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Stone Cold (Puffin Teenage Fiction) [Paperback]

Robert Swindells (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (184 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 30 Mar 1995 | Series: Puffin Teenage Fiction

Stone Cold is an exciting and disturbing thriller by Robert Swindells

A tense, exciting thriller combined with a perceptive and harrowing portrait of life on the streets as a serial killer preys on the young and vulnerable homeless. 17-year-old Link is distrustful of people until he pairs up with Deb, homeless like him. But what Deb doesn't tell him is that she's an ambitious young journalist on a self-imposed assignment to track down the killer and that she's prepared to use herself as bait ...

Winner of the Carnegie Medal

Robert Swindells lives on the Yorkshire moors and is a full-time writer. He has won the Children's Book Award twice, for BROTHER IN THE LAND and for ROOM 13. In 1994, he won the Carnegie Medal for STONE COLD, and also the Sheffield Book Award.

Also by Robert Swindells:

Brother in the Land; Room 13; Stone Cold; Nightmare Stairs; Unbeliever; Blitzed; Ruby Tanya; The Thousand Eyes of Night; The Tunnel; The Shade of Hettie Daynes; Burnout; In the Nick of Time; Daz 4 Zoe; Snakebite; Snapshot; Branded; Roger's War; No Angels; Wrecked; Jacqueline Hyde; Stayling Up; A Serpent's Tooth; Follow a Shadow; Timesnatch; Unbeliever; The Last Bus

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Product details

  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Puffin; New Ed edition (30 Mar 1995)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0140362517
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140362510
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 0.8 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (184 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Authors

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Robert E. Swindells
Joe Standerline

Product Description

Amazon Review

Stone Cold, winner of the 1994 Carnegie Medal, serves as a sinister warning to any young runaway and not just because there is a killer on the loose. Narrated by 17-year-old Link, homeless and jobless in London after being driven out of home by a drunken, abusive stepfather, he vividly recounts the day-to-day experiences of a homeless person. Because he tells it like it is, his descriptions of sleeping rough shatter any romantic notions: "So you pick your spot. Wherever it is ... it's going to have a floor of stone, tile, concrete or brick. In other words it's going to be hard and cold. It might be a bit cramped, too--shop doorways often are. And remember, if it's winter you're going to be half-frozen before you even start."

If this was just another diatribe on the perils of sleeping rough, the reader's interest would soon wane but it is far more gripping than that. The author alternates Link's tale with that of an unknown serial killer preying on the homeless. You, the reader, see how closely their lives brush against each other and know it's only a matter of time before they clash. Will Link be joining the other recruits in the cellar--what a deterrent that would be! (Age 11 and over.) --Nicola Perry

About the Author

Robert Swindells lives on the Yorkshire moors and is a full-time writer. He has won the Children's Book Award twice, for BROTHER IN THE LAND and for ROOM 13. In 1994, he won the Carnegie Medal for STONE COLD, and also the Sheffield Book Award.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars You must read this 10 Feb 2002
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Every once in a while - not very often - you read a book that changes the way you think. And this is one of those.

The tale is told from two distinct first-person perspectives - two diaries read concurrently, the perspective shifting with each chapter
division. It works remarkably well, because the characters are far from ordinary people. The first is a homeless teenager, compelled to
leave home because of an abusive step-father, now living rough on the streets of London. The second is a serial killer, prowling the streets
of London on a mission to rid the city of "dossers," as he calls them. It's clear from the outset that the two are destined to cross paths, and
the suspense is maintained throughout the novel.

This is no fairy tale. It's a grim depiction of homelessness, and a sharp criticism of our apathy towards it. Swindells does not gloss over the
subject. He makes it clear that everything is not OK with the world, and we need to wake up.

This is a short novel, only a hundred pages. It is marketed as a children's book, and I admire Swindells for daring to open kids' eyes like
this instead of pulling the wool over them, like so many writers. And if you're an adult, I can only urge you not to skip this one because of
the packaging. This novel won't make you feel good, but it will change you.

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Chilling 16 July 2007
By SJSmith TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Yet another excellent book by Robert Swindells. I was reading this book in preparation for teaching it to a group of pupils with social, emotional and behavioural problems. It should go down a treat. Short chapters help keep the pace and the dual narrative means you don't have to focus too long on one particular character.

Narrated on one side by Link, a young lad who has left home due to an unhappy life. He is homeless but doesn't know how to be. He meets Ginger in a doorway one night and he begins to show him the ropes. Our other narrator is called Shelter, a sadistic seriel-killer who is killing the homeless children one by one.

The kids are disappearing and no one cares. Then Link meets Gail and his life improves but still Link knows something sinister has happened to Ginger. This book was winner of the Carnegie Medial (although I don't know which year) and it is easy to see why. It is captivating and pacey with great realistic characters. One or two more chapters at the end would have helped to finish it off much more neatly but who really needs that, the children can make up their own minds about what happens.

A good introduction to homelessness for children and as an add-on as a teacher it provides a range of stimulus for discussion. Well worth a read and well worth considering for the classroom. Yes it's been taught a lot but so what, it's a great book!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars exellent 1 Mar 2004
By A Customer
Every once in a while - not very often - you read a book that changes the way you think. And this is one of those.

The tale is told from two distinct first-person perspectives - two diaries read concurrently, the perspective shifting with each chapter division. It works remarkably well, because the characters are far from ordinary people. The first is a homeless teenager, compelled to leave home because of an abusive step-father, now living rough on the streets of London. The second is a serial killer, prowling the streets of London on a mission to rid the city of "dossers," as he calls them. It's clear from the outset that the two are destined to cross paths, and the suspense is maintained throughout the novel.

This is no fairy tale. It's a grim depiction of homelessness, and a sharp criticism of our apathy towards it. Swindells does not gloss over the subject. He makes it clear that everything is not OK with the world, and we need to wake up.

This is a short novel, only a hundred pages. It is marketed as a children's book, and I admire Swindells for daring to open kids' eyes like this instead of pulling the wool over them, like so many writers. And if you're an adult, I can only urge you not to skip this one because of the packaging. This novel won't make you feel good, but it will change you.

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Yes
No
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing
please write a sequal i am dying for another one with link in it and i want to know what happens next.if you dont i think the story will haunt me forever.
Published 8 days ago by mr m p hughes
4.0 out of 5 stars Good play script for challenging Year 9 Drama class on homelessness
I would highly recommend this to any teacher who has to teach homelessness to a disengaged Year 9 group. Read more
Published 25 days ago by sham
5.0 out of 5 stars Stone cold is epic
An awesome thriller which revolves around a homeless kid named link and serial killer who goes by the name of shelter. READ IT!
Published 2 months ago by Jake Gibbs
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
As I was reading this I kept on wondering what was going to happen stone cold is another fantastic book by Robert Swindells if you reluctant to buy this book and then buy in the... Read more
Published 2 months ago by shadiya
5.0 out of 5 stars great book
great product very well priced wife loved it I would recommend it to others.
Delivery was on time as promised
Published 2 months ago by Graham Orr
1.0 out of 5 stars Too short
It was a very interesting plot and was enjoyable to read, however, it was very short, especially for the price that it was..
Published 2 months ago by Billy Goat
5.0 out of 5 stars Using this script for a Homeless theme in GCSE Drama Devised piece....
Using this script for a Homeless theme in GCSE Drama Devised piece. Not sure that I would use the whole play but has been useful for the scripted elements in our show.
Published 3 months ago by Pauline Gill
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Great short story. Very good for gcse english students, as not a difficult read and shows a variety of skills within the writting.
Published 3 months ago by penny
3.0 out of 5 stars Just OK
My daughter was given this as Middle School work. I was not impressed with the language at time albeit displaying the characteristics of the characters involved. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Luke T
4.0 out of 5 stars Great
this book is superb and an exelent read cool its about the homless one person link nearly gets killed fab
Published 4 months ago by Timothy Pickford
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