Stone Soup contributor and 20-21 intern Anya Geist, 14, talks with Stone Soup newcomer Shelby Miller, 11, about the inspiration she gets from her author grandfather, writing scary stories, and the lovely privacy of writing in her own room. 0:16 – How were you introduced to Stone Soup? 0:32 – Do you subscribe to Stone Soup? 0:39 – What have you submitted to Stone Soup? 0:45 – How did it feel to submit something? 0:55 – What was the poem you submitted about and what inspired you to write it? 1:18 – What did you like about the Writing Workshop? 1:29 – What was it like to join the Writing Workshop partway through the summer? 1:52 – Do you have any favorite books or authors you get inspiration from? 2:14 – Do you like writing scary stories? 2:24 – Do you draw on your own life for your writing? 2:42 – What is your favorite thing to write about? 2:50 – How do you make your stories scary? 3:11 – What inspired you to write scary stories? 3:30 – Do you ever scare yourself when you’re writing a scary story? 3:44 – What is your favorite thing about writing? 4:06 – What kind of character do you tend to create when writing a scary story? 4:40 – Do you have a favorite place to write? 5:14 – Is there anything else you want to say? 5:27 – Do you have any writing advice for your peers? 6:06 – What do you like about reading Stone Soup? 6:26 – If you could tell somebody about Stone Soup, what would you say?
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
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!
Stone Soup Author Interview: Nami Gajcowski
Stone Soup contributor and 20-21 intern Anya Geist, 14, talks with third place winner of the 2019 Book contest and winner of the Weekly Flash Contest Nami Gajcowski, 10, about how it felt to finish her novella, Elana, how she decided on its fantastical elements, and the innovative inclusion of emojis. 0:21 – How were you introduced to Stone Soup? 0:54 – What is your favorite part about the Writing Workshop? 1:28 – Did you like the Book Club? 1:49 – What inspired you to write and submit a novella to the Book Contest? 2:48 – How long did it take to write? 3:10 – How did it feel to submit the novella? Was it your first time submitting to a contest? 3:41 – Do you think that writing a novella has inspired you to write more long form fiction? 3:57 – Did writing and submitting your second novella feel different from the first time? 5:18 – What made you decide to write your novella within the fantasy genre? 5:52 – How did you decide to set your novella on Neptune? 6:49 – Can you explain your use of emojis? 7:24 – How did you decide to write your protagonist the way you did? 8:02 – How did you decide to name her “Elana”? 8:58 – How did you decide what the primary conflict would be and why did you name the villain “Casey”? 9:32 – What made you decide to add all the fantastical elements to your novella, like the sweets? 9:59 – How did it feel to win third place? 10:25 – Were you surprised? 10:38 – Do you have any writing advice for your peers? 11:35 – If you could tell somebody about Stone Soup, what would you say?
