The poorly written product of a lukewarm liberal selling out her own culture for western attention, Set in stone was conceptually attractive to me (I'm, sapphic Romanian and love historical fiction) but failed to deliver.
First of all, the two lovers have no personality or chemistry. A lesbian romance set in a repressive medieval environment should be brimming with passion and bewitching attraction; SHOW ME why these two ladies can't bear to be appart despite all the obstacles in their path! But no. Their romance comes out of nowhere and is so boring.
The story is full of cultural inaccuracies and inconsistencies, too many to list here. The author cherrypicks from Moldovan culture whatever is convenient for her story and ignores the rest. Milquetoast liberalism and white feminism pervade the story, accompanied by good old racism. Ah yes, the rich white girl is just as oppressed as the rroma slave - a bellydancing and fortune telling stereotype. Ugh.

Unexpectedly solid read in spite of the manic pixie dream girl trope.

Unapologetically and heartbreakingly honest. I keep crying thinking about the main character's relationship with his best friend Rowdy.

Really solid YA retelling of Macbeth, with credible characters, strong atmosphere, and great stylistic choices for the most part.

Tedious. 

YOU'RE TELLING ME A 14 YEAR OLD RAPE VICTIM'S GREATEST WISH WAS TO COME BACK TO LIFE TO FUCK AN ADULT MAN??!?!!?!!

REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS
What I liked about this book is that, unlike most stories aimed at younger audiences, it doesn't baby them and doesn't shy away from heavier topics. It's pretty well researched too. A lot of children's authors seem to think that kids don't care about this, or aren't ready to read about violence and death, but they do and they are. The heroine was strong and makes a good role model for young girls. My main problem was the way it handled the little boy's death. The overall tone of the story as well as the context clues indicated your typical middle grade "he actually escaped!!! Big adventure!!" Happy ending twist, but it wasn't so. It was handled really weirdly; for example, the MC doesn't even go into her friend's room to check if he's actually dead, just assumes he is. That was one of the biggest context clues that made me think the author wouldn't have the guts to kill him off, but turns out she did. It made me think to myself: good on you for taking up a difficult topic like this one in a kid's book, but you didn't have the mastery and care required for it. That's a serious decision you're making and you gotta stand by it to make it good.

SO corny... Though I guess I should've expected that from the title. Bonus points for not romanticizing suicide, I guess? Good message, lackluster delivery. A book that deals with this sad of a topic should've made me tear up at least once, but it goes without saying that it didn't. 

I could find flaws with the style, but Stone Butch Blues is so vital and necessary - so informed by real lived experience - that I don't really want to. A must-read for anyone curious about queer history.

Beautiful, lyrical style. Really engaging plot and characters. It's kind of a cliche to say this, but I couldn't put it down. The author's self insert made me cringe though, no matter how wryly and self-deprecatingly she went about it.