In the Stone Circle

by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel

While spending the summer in an old stone house in Wales, fourteen-year-old Cristyn comes to terms with the death of her mother while satisfying the request of a thirteenth-century princess. Reprint.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Mystery, Ghosts, Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade

240 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Celia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book from my childhood that I cannot depart with. The first time I read this story was when I was about 8(? ... years ago) because I was grounded. I had done something to upset my mother and she sent me to my room, saying "No TV, radio, or toys for the rest of the day! Read a book!" And being the 'gotta-have-the-last-word' child that I was, I retorted "Fine! I will read a book!" And the book I yanked out of my bookshelf was this story. Let me tell you, I ate this book up. I had never read it before. My temper and immature childish tantrum had been doused, and almost like hypnotism, fell into this book and finished it that very night. Best grounded experience I can remember :) Very entertaining and absorbing book for children.

[Monica Heart · Rating 1 out of 5]

I read this book back in the 7th grade- I'm 20 now. But I remember reading it in a single day and longing for the ending. I was disappointed, even then.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooh this was a nice, not too spooky, ghost story.

[C. (Comment, never msg). · Rating 3 out of 5]

Logistics didn't ring true but I liked this story. First, one wades through vocabulary featuring 'like' and 'whatever'. I don't buy anyone groaning about going to Europe and knowing nothing of a deceased parent. Elizabeth Cody Kimmel could demonstrate “Cristyn’s” need to acquaint her mother, without her Dad clarifying the name Wales like she never heard of it. If a parent dies, the first fear is a tiny child forgetting them. The survivor to the contrary, becomes frantic and dedicated to promoting memory. That the protagonist didn't know she was Welsh; her mother from there and singing in that language, is ridiculous. Surely there were visits or letters from relatives.

One family detracted from the ghost enough, not tied to the mother as much as the synopsis suggested. A connection at the end emerged too suddenly to enjoy. We didn’t get to savour any of it. The baggage of Miranda and Dennis, renting the cottage with them, was excessive. Some ghost moments are poignant. None are eerie and the author’s attempt at urgency with that mission was too late. Conclusions reached in various aspects are lovely but I wish we had built up to the major plot properly. I also noted an error. The ghost supposedly didn't know who the girl was until later but her name had been spelled out earlier. I guess this is why writers seek 'beta readers'.

I found it incredulous the children didn’t tell the adults of the ghost, when it was easy to prove and they were professors of that very history. They were in Wales to research a book about it. The excuse "they won't believe us" is a weak assumption that deprived them of the greatest experience and discovery the journey could hold. Elizabeth does succeed at attracting the reader to Wales.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this in 7th or 8th grade, and even though I forgot all of the plot* except for it being a ghost story set in Wales, I never forgot the cover or title. A wonderful summer adventure in a fantastic setting -- two months in an ancient stone house, courtesy of your historian father, complete with a girl your age to pal around with.

The house may be a little haunted, but not in a terrifying way at all, and getting to the root of the ghost mystery is both exciting and involves a slice of medieval Welsh history. There is also a sweet subplot about Cristyn beginning to wonder more about the mother she never knew, and a subtle romantic subplot between the single parents that I am now shipping hard despite it somehow taking me by surprise.

* How could I have forgotten how madly annoying the little brother is, though? He literally ruins an otherwise 5-star book. The author makes way too big a fuss over him, leading to an excruciatingly pedantic lesson about open communication and treating your little siblings with respect no matter how obnoxious. That's all well and good, but the age gap between Miranda and her brother is the same as the one between me and mine. I know what Miranda's fury is about, son.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Afrin-Heigert Soshi · Rating 2 out of 5]

good for a child type read...

[Madame Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. Really interesting history about Wales. Atmospheric ghost and coming of age story.

[Kayla Zabcia]

DNF; page 6

sounded like a super cool premise, but damn the main character was so fucking annoying and insufferable that I just couldn't continue.

[R · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm well over a decade outside of this book's intended audience, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it. I actually found it to be written in an engaging manor that, while a little childish, never failed to keep me invested in the plot and the characters.

Part of that was due to the book's unusual setting. It's a rare thing to find a book about Welsh history that's aimed at an American audience, but that's exactly what this is. Though the book never delves too deeply into that history, instead providing a cursory glance at the rebellions Wales fought against England in the 1200's and 1300's, it gives enough information that most readers will come away more knowledgeable than when they picked the book up.

The book also handles the subject of deceased, divorce, and estranged parents in a manner that is both suitable for a younger audience, but also realistic enough that it might be helpful for a child whose going through similar issues or who has friends going through these issues.

While I certainly wouldn't recommend this to anyone over the age of 12, it is a good book and, if you have children between the ages of 8 and 12 who enjoy ghost stories or history, then this certainly isn't a bad choice for them. It is a slow-paced story that doesn't have a lot of humor, though, so if you've got a kid who craves action, then you're probably better off looking elsewhere.

[Dayna Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cristyn, 14, is spending the summer in Wales while her professor father does research in medieval studies. Her mother, who died when she was three, was born in Wales. She finds she likes the centuries-old cottage they rent along with her father's colleague, Erica Dunham, and her two children, Miranda and Dennis. Miranda is angry and hurt over her parents' divorce. The children become involved in trying to make sense of strange happenings in the cottage. The ghost story is woven together with the issues and conflicts being worked out in both families.

[T · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just your typical tween'er fair. While the heroine, Cristyn, never, to me, seemed like your average 14 year old, her annoying immaturity soon gave way to an endearing character development.

This is billed as a 'ghost' story and that was the weakest plotline in this entire book. The history of medieval Wales that was sprinkled throughout was well worth the read, however.

Read it for the history...Not the ghost story.

[Maria Gambill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started to read this a few years ago but I can not remember if I ever finished it so I was happhh to pick it up and go again. I'm so glad I did. this book got me out of my teafi g slump of 4 years! Thanks to the beautiful mind of Elizabeth Cody Kimmel I now want to read everything in sight again.
Yes it's for younger readers and is not only predictive and pretty cheesy but if that's your style then this is a must read!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK!! IT'S A GHOST STORY. It's about a girl who goes on a vacation to Whales. She starts to see and hear suspicious things. Later, she gets trapped in a secret passage way where she hears scary sounds and sees ghosts!!! I LOVE THIS BOOK TOO MUCH AND I DARE YOU TO READ IT!!!!!! PLEASE? Very good idea to!

[Sarahclubine · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was very 'young adultish' for lack of a better term. I felt like I could be sitting around a camp fire and reading this story aloud. It was a sweet story. I like the author's later works better.

[Katrina Sutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good story that it almost made me feel like I was in Wales. I was fascinated with some of the folk lore of the book and was disappointed that Elizabeth Cody Kimmel didn't write very many books. Her writing consists of a mysterious atmosphere that I had a hard time putting it down.

[Charlotte]

disappointed by this. The main character was the daughter of a medievalist specializing in Wales and had never heard of the place and didn't want to go? The ghost story existed in parallel to the family drama going on, and didn't meaningful over lap it or enhance it, the way good ghosts should.

[Tris |"I'll leave the morrow for the morrow. Today is enough and more."| Prior · Rating 5 out of 5]

sort of spooky but so good made me cry at the end

[Justus Probst · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I am reviewing is "In the Stone Circle" by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel, the lexile range is 640. "In the Stone Circle" is a historical fiction book based in Wales, England. The main character (Cristyn) and her father go to Wales for the summer for her father to learn more about Welsh's history for a book he is writing. When they arrive in Wales backcountry, Crystyn's father notices something odd about the house they are staying at but he can't say and when they get there they have some unlikely guests. After they meet their new guests they all settle in for the night but something is very wrong that night. Before Cristyn fell asleep she heard an odd scratching sound coming from the walls, was it rats, mice or maybe even a lost soul trying to free itself from this forbidden place. If I have you on a cliff I encourage you to read this mysterious book by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel.
"In the Stone Circle" is a very mysterious, on the edge of your seat thrilling kind of book. One reason I love this book is how it leaves you on a cliff-hanger that makes you want to read on. “It was eclipsed by the sound of the oak door slamming shut behind us. Seconds later, we heard the unmistakable sound of the dead bolt sliding back into place.”. That cliff hanger really got me and the many others after it. My second reason is the historical part of it, I mean they put a lot of history into one little fictional story. I actually looked up the historical figures in this book and all the stories told in the book were true! I have to give a lot of credit to the author who went out of her way to put this in her amazing book.
I would give this book a eight out of ten. One bad reason I gave this book a eight out of ten is because of the amount of horror and haunting of this book. I thought the synopsis it inferred more towards a gruesome tale other than a historical event that eventually killed someone very important. I just wished it would’ve told me this in the synopsis because there could’ve been a chance I wouldn’t of read it but anyway I still enjoyed reading it. One really good reason that I gave this book a eight out of ten is the back stories. The back stories were amazing! Some of them gave me some really good ideas about what would happen next but instead (most of the time) steer you in a different direction. One back story really got me at the end and now I’m kinda wishing there was another book to sequel to this, I mean that would be amazing! Well I would recommend this book to historical fiction readers and to little suspense readers and I encourage you to read this book by Elizabeth Kimmel.

[Devyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this little book up at a big sale at my local library and only expected to like the book enough to skim it.
I ended up reading it in one sitting.
What made this book so fascinating was the 400 year old house in Wales. Old stone circles, secret passageways, and a girl just trying to get through a boring summer made for an unexpectedly good read.

[Teddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason this did not get a five is it took me about 50 pages to like any of the characters- even as the book continued it was hard for me to like the main two- they were not relatable. However, by the end of the book the main character had made tremendous strides. The story is overall very compelling.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a dysfunctional family with a ghost thrown in. I guess it was okay, but I didn't like the way the mother let her children fight and call each other names, and I didn't like the swearing. I wouldn't recommend it for my grandchildren.

[Deanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for the Pardon My Youth Book Club. Theme this month was a book you loved as a child/teen. My copy of this is about to fall to pieces. I had forgotten a lot about this story, but still loved reading it.

[Laurel Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Usually I just give a star rating and skip writing a full review. I just wanted to say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I did the one thing you're never supposed to do to a book. I judged it by the cover and thought it seemed kind blah, thankfully I was wrong.

[Jess Lemley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good read so many years later! Found this book at a scholastic book fair in elementary school and recently picked it up again for a quick read. Reminds me of another favorite ghost story I read around the same time. Great for a quick and light read.

[Christen Newby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book 20 years ago and it made me fall in love with reading. It was so long ago, but I remember vividly, being able to escape reality and allow my imagination paint what was written in the pages.

[Aly Machacek-Sveeggen]

This was such a good book. I liked the involvement of the family drama among the dunhams however I liked how the discovery of Carwen brought Cristyn to talk to her father about her mother's death and helped her conquer some of her grief.

[Lauren Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book when I was about 14/15 and I remember loving it, and though it's been 10+ years it's always stuck with me as a favorite in my teen years.

[amandolin · Rating 5 out of 5]

An objectively excellent starter book into mistery and the first book I ever stole from a school library (I'm not proud).

[Culture-Vulture · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well-written story. Good pick for kids.

5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐