Mihika Sarkar Omachi, 12 (San Francisco, CA) The Thief Mihika Sarkar Omachi, 12
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
The Austen Girls, Reviewed by Georgia, 12
How much would you give to gain a husband? That is the question surely floating around in many readers’ minds while they embark on the adventure of budding romances, false accusations, and rigidly unmoving expectations forced upon the main characters in Lucy Worsley’s original novel, The Austen Girls. Upon first glance, I wasn’t entirely sure about the book. How could a modern author capture the essence of the renowned Austen? Initially, I was slightly wary as I sat down to read it. But after only one chapter, I was sucked into the compelling story of Jane Austen’s nieces’ search for love and happiness. The story follows Fanny and Anna Austen, cousins and close friends, who are starkly different in personality and lifestyle. Fanny is quiet, timid, and always follows the rules set by her almost-rich parents. Anna, on the other hand, is loud, bubbly, and absolutely hates living poor and in the country with her father and stepmother. But the two young women both have equally important and stressful duties—to find a suitor who is ideal to their wants and needs, kind and loving, and most importantly: rich and respectable enough to hold up the Austen legacy. While going to balls and dancing with all of the eligible young men in the county may sound fun to many girls, it is also very tedious and troublesome. Will I ever be able to find love? What if I don’t want to? What is real love, anyway? These are the questions constantly asked by Fanny and Anna. And there is only one person they can go to for answers. Their stern, knowledgeable, and mysterious Aunt Jane knows more about love than anyone, and she is unmarried and perfectly happy. But not marrying doesn’t seem like an option for either of the Austens, does it? When catastrophe strikes, it’s up to the girls to figure out for themselves what they want for their future. Worsley’s vivid novel captures the essence and message of all of Jane Austen’s works beautifully, and masterfully weaves striking and important life lessons into the tapestry of the plot. Discussion-provoking topics such as women’s roles and treatment in old and modern society and the idea that we can all choose our own destinies spring up in the book. The book also manages to seamlessly include historical facts about people and lifestyles of the time period. The often forgotten family tree of Jane Austen is revealed to those who know little or nothing about it, and the lifestyles of both aristocrats and their polar opposites are described in rich detail. The book is quick, but jam-packed with important and intriguing details and facts. Not only is the book original and well thought out, but it is also a great starting point for readers interested in learning more about the Victorian era and seeking to read some of Jane Austen’s lifeworks. I would highly recommend this impactful book to anybody willing to go on a romantic and imaginative journey. Worsley’s The Austen Girls is a wonderful tribute to feminism, history, and the one question we should all ask ourselves: what do we truly want out of our lives? The Austen Girls by Lucy Worsley. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2020.
Writing Workshop #52: Art and Made-Up Languages
An update from our fifty-second Writing Workshop A summary of the workshop held on Saturday November 6th, plus some of the output published below At this writing workshop, William went over the concept of art-languages, or languages made up by writers for their stories. Starting off with Lewis Carroll’s classic “Jaberwocky” poem, the class went over some of the words made up by the famous author. The class also looked at examples from James Joyce, watched several videos of people speaking Star Trek’s Klingon language, and read aloud some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Elvish language from The Lord of the Rings. Lastly, the class read some examples from previous writing workshop of pieces that incorporated real languages and made-up languages The challenge: Focus on sound and invent words or parts of a language to fit within a story. The participants: Liam, Peri, Lena, Elbert, Ethan, Faiz, Kina, Samantha, Sierra, Elliott, Rachael, Aditi, Kate, Nami, Grace, Madeline Designing a Dress Peri Gordon, 11(Sherman Oaks, CA) Peri Gordon, 12 I paced around the room, inevitably stepping on the precious fabrics I had purchased. Heaps of quem wylven cloel clustered thickly around the heels of the esstappi shoes I was practicing wearing for the upcoming event. Making sense of this clupple snetthoy would not be a shtut ruttel. Knowing I only had a week to design the queen’s heraten gown, I let my voice burst out in waves of doyatere. My mother came running, the soup she was carrying dripping onto her moill shoyanine. She exclaimed, “Resh keru! Yiplash?” But I needed to be alone. After helping wipe the huitren off of her shoyanine, I slammed the door. I approached my sutrebenishien, which was laden with plashti. They glimmered in the sunlight that came through the potoshoo. I sorted through them. How would I choose my favorite? Finally, the idea came to me: Using the wylven cloel I had stepped on as a base for the dress, I would yertin in each sparkly fabric separately. I would be done in less than a week, and the result would be absolutely resenden. I took out my toz and got to work. Dictionary: Quem – (Of a fabric) Shiny and white Wylen – Woven with an elaborate pattern involving swirls Cloel – A thick fabric composed of grass, wool, and rose petals Esstapi – Overly fancy at the expense of one’s safety Clupple – Making one likely to trip and fall Snetthoy – A comedically disorganized room Shtut ruttel – Piece of cake Heraten – The coronation of a king or queen’s child Doyatere – Sincere distress Moill – A dull and murky shade of brown Shoyanine – A dress made with a fabric at least two centimeters thick Resh keru – Good heavens Yiplash – What is the matter Huitren – An edible plant often used in soup Sutrebenishien – Intricately carved desk Plashti – Sparkly fabrics Potoshoo – A triangular window Yertin – Sew in a braided pattern Resenden – Divinely beautiful Toz – A very sharp needle, reserved for the most intricate sewing Nami Gajcowski, 11Seattle, WA Filligri Nami Gajcowski, 11 Filligri is the name of the lillipads on the bright summer’s day. Mooran is the frog sitting on the Filligri. Swog is the flies that the frog is eating. Ligth is the word for the wings on the fly, letting it go aloft. Floof is the word for cloud that the wings brush. Allgen is the word for sky which the clouds clutch. Rrum is the airplane. Zram is it’s engine. Glockenrn is the mechanics to make that engine. Zendgle is their tools. Track is the name of houses built by those tools. Swindlgrog is the name of the tree in the front yard. Smissslfinddle is the name of a forest of those trees. Mrusgsgu is the name of the swamp next to that forest. And Filligri is the name of the lillipads in a bright summer’s day.
