Written in beautifully structured verse, Helen Frost's Crossing
Stones captures nine months in the lives of two resilient families
struggling to stay together and cross carefully, stone by stone, into a
changing world.
Maybe you won't rock a cradle, Muriel.
Some women seem to prefer to rock the boat.
Eighteen-year-old Muriel Jorgensen lives on one side of Crabapple Creek.
Her family's closest friends, the Normans, live on the other. For as
long as Muriel can remember, the families' lives have been intertwined,
connected by the crossing stones that span the water. But now that Frank
Norman--who Muriel is just beginning to think might be more than a
friend--has enlisted to fight in World War I and her brother, Ollie, has
lied about his age to join him, the future is uncertain.
As Muriel tends to things at home with the help of Frank's sister, Emma,
she becomes more and more fascinated by the women's suffrage movement,
but she is surrounded by people who advise her to keep her opinions to
herself. How can she find a way to care for those she loves while still
remaining true to who she is?