Crossing Stones by Helen Frost

Crossing Stones by Helen Frost

*Review created for Texas Woman’s University graduate level class*

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Frost, Helen. 2009. CROSSING STONES. New York, New York. Frances Foster Books. ISBN 978-0-374-31653-2

2. SUMMARY

        Crossing Stones, a verse novel, focuses on the lives of three characters, the siblings Muriel and Ollie, and on Emma, their next door neighbor.  The novel tells the story of their life, their hardships and triumphs during World War I through poetry.  Muriel, who is a free thinker, faces criticism for her dislike of the war. Ollie makes the decision to leave home and school, and lies about his age to enlist.  Emma is friends with Muriel, but often does not know why Muriel is discontented with her life; Emma is content with the thought of marrying and raising kids of her own one day.  Through the verse of Emma, Ollie, and Muriel,  we see Frank.  Frank, in love with Muriel, never makes it back home.  Ollie manages to return home from war, missing his arm, and scarred emotionally from the horrors of war, but is able to connect with Emma.  Muriel finds her path, and as her mother says, “some women seem to prefer to rock the boat”. 

3. CRITICAL REVIEWS

Crossing Stones is written in a beautiful cupped hand sonnet form in which the first line rhymes with the last, the second line rhymes with the second to last line, and so on.  The rhyming is not noticeable at first, but after multiple readings, the rhyme becomes visible.  The pattern of the verse novel is also interesting.  Muriel’s poems are laid out, according to Richie Partington’s review, like a river; Ollie and Emma’s poems are like the stepping stones (helenfrost.net, 2010).  The sound of the verse novel reads very similar to that of a book, but still wonderful to read aloud.  Frost uses some alliteration as seen in the line, “such good solid stuff” throughout the novel.   Frost does a wonderful job of changing the styles depending on the character she is trying to portray.  The rhythm of the novel changes from character to character, Frost does a beautiful job of differentiating between the voices of the novel.  Ollie’s voice is much different from that of Muriel. Muriel’s voice is made of a mixture of long and short lines, with a flowing rhythm, whereas Ollie tends to have mostly long lines, although his format changes with his surroundings, during war they are short lines, succinct.  He does have longer verses, and Emma tends to follow the same format.   
Frost is a master at using metaphors.  I am chilled by her description of Muriel’s reaction to seeing that Ollie has lost his arm;

the absence of Ollie’s right arm spreads

icy fingers over me.

(Helen Frost, “Crossing Stones”)

  Frost uses imagery to great effect as well.  Her words help bring to life how the characters feel, or the scenery.  The line “the crunch of dry leaves” is especially vivid to me.   Another aspect of the superb command of poetry Frost has is her use of similes.  Her use of “it’s spreading like an epidemic” clearly shows how Emma feels about all of the young men in her class going off to war, and helps the reader become emotionally connected.  In other areas we see the dread Muriel feels when she sees that Ollie has lost his arm, the terror Muriel feels when she sees the messenger coming to bear bad news, and the relief when she realizes that the news is meant for her neighbors, the sadness when Emma and her family receive the news that Frank is dead, and even humor when Ollie falls into Crabapple Creek.  Crossing Stones is an engaging, beautiful story about the hardships of war, as well as the moving tale of a young woman who finds her place as a suffragist and teacher. Crossing Stones is a stunning example of a verse novel for young adults. 

4. REVIEWS

“This gorgeous collection of "cupped-hand" sonnets tells the story of two families whose lives are forever changed by World War I”… Kirkus Reviews

Lee Bennett Hopkins Award, Honor Book

YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2010

5. CONNECTIONS

Look at World War I or women’s suffrage history

Class art project-create a river (paste Muriel’s words in the water) with stepping stones (paste Ollie and Emma’s words on the stones).

Create a diorama of both farms with Crabapple Creek and two farm houses. 

Create a purple and gold suffrage sash, or a banner.

Watch the movie Iron Jawed Angels about the suffragists and their war time protests, arrest, and hunger strike. 

Works Cited

Helen Frost. "Crossing Stones." Accessed July 2, 2012. http://www.helenfrost.net/item.php?postid=27.

Kirkus Reviews. "Crossing Stones." Accessed July 2, 2012. http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/helen-frost/crossing-stones/.