Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for Broken Stone, a Middle Grade Historical Fiction novel by Gabriele Goldstone (17 November 2015, Rebelight Publishing Inc., 164 pages). This is the second book in the Katya's Stones series.
PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis below, as well as details of the first book in the series.
Do not miss our Q&A with author Gabriele Goldstone, and visit her blog for The story behind Broken Stone.
Author Gabriele Goldstone will be awarding two (2) physical copies (US/Canada), and five (5) digital copies of Broken Stone by Gabriele Goldstone (INT) to randomly drawn winners via Rafflecopter during the tour.
Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).
Synopsis | The Series | Author Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops
Synopsis
Mama is dead, Baby Emil is dead and Stalin’s new rules are breaking up the family. Papa must stay behind and hide as 12-year-old Katya and her three younger siblings find their way to freedom in East Prussia. With Mama’s sister, Aunt Helena, they board a train and flee for a new home with an aunt and uncle they’ve never met—relatives who don’t want them.But when they reach the border, Soldiers won’t let Aunt Helena cross. That forces Katya to take responsibility for her siblings. What will life hold for Katya, her two sisters and her brother when they arrive in East Prussia? How long before Papa can rescue them?
Teaser: Excerpt
(Pages 78-79)
Herr Meisner recites not only with his mouth. His hands talk too, and his eyes flash even as they fill with tears. I can tell that talking about writers is something he loves to do. I’m so impressed by the power of mere words.
“I’d like to read some books,” I tell him. “Really, I would.”
“Yes, well, I can tell that you’re a thinking girl. You have soul. It’s in your eyes.”
My face flushes, and I turn to stare at the floor.
“What I mean is, you’ll appreciate good writing.”
Herr Meisner is silent, and I look up again.
His eyes are now dark and serious. “Later, after you’ve read some of the best, I’ll bring you another book to see what you think. It’s a book by Adolf Hitler.”
“Adolf Hitler?” Have I heard that name before? I don’t want to appear unknowledgeable.
“You haven’t heard of him? Never mind, Katya. Perhaps we won’t hear any more about him and it won’t matter.” Herr Meisner becomes quiet, drumming his fingers on the table.
A brown cloud-shaped coffee stain spreads on the damask tablecloth beneath my cup.
“Have you heard of Karl Marx?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say, looking up. “We learned about him at school. He wrote a book called . . . .” I can’t think of the exact title. What does this teacher think of me?
“The Communist Manifesto.”
“Yes.” How could I forget? “But I haven’t read it.”
“Of course not. It’s not a child’s book. But you see, Katya, books can change the world. You have proof. A book changed your world.”
I stare at Herr Meisner, trying to absorb what he’s saying, like a tablecloth absorbing spilled coffee.
“Anyway, Katya. You’re a smart girl. I can tell by the concentration in your face right now. Reading will help you to understand the world. Read many books, but don’t believe everything they say. Books can be dangerous. They can lie, just like people.”
“Yes, Herr Meisner.”
He seems lost in thought. Then suddenly, he shakes himself. “I almost forgot. I want to tell you about a famous mathematical problem.”
Me?
He reads my mind. “Every educated Prussian should learn about this. And that’s what you are becoming. Right?”
I nod.
“Let me tell you about the seven bridges of Königsberg. Now let me see, how shall I begin? We have time, right?”
I nod again.
“This is canning season,” Aunt Elfriede abruptly interrupts. She turns around to face us, her hands on her hips. “The fruit trees are heavy with fruit. She’ll have no time for books, Herr Meisner. And the only mathematics she needs to know is how to cut a plum in half.”
Aunt Elfriede turns to me. “We don’t live in books, my dear girl. And we can’t eat them. So it’s time to get started on the plums you picked this morning. Come along, Katya.”
Herr Meisner recites not only with his mouth. His hands talk too, and his eyes flash even as they fill with tears. I can tell that talking about writers is something he loves to do. I’m so impressed by the power of mere words.
“I’d like to read some books,” I tell him. “Really, I would.”
“Yes, well, I can tell that you’re a thinking girl. You have soul. It’s in your eyes.”
My face flushes, and I turn to stare at the floor.
“What I mean is, you’ll appreciate good writing.”
Herr Meisner is silent, and I look up again.
His eyes are now dark and serious. “Later, after you’ve read some of the best, I’ll bring you another book to see what you think. It’s a book by Adolf Hitler.”
“Adolf Hitler?” Have I heard that name before? I don’t want to appear unknowledgeable.
“You haven’t heard of him? Never mind, Katya. Perhaps we won’t hear any more about him and it won’t matter.” Herr Meisner becomes quiet, drumming his fingers on the table.
A brown cloud-shaped coffee stain spreads on the damask tablecloth beneath my cup.
“Have you heard of Karl Marx?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say, looking up. “We learned about him at school. He wrote a book called . . . .” I can’t think of the exact title. What does this teacher think of me?
“The Communist Manifesto.”
“Yes.” How could I forget? “But I haven’t read it.”
“Of course not. It’s not a child’s book. But you see, Katya, books can change the world. You have proof. A book changed your world.”
I stare at Herr Meisner, trying to absorb what he’s saying, like a tablecloth absorbing spilled coffee.
“Anyway, Katya. You’re a smart girl. I can tell by the concentration in your face right now. Reading will help you to understand the world. Read many books, but don’t believe everything they say. Books can be dangerous. They can lie, just like people.”
“Yes, Herr Meisner.”
He seems lost in thought. Then suddenly, he shakes himself. “I almost forgot. I want to tell you about a famous mathematical problem.”
Me?
He reads my mind. “Every educated Prussian should learn about this. And that’s what you are becoming. Right?”
I nod.
“Let me tell you about the seven bridges of Königsberg. Now let me see, how shall I begin? We have time, right?”
I nod again.
“This is canning season,” Aunt Elfriede abruptly interrupts. She turns around to face us, her hands on her hips. “The fruit trees are heavy with fruit. She’ll have no time for books, Herr Meisner. And the only mathematics she needs to know is how to cut a plum in half.”
Aunt Elfriede turns to me. “We don’t live in books, my dear girl. And we can’t eat them. So it’s time to get started on the plums you picked this morning. Come along, Katya.”
Broken Stone
Available NOW!
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The Series: Katya's Stones
Click on the book cover to Look Inside the book on Amazon and read an excerpt.
Red Stone [1]
Read an ExcerptKatya knows all about Stalin’s big plans; she learned of them in school. But those plans mean little to her until the secret police arrest Papa and seize their family farm. With Mama and her younger siblings, Katya is shoved into a crowded train headed for a forced labour camp in Siberia. Torn from everything she has ever known, Katya faces cold and hunger, and the ever-present threat of lost hope. As she clings to a single red stone from the fields of her homeland, she questions life. Where is Papa? Will she ever see him again? And what will become of Katya’s family?
Inspired by a true story, Red Stone explores the trauma and heart-break suffered by many families in the Soviet Union during the 1930s when Stalin seized individual property and villainized property owners as kulaks.
Red Stone was previously published as The Kulak's Daughter in 2008 (which had very positive reviews on Goodreads), and has been thoroughly revised and edited. Red Stone also contains some new scenes.
[Published 4 June 2015, 173 pages]
About the Author
GABRIELE GOLDSTONE, the oldest daughter of European immigrants, always looked for stories about her parents’ past. She majored in 20th century German literature at university but was disappointed that she could not find the stories she sought. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, her mother’s anecdotes and history began to click together. In 2004, Gabriele traveled to Ukraine and searched through former KGB files to find more missing pieces—and Katya’s red stone. Gabriele lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba and has three adult children along with a silver-grey cat and a golden-haired dog.
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Giveaway and Tour Stops
Enter to win one of two (2) physical copies of Broken Stone by Gabriele Goldstone (US/Canada), or one of five (5) digital copies (INT). a Rafflecopter giveawayFollow Broken Stone's tour at:
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Thank you for sharing, cool post and great Q&A!
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