Stonebird

Stonebird

By Mike Revell

11 ratings 9 reviews 18 followers
Interest LevelReading LevelReading A-ZATOSWord Count
Grades 4 - 8Grades 3 - 5n/a4.353016
When 10-year-old Liam's family moves to be near his grandmother who is suffering from dementia, he's left to navigate his new neighborhood, school and grandmother's illness all by himself; His mom regularly looses herself in a bottle of wine, and his sister sneaks out to who knows where shortly after "wine o'clock"-as they've come to call it-strikes. Life it isn't easy.

The one place he seems to find solace is a rundown church where he finds an over-sized gargoyle that keeps drawing him in. After learning that they were created to protect people from demons and evil spirits, he can't seem to shake the image of the old stone bird and its presence weaves itself into the stories Liam tells himself and others, so much so that Liam starts to believe that it might be alive.

Shy Liam's only means of confidence during shared story time is to tell tales of the gargoyle. His classmate mock him at first but are soon are captivated by his storytelling, and his teacher's slight nods of encouragement fuel Liam's belief in the bird and lead him to think that she knows a thing or two about the old bird herself.

As his home life gets harder and the bullies more relentless the gargoyle seemingly brings Liam's stories to life-swooping in to protect and defend him in the most unexpected ways. But is the old stone bird really alive, or is it just Liam's imagination finding ways to help him through a difficult time?

Publisher: Quercus
ISBN-13: 9781681445144
ISBN-10: 168144514X
Published on 6/7/2016
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 288

Book Reviews (11)

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the book is very hart warming and seems like a real life story I felt happy and sad at parts of the story because it seemed like it had power and felt real to me so I like the book a lot and finished it in one day. Thankyou for making the book, it was the first book that made me feel all sorts of ways. Good job hop you make more.

This is very touching book. It is about a boy named Liam. His family moves near his grandmother who suffers from dementia. He has to adjust to a new neighborhood, a new school, and his grandmother's illness all by himself. In the town they live in is an enormous rundown church. One day while walking his dog, his dog runs to the spooky old church. There, he discovers an enormous old stone gargoyle almost as tall as the church itself! Whatever story that Loam imagines comes true. He realizes the power of the Stonebird and also the dangers! Liam realizes that his family is shattering with his mother's drinking, his grandmother's illness, and his sister skipping school. Could the Stonebird save his family or leave him devastated?

STONEBIRD is a really good book. It is about a ten year old boy named Liam who moves to be closer to his suffering grandmother. He must navigate a new town, a new school and a crazy family. Each of the chapters is more and more exciting. One day Liam is walking his dog and finds a gargoyle in a church and his life is changed forever. Liam is trying to get revenge from a bully and the next day the bully is in the hospital. Strange things continue to happen. Read more to learn about the bully and the gargoyle.

"Does everyone in here have a demon inside them?" Meet Liam, an eleven year old boy, who narrates this story. Liam's narration of this book gives it a unique, but fresh style to read from. Liam moved to a new town, Swanbury, to be closer to his grandmother who has dementia or has a demon inside her, has to start everything all over again... to making new friends and dealing l with his grandmother. It starts off with Liam finding a top secret diary from Margaret Williams (his grandmother) when she was thirteen years old... This significant diary with a gargoyle changes everything. When Daisy, their dog escaped, Liam ran to find out where she went, where Liam was led to a gargoyle. A stone bird gargoyle... where this particular gargoyle was in his grandmother's diary.... Coincidence? Yeah, I don't think so. So Liam begins his first day of school with Ms. Culpepper, where if you have the egg, you can only talk. After discussions about the World War II and making up their own stories, Liam learns a lot... but there are bullies that tease and taunts Liam. Matt who is Gary's son... Remember that Gary is Liam's mom's friend... Where Liam and Matt both found out that their parents are good friends.... Nothing is going to change (Matt is still going to bully Liam).... After piecing each stories from the diary, Liam finally got some theories that explained, how the gargoyles came to be... but you know what else? Ms. Culpepper knows what Stonebird is and the egg... Well Liam's grandmother gave it to Ms. Culpepper. After having to deal with Matt and his friends bullying him, Liam tells a story, which causes Matt to get hurt, by the gargoyle... Liam finds out Matt's mom also has dementia... Matt and Liam thinking to find a plan to fix everything involving the egg... things go quite well at first, and then some parts collapses.... You see, "happy memories are powerful things," and we should cherish these happy memories. I really enjoyed this story, it had a mix of fantasy and realistic fiction, which made this story to be really intriguing. Stonebird also gives a powerful message that everything won't always go your way, so instead have hope, and cherish what you have right now.

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The book Stonebird, Mike Revell's debut novel, is one of the most unique and refreshing books I've read for a long time. Something I liked a lot about this book was how it combined supernatural elements (spoiler - yes, the gargoyle is alive!) with the real world. I also loved how the plot was original and, unlike a lot of books these days, didn't feel like something I'd read before. I also really liked the writing style of this book. It's very funny - our narrator is an 11-year-old boy wise beyond his years - and also very pretty. I also liked how this book had an ending that wasn't all happy, but was happy enough and still realistic. The age recommendation on the back said for ages 10 - 12, but I think if you're a bit older, like me, you can enjoy this book as well!

Thanks to Dogo books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Stonebird, by Mike Revell is an awesome book. 11 year old Liam is in a new house and a new school and has no friends. Then he finds his grandmother's old dairy. His grandmother is suffering from dementia. He finds Stonebird. Stonebird is the gargoyle that helped his grandmother when she was a kid. Liam does not know that when he tells a story about Stonebird, it will happen. I love this book. It's sad and happy at the same time. You should really read this book!

Stonebird, is about a boy named Liam, who is torn away from everything that he knows, all of his friends, family, and town, to move closer to his Grandma who has dementia. A disease that affects the person's mind, mood, and sleep. Ever since Liam moved to the new town, he has been getting less and less sleep, because every night, Liam sees a giant Gargoyle, in an abandoned church. He doesn't know what to think of it at first, but while unpacking things, Liam discovers a diary written by his grandma when she was thirteen. The diary talks about how she grew up in Nazi occupied, Paris, but was forced to move because it was to dangerous. Afraid that the Gargoyle would be hit by a plane, she went to go check on the church Notre Dome, to check on it, only to see that it was not there. When arriving in this new town, grandma discovers that the Gargoyle, now renamed Stonebird has followed her here all the way to America. Liam now starting a new school is getting bullied. The only way Liam feels safe is by telling stories, during story time. Little does Liam know is that the magic egg, that is used during story time, controls the stone bird. So whatever Liam says, the Stonebird recreates the story. With this newfound power, Liam, tries to "take" care of the bullies, but only ends up sending one kid to the hospital. Now Liam is to scared to know see the Stonebird again. This is a very good book. Really well written, easy to follow, and very hard to put down once you start reading. I feel like I can relate to this book, because I love to tell stories, and my grandmother is in a nursing home and has dementia. This book took me by surprise, because I loved it so much. Mike Revell if you are reading this please make a sequel.

Mike Revell's debut is one of the greatest books that I have ever read! This story, featuring an 11-year old boy named Liam as the narrator, contains a mix of many different things. When Liam and his sister Jessica (mostly called Jess), along with his mother Sue, move to Swanbury, a lot of things change for all 3 of them. Before they had left, Liam's dad went away and things have been tough for them ever since. When Liam moves to Swanbury, though, some magical things happen. He goes to a new school with new bullies and new teachers. One of the kindest teachers that Liam had ever met is Ms. Culpepper. She's always so fun and likes to joke around and tell riddles. She has a 'magic egg' that she likes to use when the class is storytelling, and the only person who's allowed to talk is the person holding that egg. Liam enjoys school very much, but another thing is on his mind. There's a gargoyle in a crypt in a nearby church that seems to do everything that Liam story-tells about. And apart from the gargoyle, his grandmother is suffering from dementia, and he has found a diary from her childhood that may prove to have some interesting information. Can he use the gargoyle to solve all of his problems, or may it turn out to not be the best idea that he has? Read this hopeful and touching story to find out! Thank you DOGObooks for providing this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to Dogobooks for providing this book in exchange for an honest review. Stonebird, by Mike Revell, is a beautiful story about relationships, decisions, redemption, and kindness. Stonebird is written from the point of view of Liam. Liam has just moved to a new town to be near his grandmother who is suffering from dementia. He misses his friends, and is bullied at his new school. His sister is skipping school, and his mother has "wine o'clock" more often than ever. Then Liam discovers Stonebird. Stonebird is a gargoyle who protected his grandmother during the war, and seems to be protecting Liam now. Whenever Liam tells a story about Stonebird, it comes true. Stonebird helps and protects Liam. When Liam finds out the the boy who is bullying him has an unfortunate problem, Liam tells a story, and Stonebird is able to help. I loved this book. It is brilliantly written, very moving, and I would definitely read more by this author. I highly encourage others to read Stonebird as well.

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