Reading Response

The Stone Child by: Dan Poblocki

The book The Stone Child  by Dan Poblocki, is about a boy who gets practically becomes a character in one of his favorite mystery author's books. Eddie Fennicks was the kid who rather had his nose stuck in a book, than be out socializing. That is the way is had always been. Until his family moves to a new town and he realizes he was in the place his favorite author wrote about. When no one will answers his questions about the author, Eddie finds himself with another curious cat who wants an answer to this puzzle. Eddie's personality changes throughout the book.

In the beginning of the book, Eddie was a loner who let his imagination run wild. He preferred to live in the world that was written down, in his hands. For example, when his family hit a strange animal in the road, Eddie believed it was a monster. When he suggested the idea of the animal being a monster, his mother replied with, "'A monster?' Mom laughed. 'I wish my imagination were half as wild as yours, Edgar. I'd be a bestselling novelist by now.'" In addition to living in an alternate world, Eddie preferred to be alone. For example, Eddie was nervous about meeting the kids at his new school. Besides the fact he was the new kid in the town nobody actually moved into, he was 'weird'. That's what the others thought of him at his old school. Eddie was a loner who lived anywhere but in reality.

In the middle of the book, Eddie became friends with Harris. However, he was still nervous about screwing everything up.  One reason was, because he never had that many friends, so he wasn't used to socializing. Also, none of the other kids at his new school appeared to like him, which meant he was under pressure of losing the only one that did. For example, "Eddie told Harris about the car accident, leaving out the part when he'd thought the animal was a monster. He didn't want to sound like a freak." This shows how Eddie is hesitant to say what he is really thinking or his opinion because he doesn't want Harris to decide he was a 'freak' and ditch him.  Another example is, "Was Harris suggesting they work together? That they become friends?" Eddie is thrilled to be part of something and might actually have a friend. At this point Eddie is slowly coming out of his comfort zone and being around others. However, he was still quiet around anyone but his family and Harris.

In the end, Eddie became best friends with Harris, Maggie, and one other very important character (spoiler alert so I'm not saying). He  involved  into a new person. Eddie also became brave. He conquered obstacles no one had ever conquered before in real life. He was forced to face his fears. For example, '''If we have the power to stop her, we should do it.'" Eddie put himself in danger because he knew that was the right thing. He forced himself to interact with his worst nightmare.
On a different note, Eddie wasn't socially awkward. I think in the end, Eddie felt like a normal kid, despite all of the stuff we went through (which was the farthest thing from normal). He wasn't socially awkward, but he wasn't a social butterfly, he was just being the new Eddie, and I think he liked it.

This book showed me how some people are shy because they are scared of what others think of them. If it weren't for Harris and Maggie, Eddie wouldn't be outgoing and social. That's because friends bring out the best in you. Eddie found some who really understood him, accepted him, and brought the best out of him.