‘Despite the fact that the public is demanding stiffer punishments. “The judge paused again, was rewarded with silence, then continued. Like there was a reason she was still living and breathing when her older sister, Ellen, had stopped doing both six months ago.” – Leeza from The First Stone by Don Aker, pages 17-18 ‘You don’t have to prove anything,’ they’d said. “She’d had a hard enought time trying to explain it to her mother and stepfather, who felt that being around ‘all that pain and suffering,’ as they put it, was the last thing Leeza needed. On an interesting note, Budge Wilson wrote one of the comments recommending The First Stone featured on the back cover of the book and tomorrow I will be reading her book, The Leaving.

Also, if you enjoy this book, there’s a sequel called The Fifth Rule by Aker that continues Leeza’s and Reef’s stories. I would recommend it for the mid-teens, as it contains mature themes and a fair bit of swearing. Even though the reader is not privy to all of the dramatic scenes, Aker finds other ways to satisfy reader curiosity which I appreciated. I quite enjoyed how Aker used the stones to bring the story full circle and to a meaningful close, even if the relationship between Leeza and Reef is left unresolved.Īker manages to inject humour into an otherwise serious themed book and is incredibly skilled at maintaining dramatic tension throughout. This is another title I love because The First Stone is laced with meaning with the biblical reference and Reef’s habit of collecting stones with his grandmother. Review: In The First Stone Don Aker takes the issue of rehabilitating young offenders and ends up creating a well-thought out, plot-driven exploration of one young man’s journey to becoming a productive member of society. Both face having to make a choice about going on with their lives, but they find help in the most unexpected place: each other. After the dust settles, Reef finds himself in a group home doing volunteer work while Leeza finds herself in a rehab facility trying to rebuild her body.

When he and his friends Jink and Bigger find out the city is going to demolish their favourite hang out spot, his anger leads him to make an irreversable decision that will change the lives of himself and Leeza Hemming forever. Summary: Reef is a young offender who has gotten into trouble more times than he can count.