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Country of Broken Stone
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Plot Summary of Country of Broken Stone
"Fourteen year-old Penelope Ibbetson is at an archeological dig in Northumberland with her family. Her self absorbed writer father has married an American archeologist. Penelope and her older brother Martin gain three step-siblings, 12-year-old twins, Mark and Luke, and 8-year-old Louisa. Martin accompanies Valerie, their new stepmother, to work on the dig, while Penelope is left to deal with the tensions at home. It's a struggle for the private Pennie to adjust to the boisterous boys, and lonely, little Louisa. The archeology project is of an ancient Roman fort called Sulpitium on Hadrian‘s Wall. The site has been beset by problems and “bad luck� for years. A factor in this may be the resentment of the local people at the loss of a local farm first to a wealthy Englishman who bought the land at the turn of the twentieth century, and then to Valerie's University. As the story progresses, the site is sabotaged by obviously human sources. Archie Robson and his younger brother Randall are the most likely suspects. Another worrisome factor is the risk of fire due to a drought. Pennie secretly gets to know Randall, and learns the truth behind the incidents. Over the eventful summer, she also comes to a better understanding of how complicated but still worthwhile family relationships can be.
"

Susan Coffey, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Country of Broken Stone
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1980's-1999
Kids growing up/acting up? Yes
Kids: - solving crimes (scooby doooo!)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Age 11-14
Age group of kid(s) in story: - high school

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - British
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - a teen
Profession/status: - farmer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - very athletic

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 ()
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Small town? Yes
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Country of Broken Stone
After by Francine Prose
Dragons in the Waters by Madeleine L'Engle
The Rose Queen by M.E. Rabb
The Specter by Joan Lowery Nixon
Our Man Weston by Gordon Korman


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Nancy Bond Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Susan Coffey  

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