Skipping Stones at the Center of the Earth by Andy Hueller - NO

Hueller, Andy Skipping Stones at the Center of the Earth, 248 p.   Bonneville Books, 2011.  $8.99.  To call the bullies at Hidden Shores “bullies” or to call the teachers there “mean” is a massive understatement of the facts.  When you live in an orphanage at the center of the planet, everything is more pronounced and exaggerated.  Cal Cobble has been at Hidden Shores since he was six years old, living on the sunlit half of the island.  He has only one friend, a seven-year-old girl who is more annoyance than anything and all of the other kids and teachers pick on Cal because of his unruly, flaming, red hair.  And fro some reason, adults are always saying, when Cal seems to have caused some trouble, “The apple didn’t fall very far from that tree, did it?”  Then one morning Cal spots Mr. E., the orphanage’s enigmatic gardener skipping stones on the water – and the stones seem to skip forever.  Cal will risk anything to be able to watch Mr. E. every morning, not realizing that he will set in motion events that could change his life forever.  If you can accept that someone discovered that the North and South poles are actually gigantic screwheads that reveal the Earth is actually hollow, then you will be able to enjoy this book.  As a fantasy lover, I have believed many fantastic premises, but I was never drawn into this one enough to suspend my belief.  NO. Cindy, Library Teacher