Stones for My Father [Paperback]

4½ Out of 5
Twelve-year-old Corlie Roux lives in South Africa, a beautiful but dangerous place. Her father is dead and her mother is horrible to her, but she loves her brothers, best friend Sipho and the African bush.
But everything is changing, falling apart. The British are attacking, destroying Boer's farms and homes. Some of the men have made it into the bush to fight, and some families have been able to escape. The unlucky ones have been taken to internment camps.
When everything she knew is changing, and the ones she loves are lost, can Corlie's strength and love for her country be enough to get her through the raging war? Or will she rely more on a kind soldier from Canada...?
I love, love, love historical fiction, but I must admit I've never read anything about the Boer War. After Stones From My Father, I'm desperate to read more, and to read anything else by the author. I fell totally in love with Corlie, with Africa. I cried, laughed and loved - and I adored every single moment.
Corlie was amazing! She loved inventing stories for her brothers, had the most amazing imagination. And she was just so strong! If my mother was as mean to me as Corlie's was to her I wouldn't half as brave as Corlie. She was even brave enough to be optimistic, curious and always tried to help. I completely fell in love with Corlie, who was so loyal and loving to her family - mother included - and so in touch with Africa. She was just brilliant: I especially loved it when she was crafty!
The supporting characters were equally amazing. Gert Roux, Corlie's eight-year-old brother, was brilliant; I loved him! He was smart, the "big man", clever and sneaky. He really loved Corlie, and she adored him back. `Ma', on the other hand, I did not love. She doted on her sons, and was constantly cruel to Corlie. But as much as I hated Ma from the word go for being so horrid to Corlie, I couldn't help being impressed by her strength. The question that bothered me throughout? Why does she hate Corlie so much? The answer explained everything, but didn't really redeem her in my eyes, though I did feel sorry for her. Finally, Corporal Malachi Byrne, who was a Canadian soldier, who was really nice to Corlie. He was also one of my favourite characters. He was so lovely, and it was interesting seeing him talk: he wasn't sure why he was fighting, as he had never even been to England. He was wonderful: cheerful and patient.
As I mentioned before, I really don't know much about the Boer War: somehow, it's managed to escape me. Therefore I loved to see it through Corlie's eyes. It was terrible, obviously as all wars are, but it was just amazing seeing it through a child's point-of-view. To begin with it was one-sided (obviously, as it was written by the daughter of a Boer soldier!), but by the end Corlie started to see everything, and the individual Tommies soldiers were shown in almost as a light as the Boers. Of course, she wasn't a fan of the British as a whole, but I liked seeing the balanced view.
The writing was amazing - emotional, beautiful, strong. Plus it was so Corlie! It made me laugh, cry and fear. The descriptions were just amazing: so vivid and real, as if I were there. I saw Africa as I read; saw Corlie and Gert, saw everything. And when I started, I didn't really think this would be a twisty book, but boy was I wrong! There were some I suspected, and some that completely shocked me. As you've probably guessed from my rambling, I adored every moment of my time in Africa, even if I was crying a lot of the time!
As for the characters, well, they were wonderfully done - they all felt so real to me! They were three dimensional -just jumped right off of the page and into my head. Some I loved with all my heart, some I didn't, some I pitied, some I grieved. I loved (most of) them so much!
A strong girl, a country crippled by war and a family caught in the middle, Stone For My Father was a powerful, emotional, moving, beautiful story I won't forget in any kind of a hurry. Corlie, Byrne, Gert and the soldiers on both sides will stay with me for a long time. I've already informed my mother, aunt and cousin that they have to read this. Therefore: most certainly recommended (I only shove good books on the relatives)!

Can you list the books from your childhood that had a long-lasting impact? I can think of two or three. One was "The Eagle of the Ninth". I remember being very impressed when my teacher told me how well researched were the books by Rosemary Sutcliff and how if it happened in her stories you could believe it happened that way in real life (within reason). That made a real impact.
I think "Stones For My Father" has a similar quality to it. Knowing that it is well researched, knowing that all these events happened and that someone surely had similar experiences to the main character, Corie, makes the story so much more important. I think it will be remembered by children who read it.
The plot is really beautifully developed. The gradual realisation about Corlie's roots is very skilfully played out and the role of a British soldier is axiomatic but is neither unrealistic nor reliant on co-incidence.
Some scenes in this book are hard to read, so it is probably not for younger or more impressionable readers, but the way the author tackles harrowing events neither flinches from reality, nor revels in it; perfect pitch.
Finally, the book takes a very well-balanced stance on the morality of the war. Told from the Boer viewpoint, the English are the enemy (and the English policies were utterly shameful), but the individuals are shown to be decent and human. The Boer farmer are the good guys, but they are also shown to be capable of inhumanity towards their servants. The indigenous people are shown as victims, but not helpless or nameless. A key character is both violent and vengeful.
I have a lot of respect for just about every aspect of this novel, and, perhaps most importantly, I took great satisfaction from being immersed in its world for the few days it took me to finish reading it.