The First Stone

"Don Aker has created in [The First Stone] a gripping and unflinching story that envelops readers from the first page.... This astounding and honest book will linger with readers long after they leave its final pages."
Canadian Children's Book News
"The gritty but sensitive reality of The First Stone will certainly appeal to teens."
Budge Wilson, Before Green Gables
read a complete review of the novel
"Decades ago, the appearance of S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders helped to change the content of North American YA literature by revealing a dark underside of adolescence. While the book's enduring theme causes it still to be read today, the romantic portrayal of Ponyboy and his friends simply no longer rings true. The contemporary ‘Greasers' and ‘Socs' can be found, however, in Don Aker's The First Stone, which powerfully captures what it can be like to be an adolescent member of today's marginalized underclass.... Highly recommended."
CM Magazine
"The First Stone might just break your heart. Luckily, however, Don Aker is right there to sew it back together again, an act he accomplishes with humour, real compassion, and a surgeon's eye for detail. Your heart will be stronger for the experience."
Tim Wynne-Jones, The Maestro
"Takes us to the edge and back.... Superbly conceived." (Ron Jobe, Ph.D., University of British Columbia)
Ron Jobe, Ph.D., University of British Columbia

SYNOPSIS

At seventeen, Reef is an embittered young offender who is barely able to contain his anger at the world over the death of his grandmother, the only person who had ever shown him love. Leeza is mourning the death of her older sister from cancer. When Reef, in a moment of rage, hurls a stone off an overpass into traffic, it shatters both their lives and throws them together in the most unexpected way--and offers them both a chance at healing.
Q&A
Read The canadian encyclopedia entry about the first stone

RECOGNITION

  • Winner of the 2004 Ontario Library Association White Pine Award
  • Winner of the 2004 Ann Connor Brimer Award
  • Included in the Canadian Children's Book Centre's Read Canada's Best recommended booklist
  • One of five young adult novels chosen for discussion on CBC Radio's 2006 Young Canada Reads series
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