Sky Stone

Sky Stone #1

by Scarlett Van Dijk

Sky Stone is the first book of the Sky Stone series written by Scarlett Van Dijk. It is classified as a young adult, fantasy novel.

Blurb:
In a medieval land torn apart by war, a crazed king seeks divine power. Skyla, a seventeen year old social outcast from the 21st century, is stripped from her home and transported to this land where magic is a part of everyday life. With a destiny and new powers bestowed upon her by the gods, will she succeed, and will she finally discover the place where she belongs?

To find out more about Sky Stone, visit www.scarlettvandijk.com

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

214 pages, Paperback

First published July 25, 2014

About the author

Scarlett Van Dijk was born in 1993 in Geelong, Victoria, before relocating to South Australia with her family. Her love of writing grew during her time at Wilderness School, with her first novel, Sky Stone, begun at the age of fifteen. After graduating high school, Scarlett entered the University of South Australia studying the Bachelor of Medical Radiations (Medical Imaging), completing the degree in 2014. In 2012 Scarlett began writing Guardian Core, the second book in the Sky Stone series. Scarlett's love for creative writing is accompanied by an interest in dancing, reading, and desktop publishing.
Learn more about Scarlett and her writing at www.scarlettvandijk.com

Reviews

[Billy Buttons · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was entered in the 2016 Wishing Shelf Book Awards. This is what our readers thought:

Title: Sky Stone
Author: Scarlett Van Dijk
Star Rating: 5 Stars
Number of Readers: 26
Stats
Editing: 9/10
Writing Style: 9/10
Content: 10/10
Cover: 10/10
Of the 26 readers:
26 would read another book by this author.
26 thought the cover was good or excellent.
26 felt it was easy to follow.
26 would recommend this story to another reader to try.
23 felt the author’s best skill was ‘speech’ and ‘developing a character’.
26 thought the author was excellent with ‘pace’.

Readers’ Comments
‘What a wonderful book. I liked the mixture of fantasy and history, and the romance element was well-handled. The pacing was also really good.’ Boy, aged 14
‘The setting for this is the best part. The author is really good at describing the medieval world. The author works well with the pacing of the story and also offers the reader a powerful ending. I want to read the next’ Girl, aged 15
‘The style of writing is good for an exciting adventure book. Also, I liked the plot. The problem she must face is huge, and that helps to make it very exciting. Skyla is a cool hero. She reminded me a bit of Katniss. Alone, an outsider, but strong and fearless.’ Boy, aged 14
‘Romance. Tick! War. Tick! Magic. Tick! This is my kind of book. The author needs to keep going. This could be a fab set of books.’ Girl, aged 16

‘Punchy, well-written and packed full of exciting twits and turns. A finalist and highly recommended.’ The Wishing Shelf Book Awards

[A.J. Flowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Sky Stone" is like a mix of Lightning Thief and Hunger Games. It has that "chosen one" feeling with a slight Disney flair. I would have liked to have seen this story take on more of the gritty side of young adult, because without that, "Sky Stone" read a little young to me. Don't get me wrong, there's plenty of war and battles and excitement, but that's not what I mean when I say grit. Even Aladdin had harems, swords, and beheading. Skyla just seems a bit young for her age, which made it satisfying to see her grow into herself and find her purpose.

That said, Skyla's younger voice fits the rose-tinted prose and comes together in the end. The romance is sweet and Skyla is a likable heroine. I definitely enjoyed the page-turning action and creative premise!

I highly recommend "Sky Stone" for those looking for an exciting young adult read!

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teen Skyla is chosen by a sky stone and transported into a world that has been separated from the 'Outside'.

I love the cover of this book and the author clearly has a firm grasp on the world she has created, however the story is light on plot and character development. As the main character, Skyla's actions are purely reactive to her situation and stuff just seems to happen without any real drive to the story. I was confused about why a character with established archer skills, kept being given swords and knives. It seemed like it was purely a plot device to put her in direct danger so her love interest could worry about her, instead of putting her archery to good use. Skyla also ranged form 'I'm going to kill the evil king' to 'I couldn't possibly kill a little rabbit for food'. Consistency is the key to making a story believable.

The story could do with greater development to make it appeal to a wider audience.

[Danielle Million · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a free copy of this book to read and review. The story follows Skyla, a special girl, as she traverses a different world to find her special place in that world among magic. The story has great characters and a good plot, but there were a few things that seemed to be lacking just a bit for me. I felt like the plot was a little rushed and didn’t move quite as smoothly as I wanted it to. The characters were all well developed, but the story line just felt squashed together to get from point A to point B. There were a few parts that seemed to be a little awkward, but overall, the story held my attention. This is a great fantasy novella that is perfect for readers of all ages.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read that has a young girl being transported to an alternate world. They needed someone to save them and Skyla comes from the 21st century into this middle ages world.

I liked the world that Ms. Van Dijk created. It was well crafted and interesting. I think it was for a younger age group as it had a Hunger Games type of feeling.

[Merissa (Archaeolibrarian) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Skyla doesn't fit in at home, although you are never really given a reason why. She is fostered and has weekly psych visits which she feels that she doesn't need. One day, just as she's about to go on such a visit, she sees a flash of light and follows it. She is then transported to a different world, with war and betrayal the only constant.

Completely written from Skyla's perspective, this comes across as a young tale, which is not surprising considering the author was only fifteen when she started writing. That being said, it is a very well-written piece, full of adventure and insta-love, magic and sword-play.

For anyone looking for a detailed, light work of fantasy, then I can definitely recommend this.

* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jan 29, 2016

[Richard Kiefer]

I thought it was very well done.

Skyla's a misfit who's different from the others, but doesn't know why. Following a light one day, she finds herself transported to another world. A world embroiled in war, conflict, and, most importantly, a world where she doesn't just fit in, she matters.

Given in the first person, this story has a strong young persons voice. It's well-written, has a fresh perspective, and is packed with adventure after adventure, love, magic and conflict.

If you're into light, fast paced fantasy, this book's for you. Overall I'd recommend it for a younger reader.