Men of Stone

by Gayle Friesen

In Gayle Friesen's powerful novel, 15-year-old Ben can't make sense of his life. He lives in a house full of women, yet he can't talk to girls. He tries to be a jock, but can't even make the co-ed volleyball team. And ridicule from the guys has driven Ben to give up the one thing at which he truly excels -- dance. Now, he's being bullied by a thug named Claude, who's found out about Ben's ballet classes. Ben feels his anger and frustration grow with each passing day. Then Great-Aunt Frieda comes to visit and Ben learns about the old woman's life in Russia. He's surprised at how Frieda dealt with the Men of Stone -- Stalin's agents who terrorized her community and family. As Frieda tells her powerful story, Ben begins to understand who he is and what kind of person he wants to be. But first he must get past the rage that has taken control of his life.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Canada

Paperback

First published September 1, 2000

About the author

Gayle Friesen lives in Delta, British Columbia.

Reviews

[Suzanne Montigny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful story of a teenaged boy struggling to fit in, find love, and deal with a dangerous bully. And the relationship he develops with an old Mennonite aunt who suffered horrors during the war. This novel will touch the soul of anyone who reads it. I love reading Ms. Friesen's stories because they are never stagnant. I want the world to pass me by as I turn page after page. I have one more of her books to read. When is her next one coming out?

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

We had to read it in school, and the only reason I found it only remotely interesting was the grandmother's story; but I would have much preferred that her story was it's own novel, and the rest of the characters just a back story.

[Ninglu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't seem to understand this book.
Not interesting, and it made the boys seem like criminals.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't understand the book at all. My teachers recommended this book, and our whole class read it as a novel study. The story isn't interesting at all, other than some of Aunt Frieda's past stories. My class complained about the book the whole time we read it. The plot of this story is too predictable and the conflict carries out for way too long. There are also many characters to keep track of in this book.

[Bethany · Rating 1 out of 5]

My teacher made me read it with my class, and I couldn't understand it very well, none of us did... I was more interested in Aunt Freida's story more than the other characters. Instead of asking, "what will happen next?", I asked, "when is it going to end?" There was barely any change in the story, until near the end, it was very easy to know what would happen next. The characters were all straightforward that it didn't make me feel like I was learning anything new about them

[Jennifer Yanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent look into relationships and perceptions. I love the realness and the emotion in this book. Can't wait to use it in my class.

[Carolyn Scarcella · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did enjoyed the book. Ben was only 15 years old, he has lots of women in his life and he has no men (role models) to look up to. He didn’t know how to talk with girls. He was bullied. He was lost. When his aunt Frieda comes, and things have changed so the aunt describes her life in Russia.

It was really interesting because boys need to educate themselves to learn and how to survive without being bullied.

[Lindsay Tramble · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have always had mixed feelings about Gayle Friesen's work. Some of her novels are great; some of them fall flat. This one didn't fall flat exactly, but it didn't make me feel as warm and fuzzy as "Losing Forever" or "For Now" did. Maybe she's simply better writing in a girl's perspective, or perhaps this topic just wasn't her area of expertise. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the book, though there was lots of things to be improved upon.

Ben is your typical fifteen year old boy. He has three overly dramatic older sisters; he lives with them and his widowed mother in their tiny matchbox house. He's bullied at school; the girl he likes doesn't even know that he exists. He misses his father, who passed away when Ben was just a little kid. But then comes the arrival of Aunt Frieda, and that's when everything changes.

I don't want to give too much away about the plot, but I will definitely reccomend it, even if there were a few things I might have changed. Friesen shows promise as a young writer- and Ben shows promise too, though it takes a few chapters to truly recognize it.

[Raeven · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was ok but it wasn't the most real book . the events were possible but the only thing that made it seem real is the historical featues in the book . the character talks about things with his great aunt and she tells him about thier religion and his father who died a while ago . this brinngs him closer to his mother .

[Loraine Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gayle Friesen captures the voice of a young teen amazingly well. Her humour and her insights into family dynamics propel this book from just a good read to a really entertaining and satisfying book. I found her style in the beginning, however, didn't hold to the end. It seemed to lack the humour and the voice it had at first. But having said that, I would still highly recommend this book.

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am so glad I pre-read this book before handing it to my 14 year old son! It is light on Russian history and filled with menstruation references. It could have been a great book about a young man coming to terms with his Mennonite/Russian heritage but it misses the mark.

[Amy Mathers · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://amysmarathonofbooks.ca/men-of-...

[Tayvian · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the book "Men of Stone" by Gayle Friesen, their is a small family who is going through their dad's loss and while they were eating breakfast one day they were informed that their great aunt who they have not seen since they were small children would be coming to visit and stay for two weeks.As she was there she told stories about here times in Russia and inspired Ben (the main character) to be stronger in his life.Overall this book bored me however, the book took way too long until I got to the main part of the story.The beginning of the book was just unnecessary fillers that had nothing to do with the theme the real story doesn't even start until page 100 I slept through the 99 pages.I do not recommend this trash book to anyone it is a disgrace to all literature I wrote better books than this in 3rd grade.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben's family has never been the same since the death of his father ten years earlier. Surrounded only by three older sisters and a mother that is emotionally distant, Ben feels like a misfit. Then he finds out Great Aunt Frieda is coming for a visit - great, yet another female. To make matters worse, the class Cro-Magnon, Claude, targets Ben calling him Ballerina Boy, because of his former dance lessons. And when Ben "eyes" Kat, Claude attacks with vengeance. Ben's rage becomes all consuming. But through the stories of Aunt Frieda's past in Russia, he learns that anger and revenge can eat your life away.