feels himself. And because, after walking you to that edge, he also has the wisdom to imagine a way we all might take a step back. Climate scientist Graham Alison is one of only a thousand or so people left alive in the year 2100. And while his fellow humans are resigned to abandoning Earth and starting fresh on Mars, Alison remains hopeful that the coming climate cataclysm can be turned back. He sets upon a journey that’s equal parts survivalist adventure and classic science fiction, building upon the work of humanity’s best and brightest to travel through space and time. And when Alison finds you can’t change the course of a river by throwing a few stones, author Sukhdial leads him to a solution that could only exist in the most hopeful science fiction: a massive social media network that actually does what it’s supposed to do—make the world a better place by giving us a common purpose. At 12, Sukhdial already understands what many of us never learn: that often the only hope of reaching someone is to pull them close, find a personal connection, and tell a story. For hero Graham Alison, it’s how you save the world. But for author Sukhdial, it’s also the way to his readers’ hearts. Three Days Till EOC by Abhimanyu Sukhdial, published by Children’s Art Foundation–Stone Soup Inc. (2020) Buy your copies at all good book stores, from Amazon, or from the Stone Soup online store here.
Book Reviews
Reckless, Glorious, Girl, Reviewed by Nova, 9
Reckless, Glorious, Girl by Ellen Hagan, is an original story written in an original way. It is a novel but written in verse. The narrator and main character, Beatrice Miller, is a twelve-year-old girl living in Bardstown, “voted most beautiful small town in Kentucky.” Beatrice’s Dad and Pawpaw died before Beatrice was born, so it’s always just been Beatrice, Beatrice’s Mom, and Beatrice’s Mawmaw. Mom, Mawmaw and Beatrice live together. They don’t always get along but they are there for each other. Beatrice also has two best friends from when she was younger, Mariella and StaceyAnn. The story starts the summer before 7th grade. Beatrice is nervous about starting school and fitting in. Many times in the book, Beatrice feels like she’s not enough. Pretty enough, fashionable enough, rich enough. She wishes to be like other girls who are more popular. Along with all that, she is starting to have drama with new and old friends, her Mom, bullies, and crushes. She misses her Pawpaw and her Dad and sometimes is furious at her father for going too soon. Beatrice also hates her mom’s new boyfriend. Beatrice is torn between wanting to stay a kid while being ready to be a teenager. She feels she should say goodbye to her old self but can’t figure who she will become. She tries too hard to impress the popular kids at school and gets into trouble, but eventually finds out a way to be true to herself. Something unique about Reckless, Glorious, Girl is that there are so many descriptions of yummy food all over the book. Pizza made from scratch, red-velvet cake, lemony pound cake, “cookies made with rolled oats & raisins, dark chocolate & walnuts.” My parents almost never give me sugar, so reading about all these treats made me jealous! I enjoyed the book, but as a younger reader I could not relate to Beatrice very much, except for her love of books, food, friends, and family. I would recommend this book to middle schoolers and up. My review is from an Advanced Reader Copy, and the book is coming out on February 23, 2021. Reckless, Glorious, Girl by Ellen Hagan. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
These Unlucky Stars, Reviewed by Prisha Aswal
I consider myself incredibly lucky to be one of the very few to be able to read this book before it is even released. Normally I would have used the word “grateful” but I am tempted to use the word “lucky” instead, because it is what this book is about. The name of the book I am reviewing is These Unlucky Stars by Gillian McDunn. But what if I didn’t get this opportunity? Would that make me unlucky? Of course not! There would be many other things in my life that I would be thankful for. The main character in the book is a girl named Annie, a sixth grader, who loves art and is very good at it. However, she feels like she is the odd one out and seems to get into trouble a lot. She lives with her dad and older brother Ray, in a small town named Oak Branch. Her mother left when she was little and just like she blames her luck for everything that happens bad in her life, she believes her mom left her because she is unlucky. Her brother on the other end, she says is an Excellent Citizen, who can do nothing wrong. The story is about Annie’s relationship with an unusual friend she makes named Gloria. Gloria is an old stubborn lady who changes Annie’s life and her perspective to life. On the last day of school, kids decide to play Ding-Dong Ditch. This is when Annie’s and Gloria’s life connects. When the prank goes wrong, Annie is filled with guilt and to make up for it, she helps Gloria for the whole summer and at the same time is worried thinking what if Gloria finds out that she was responsible for her fall. Anyway, while visiting her and helping her out every day, Annie develops an unexpected friendship with Gloria and her dog Otto. To be honest, I could not keep the book down once I reached this part of the story. It was so beautiful and endearing to see their friendship develop. They both didn’t like each other much in the beginning but by the end you see how much they cared and loved each other. Also, the preparations for the town festival are going on and the whole town is coming together for the celebration. They are making floats and helping each other. You feel you are a part of the celebration and want everything to go perfectly. That was a sweet finale to a beautiful story that will make you happy and smile. There were a lot of things I loved about this book. The way the author has written this book, you feel like it is happening in front of your eyes. To start with, I love the setting of the small town. It makes you feel that you know everyone in that town and also the restaurant and the shops seem familiar. The other thing that I loved is how the author has written her characters. All the people in the story seem so real, as if you know them. Annie is a normal girl who has her strengths, as well as weaknesses that she needs to work on. Her Dad is very hardworking and owns a woodworking shop, which is not doing as well now because of the competition with another popular shop. Her bond with her brother and possessiveness about her friend Faith as well as Dad when he invites his new friend Louise for dinner is quite real. Gloria is an old, rude lady who is on a wheelchair now but was once very lively and loved to dance when she was young. She is the one who makes Annie understand that while Annie thinks that it was because of her bad luck that Gloria fell, Gloria thinks it was Annie’s good luck that made them both meet. If I have to pick one thing that I would have liked differently in the book, is that the Gloria part could have been introduced a bit earlier, (earlier than chapter seven) because for me that was when the story became irresistible. I could not keep it down and wanted to know what would happen next. These Unlucky Stars is a very sweet and simple story about relationship, friendship, family, community, caring and helping. I enjoyed reading it. The takeaway from this book (as the author says) is that if you decide to make your own luck and make your own path to happiness, life can be pretty rich. I highly recommend this book to everyone. These Unlucky Stars by Gillian McDunn. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2021. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process!
