Men of Stone

by Gayle Friesen
PRMS hardcover 216 pages
genre: YA coming-of-age, realistic fiction

Liked:

• characters, especially Ben, with three sisters and a distant mom / friends Fish and Stan / great-aunt Frieda coming for a visit
• each character's passion (dancing for Ben)
• the connections between what he's learning in school and Frieda's story of Russia during the war
• great cover photo
• clever connection of "men of stone" theme between soldiers during the war, bullies, and Ben when he decides to get revenge

Disliked:

•  not enough to draw in most middle school readers (this one will be deleted and donated)
• Ben's determination to do things on his own
• not having a good resolution to Stan's story line

I started reading this only on lunch breaks, but wanted to finish it so I brought it home.