UQP: Young Adult Fiction 

2000 reprint $16.95

251p pbk

ISBN: 0-7022-2250-X

This book is about a 15 year old girl called Megan.  Megan was leading a normal life until one tragic day her parents were killed and she was just barely living after a drunk driver had rammed into their car.  She was unconscious for 3 days.  The employees at the hospital had their work cut out as she was barely breathing and had a faint heartbeat when she first arrived. She had to move to Welsh because her only living relative lived there.  Her friends had encouraged her to go.  When she got to England her cousin Caitlin picked her up.  On the way to Welsh they drove past Emylm, soon to be Megan's boyfriend.

Some time later Emylm took Megan up to his favourite spot on the hill.  This is where the circle of stones lay.  They then discovered that Megan had a supernatural gift and had to go back in time and fix a wrong that an evil man had done.

This particular book I didn't enjoy that much.  Don't get me wrong, Brian Caswell is a great author but I could really get into this book.  I have read some of his other books and I found them astonishing.  I didn't like this book because of the way that he went from one character's head to another.  It took a while to understand what they were talking about.  His vocabulary was great and despite the fact that I didn't enjoy the book that much I think that anyone who loves time travel books would absolutely enjoy this book.

Ellen, aged 14, Canberra ACT

When I first started reading Merryl of the Stones, written by Brian Caswell, I thought the plot developed slowly; however, as I got involved in the characters and their worlds, I found the story became intriguing.

It is a story of time travel and magic.  It begins in Sydney with Megan Ellison being the sole survivor of a car accident. Her parents die.  She awakens from this disaster haunted by strange dreams as if from some distant past.  She starts to speak Welsh in her sleep.  This is very strange, because in reality, she cannot speak or understand a word of it.  Reading Caswell’s biography, I realise a connection here.  Caswell was 12 when he left his native Wales to settle in Australia.  Perhaps he’s forgotten how to speak Welsh himself!

When Meg recovers from the accident, she is sent to live with an uncle in Wales.  There she meets a local boy called Em.  He is an unusual but exciting character.  Together, as their friendship grows, they discover Meg’s past, and the supernatural gift that she possesses.  Eventually they solve the many mysteries attached to it.  This involves travelling through time.

Merryl of the Stones is a fabulous story but in parts more detailed description is needed.  At times, I simply didn’t connect well with aspects of the plot because of the sketchy nature of some of Caswell’s writing.  I would give this book a rating of 7 out of 10.  Perhaps an older audience would appreciate it more than I did!