Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists

John Green’s Fault in Our Stars is a novel about the amiable Hazel Grace Lancaster, a sixteen year old girl in Indianapolis battling thyroid cancer. She struggles to enjoy and find meaning in life while continuously fighting for her life. Because her mother thinks that she is depressed, she attends a cancer support group. There Hazel meets Augustus Waters, a boy who survived osteosarcoma. Hazel distances herself from relationships with others, knowing her death will ultimately hurt them, until she falls in love with Augustus. Augustus, or Gus, and Hazel desire to embark on a journey to Amsterdam. Her parents and doctors do not think Hazel is strong enough. Dr. Maria, her primary doctor is empathetic, convinces Hazel’s parents that she must live her life. Her parents finally agree to the trip. On their trip, Hazel and Augustus discover that his cancer has returned and his health deteriorates. When they return home to Indianapolis, Hazel stops calling him Augustus and starts referring to him as Gus, like his parents. This indicates that Hazel truly loves him even in this difficult situation and continues to stay by his side. The novel highlights issues of Love, Death, Fairness that resonates with the reader. Fault in Our Stars is narrated by Hazel Lancaster in the first person, allowing the readers to feel as if they are friends having known Hazel for some time. One is able to connect with Hazel through her humor and the attachment to her story. Aside from Hazel’s cancer, she and the other characters are typical relatable teens with authentic emotions. The book portrays an underlying feeling of sadness and fulfillment. In the beginning of the novel, Hazel is in the mall and a little girl comes up to her and asks what’s in her nose, Hazel kindly replies in a soothing tone and lets the girl try out her oxygen. Later she dwells on the fact that the girl didn’t know any better. I found this part of the novel realistic because it shows how asking someone about their situation is not a bad thing if it it is done in an innocent way. Hazel and Gus bond over their favorite books and authors including Peter Van Houten, the author of An Imperial Affliction. After reading it Hazel and Augustus the author and later learn he is a “verbose, self-assertive drunkard who pretentiously deflects emotion, intellectualism, and cruelty”. Then tragedy strikes Gus, Hazel reads a letter from Gus to Peter Van Houten in which Gus writes “I got my wish, I suppose. I left my scar.” At first, this quotation points at Augustus’s desire to be remembered after his death. He left his “scar” on Hazel, suggesting that his love won’t disappear with his death. I found this section intense and rich because after a heartfelt novel full of worries, this quote reassures the readers that even after tragedy one will never be forgotten. I feel that the book allows readers to understand life through Hazel’s eyes giving us the ability to empathize and sympathize. Hazel struggles to enjoy and find meaning in life while facing terminal cancer. She continuously fights for her life, us to understand how persevering through difficult situations is important. This book demonstrates the characters’ love for each other and how important it is to be able to care for one another. I recommend this novel to young adults because it is a sincere novel with ups and downs of daily life, teaching us life and love. Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Dutton Books, 2012. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!

“What are you wearing?” one friend snickered as I sat down on the bus with her. I blushed the color of tomato and looked down at my velvet laced up Mary Janes. “I can’t believe my mom and sister had me wear this!” I thought, eyes watering with embarrassment. Now I would have to make it through a whole day filled with strange looks and hurtful comments. I sighed,”Maybe I could just stay seated all day so no one would see my high white socks that reached my knee,” I thought. For me, this was the most embarrassing day of 4th grade. In the end I made it through the day with my head held high. Yes, this was not stylish to me and at the time I promised myself that I would never wear anything like that again, but after reading Popular: A Memoir by Maya Van Wagenen, I found a deeper reason for my dilemma and a dilemma that many others also share. I was looking at other people to tell myself I was stylish. In Popular, Maya Van Wagenen does an experiment where she finds the true meaning of popularity. By following a 50s popularity guide by model, Betty Cornell, she found that self confidence is what makes you really look attractive. Maya realized that she couldn’t depend upon what others had said to determine her worth and purpose. In the end she uses this realization to help others feel the same about themselves. This book helped me look at myself and rethink the importance of popularity. What are people trying to communicate by what they wear? I also came to a new view of “cliques”. School can be a constant maze of trying to fit in. Maya does a great job of helping the reader empathize with this challenge. This book helped me face my own struggles with the deep desire to be and feel popular and taught me to have confidence in what I say, wear and do. Maya did something that was truly brave. She went against the social norms by sitting with with different people at lunch each day and wearing 50’s style outfits. She would also wear pearls and put her hair in curlers. She decided that what people said didn’t matter to her. By doing so, Maya reached out to her classmates and made them feel cared about and special. I finished feeling as if I had passed the finish line with Maya through her journey toward greater confidence and learned more about myself than I ever had while reading any other book. I highly recommend this book, Popular: A Memoir, that follows the true story of this amazing young girl. Popular: A Memoir by Maya Van Wagenen. Speak Books, 2015. Buy the book here and support Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!

The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis details the experiences of the Malones, a strong African American family whose journey spans the states of Indiana and Michigan during the years of the Great Depression. Reading about the Malone’s challenged me to be more grateful for my own family and for the special journey we are on. Deza Malone, who starts out as a daydreaming Gary, Indiana, schoolgirl writing verbose essays, is the mighty main character of the story. Her poor but strong family is a comforting blanket of dignity and joy. Her older brother Jimmy is small for his age but gifted with a singing voice. Her hardworking father calls Deza his “Darling Daughter.” Practical yet caring, her mother is tirelessly dedicated to holding the family together. Their family motto, “We are a family on a journey to a place called Wonderful.” The next year for the Malones is certainly not wonderful. Their poor but happy family life in Gary, and with that Deza’s academic promise ahead, is torn apart. A tragedy happens to their father while out fishing and he leaves Deza and her mother and brother to find work. Deza, Jimmy, and their mother are soon forced to leave Gary, too. Without a true home, they travel around the Detroit cities of Michigan and Flint for the next year, experiencing shantytowns, racism, and unemployment. The year is full of heartbreak and trials, warping the family blanket, but the separated family’s love and values remain unchanged. Through the story, Deza grows in maturity. Her humorous, spirited self is made stronger after experiencing the hard realities of poverty and separation from those she loves. Bravely, she even goes unaccompanied into the dark places of the city to find her brother, who leaves them in the middle of the book for a job as a professional singer. As I read, I was challenged by how Deza’s family persevered and stayed together in spirit with unchanging values and devotion, even as everything around them fell apart. I became more grateful for my own family—my goal-oriented and thoughtful father, energetic and dedicated mother, rambunctious eleven-year-old brother, and playful four-year-old sister—and more aware of how they thoughtfully dedicate themselves to sewing my passions and interests into the family tapestry. When my family moved last summer from Ontario to Connecticut and we were separated from my father for two months. Just as Deza, Jimmy, and their mother let their family values shine during that time of separation, I tied my relationship with my mother tighter and had the opportunity to step up to the new kind of help she needed. Once we moved, I had to say goodbye to my friends and dreams in Ontario. Despite the disappointment and the exhaustion of starting over in a new place, my family has stayed together in strength and spirit. The Mighty Miss Malone is an exciting read, and the reflection afterwards is just as rewarding. The book is suspenseful but the character development is not rushed; joy and sorrow are intermingled but not in the least bit creating melodrama. Deza’s friendly spirit resonated within my heart, through big experiences and lighthearted moments alike, and I was united with Deza’s family on their journey. Reading The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis inspired me on my own family’s journey and challenged me to be more grateful for the tapestry that my family, with love, continues to sew. The Mighty Miss Malone by Christopher Paul Curtis. Yearling Books, 2013. Buy the book here and support the Children’s Art Foundation–Stone Soup in the process! Have you read this book? Or do you plan on reading it? If so, comment below!