Country of Broken Stone

It is a shame this work is out of print. I really enjoyed it. It is deeper than most of Bond's work, with more thought-provoking material, but not so thick that it is tiresome

I randomly picked this book off a library shelf as something to help a boring afternoon pass by, and was surprised at how enthralling it was. I was surprised to learn this title was out of print, because the colorful palette of characters and their problems are so thought provoking that I wished to own the book myself. Nancy Bond introduces the two families of the Ibbetsons and the Prines who are forced together when the divorced Prine mother Valerie maries the widowed Ibbetson father Edward. Their children must accept eachother and they all must learn how to get along as a family, parents included. But that is not the point of the book, that is merely one of the layers that this book takes you to. Valerie is an archaeologist who is excavating the ruins of a Roman fort on Hadrian's Wall in the Northumbria region of England, and that is why all of the family must move to Wintergap, a gloomy house built in the harsh climate of northern Britain. Penelope, the only Ibbetson daughter is the main character, and she is the first to sense the dark history of the house. I could go into deep details through the multiple layered plot leading to a horrible accident but that would ruin the story. The suspense makes you keep reading to find out how everything turns out. The most interesting part of the story in my opinion is the friendship that forms between Penelope and a local farmer boy whose family has been feuding with the previous residents of Wintergap, where Penelope lives, and despite her families warnings to stay away from the troublesome Robsons, Penelope must learn how to bring back together the divided land, and somehow make amends. This is a must read for children ages thirteen through adult as it is thought provoking, suspenseful and full of historical accuracy and astonishing details, but because of some minor language issues I wouldn't reccomend it for children under thirteen.

One of the best books I have ever read--about a feud in Northumbira ending in disaster, and Penelope (the main character) learning a valuable lesson about good and evil.

I found this book a little hard to get into but once I did, it was marvelous. I felt like I was in the story. Read it. It's worthwhile.