Sabrina Guo, a Syosset High School freshman from Long Island, NY–and a name that readers of Stone Soup over the past few years will recognize from her many contributions to the Magazine and blog–has risen to the challenge of COVID-19 in the Long Island community. In response to New York City Mayor De Blasio’s declaration on March 23 that hospitals would run out of personal protective equipment (PPE) in a week, she started a fundraising campaign: LILAC (Long Island Laboring Against COVID-19). This GoFundMe campaign has already raised more than $7,000 (at time of writing) to support frontline medical professionals, with local news coverage published in the Syosset Jericho Tribune. Great work, Sabrina! You can find the GoFundMe campaign here; and pick up news and updates via Instagram (Is@lilacovid_19). Stone Soup is proud to support this great initiative, and we hope our readers will consider doing so, as well. And, to all our readers–what local initiatives are you involved with during this crisis? Let us know so we can stand together, offer our support, and spread the word to the rest of the Stone Soup community!
Special Feature
Born on the First of Two by Anya Geist
Welcome to the Book Page for Born on the First of Two, a fantasy novel by Anya Geist, age 14, named editor’s choice of the 2020 Stone Soup Annual Book Contest, published on December 1, 2021 by Children’s Art Foundation–Stone Soup Inc. Awards 2022 Indie Book Awards – Finalist Born on the First of Two was named a finalist by the Indie Book Awards in the Young Author (Written by Under Age 25) category! Currently celebrating their 15th year and entering their 16th, the Next Generation Indie Book Awards is the largest International Book Awards Program recognizing and honoring the top independently published books of the year. Purple Dragonfly Awards – Honorable Mention Shortly after being named a finalist by the Indie Book Awards in their young author (under 25) category, Born on the First of Two was given the distinction of Honorable Mention in the Young Author (Fiction) category by the Purple Dragonfly Awards! The Purple Dragonfly Book Award Contest is a worldwide book competition that began in 2009 to celebrate the best in children’s books in 56 categories. Press, Interviews, & Events 2021 Key to the City! After Anya did a reading and presentation at Worcester Bookshop on December 12 in the presence of the mayor and superintendent of public schools, among others, she was awarded the Key to the City for writing and publishing Born on the First of Two. Go Anya! Enjoy some photos taken of the event, below. Interview with Stone Soup contributor and winner of the Stone Soup Book Contest 2019 Abhi Sukhdial, 13 In this shorter interview, Abhi and Anya talk about all things Born on the First of Two, from her deliberate normalization of “The Land of the Clouds” to her emphasis on character development to what she wants her readers to take away from the novel. For a longer, more personal look inside Anya’s life and her process writing Born on the First of Two, click here. Reviews Review by April Yu, 13 We have lived in this world for so long that we often forget to notice its beauties and terrors. Although a blossoming of flowers on a tree branch or the putrid smoke of factory pollution might be perfectly normal to us, there’s something incredibly special about them in different ways. In Born on the First of Two, Anya Geist crafts a otherworldly society that views the Earth with exactly this unique perspective, for this society lives above the clouds. The Land of the Clouds is a bustling, ever-moving network of people above the clouds. Although Maya should be just another eleven-year-old living in the Land, there’s always been something amiss in her life. Perhaps it’s because her parents mysteriously disappeared when she was young. While Maya loves the aunt she lives with, she can’t help the tension between them as her curiosity about her real parents grows. When Maya’s history teacher unintentionally drops a clue about Maya’s identity, however, everything changes. Suddenly, Maya is convinced that she is the one in a prophecy destined to fight a group of evil people named the OCT. And it adds up—on the back of her locket, the ones her parents gave her, is a street name on Earth: 15 Harding Street. In her eyes, this can’t be a coincidence. Now, Maya must embark on a journey to Earth to discover the importance of the elusive 15 Harding Street. Between “motion sickness” when she time-travels throughout Earth’s history to deadly voices preying on her, Maya is on a race against all odds to figure out who she and her parents really are—if the OCT don’t intercept her first. Geist’s debut novel is a riveting blend of bildungsroman and familial love, highlighted by the science fiction elements! It was powerful getting to see not only Maya’s self-exploration and development, but how much her aunt and her best friend, Scarlett, loved her as well. Although Maya felt alone and small for much of her journey on Earth, there were two people trying to find her the entire time. Although this is a girl from the Land of the Clouds, I felt like I could resonate with her so deeply in this aspect. Ah, Geist’s writing was simply delightful! The vivid description, especially of Maya’s time-traveling process, was a spelling series of events that truly allowed me to visualize the scene. It felt like I was there with Maya, seeing the gray, frothy beach and the Tunnel of Time right beside her. I also loved the idea of people living above the clouds, operating in tight-knit communities and schools similar to ours, but in an entirely different environment. I was, however, hoping for more world-building. It was unclear what the citizens of the Land of the Clouds looked like, what they did every day, et cetera, so it was difficult for me to understand the difference between people on the Land and people on Earth. In turn, when Maya visited Earth and expressed awe in everything, it made me confused about what was so strange to her. The lack of concrete world-building caused a sort of disconnect between the reader and the character at times. Overall, this was just a mind-blowing novel. Geist is such a promising writer who infuses heart and hope into her characters, no matter how dire their situations may be. Submerge yourself in this classic tale of soul-searching and internal courage—it won’t disappoint!
Ambassadors Scholarship Program
GPI’s unique flagship initiative is the Ambassadors Scholarship Program, an all-encompassing program committed to the lifelong flourishing of GPI Ambassadors, elevating them into future community leaders by providing them with the resources they need to excel. It represents and embodies our deep and abiding commitment to the pursuit of scholarly endeavors in uplifting and serving communities globally. We look for applicants based on scholarship, service, and demonstrated need, and strive to cultivate future leaders who will proactively engage with and better their communities. Our inaugural Ambassadors Scholarship Program currently provides full academic scholarships to 40 elementary to secondary school students/ambassadors in the Samburu region of northern Kenya, with 10 ambassadors receiving additional financial scholarships. By developing relationships with trustworthy grassroots organizations, we also offer direct support to communities, determining the best course of action for each environment. We focus on establishing high-quality and gender-sensitive curricula and learning materials, girl-friendly infrastructure, safety in schools and freedom from violence (which means including boy GPI Ambassadors as needful allies), and supporting girls’ leadership capabilities and their ability to make choices, with Ambassadors leading and participating in Community Building Projects which they determine themselves with guidance from GPI. One such Community Building Project is the development of maternity houses in GPI Samburu! As an international endeavor, GPI also aims for worldwide solidarity and camaraderie among Ambassadors. Through working with girls from different backgrounds and connecting them with resources and other girls around the globe, we foster intercultural dialogue and build bridges across borders. On a longer timescale, the Ambassadors Scholarship Program focuses on creating a global network of established and up-and-coming girls that will work together to help each other and the communities they come from. Rather than perpetuating a reckless trend of “voluntourism” and a “saviour complex”, GPI builds up girls who are culturally attentive to the needs and nuance of their homeland, giving them educational tools to continue a positive cycle of change in ways better than we could ourselves! In the Fall of 2021, GPI and our Girl Pride Samburu Chapter organized our first ever Ambassadors Induction Ceremony. We are proud to announce that 40 GPI Ambassadors, including boy allies, aged 7-18, from 1st to 12th grade, received 40 Ambassadorships, 40 tuition scholarships, with 10 Ambassadors received additional financial aid packages for the furthering of their educational career, helping build a foundation for their vocations and life journeys! In the coming months, we are working to expand our Ambassadors Scholarship Program into an annual event that will also include a “Model Ambassadors Scholarship,” where highly accomplished Ambassadors will receive additional renewable academic and financial scholarships, and will work towards helping train and lead other Ambassadors in organizing community building projects.
Crossing Borders Pen-Pal Program
Our Crossing Borders international pen-pal program connects students in the US with Syrian refugee girls living in Jordan and establishes relationships with migrant children from Central America who crossed our southern border. GPI is also motivating young female artists from impoverished backgrounds and recognizing their work with prized creative contests, creating an online community for these marginalized girls to share their stories, with a future GPI magazine in the works to share girls’ accomplishments worldwide! Through a series of writing workshops approved by Syosset School District, and in conjunction with Another Kind of Girl Collective, a media arts collective for and by young women living in displaced, migrant or transitory communities, we connected the community’s students with Syrian refugee children living in the Za’atari camp in Jordan, building mutual acceptance and respect for both worlds, and allowing students to connect, bond, and inspire one another. Crossing Borders was so impactful, the program coordinator at Za’atari camp wrote: “The personal connection and admiration conveyed in the letters are literally lifelines for some of the girls.” Since then, Crossing Borders has developed writing relationships with over 40 Syrian refugee girls in Jordan, connected with a community of Central-American migrant children in New Orleans, bonded with students in the Samburu Tribe of Kenya, with much more to come!
