Fletcher, Charlie. STONEHEART

Fletcher, Charlie.  STONEHEART
New York : Hyperion, 2008
IL 5-8, RL 5.8
ISBN  1423101766

On a school trip to the Natural History Museum in London, George, an awkward 12 year old, is
unfairly and wrongly blamed for knocking over a museum display…typical.  He’s always the
brunt of the other kids’ teasing.  His punishment is waiting for the rest of the class to complete
the tour, and George is angry.  He lashes out and breaks off a dragon's head carved onto the
wall of the museum.

The next thing he knows, a pterodactyl carving comes to life and begins to chase him through
the streets of London.  George runs for his life, and is saved by another statue, a soldier
named the Gunner, who informs George that he has entered another layer of reality, an
alternative London where statues move and talk -- and worse yet, he’s started a new war
between good spits (statues that hold a bit of their creators in them and are their “spittin
image”) and evil taints (statues without a bit of their creators).

George and the Gunner are eventually joined by Edie – a girl who can see the moving statues,
but there’s more to her, too – she’s a glint, because she can catch a glimpse of a past tragedy
when she touches certain things-  and the three frantically race against the clock to figure out
what George must do to make amends for his wrong and get himself back home.

Stoneheart is an exciting, imaginative story, in which Fletcher incorporates actual London
statuary, an intriguing touch.  It’s the first in a trilogy.   (NH Isinglass Teen
Award nominee, 2013)