The Many Lives of John Stone

Spark needs to find a summer job. When she visits her brother who is in New York working an internship, she meets John Stone, the man responsible for her brother's job. John Stone offers her the possibility of a job, if she will write him a letter, telling about herself and her philosophy of living life. At first, Spark thinks it is a joke, but the more she thinks about it, the more intrigued she becomes. Not long after sending John Stone her letter, he offers her a job at his house, organizing and cataloging manuscripts in his private library. She has no idea what the manuscripts are about, as they are written in a code no one but the owner can read. As Spark works on organizing, she starts to notice there is something odd about John show more Stone and his two companions, Jacob and Martha. Martha seems to love Spark and welcomes her, while Jacob seems to hate her and wants her to leave. Spark isn't sure what to do, and she feels out of place in the house. Finally, she decides to leave, but the mysteries of John Stone pull her back into his life, in ways she could never have imagined, and he reveals a secret about himself that binds him to Spark for the rest of their long lives. This was a pretty interesting story. I had thought, based on the title, that John Stone would have many lives. And in a way, I guess he did, but not as I had imagined. I liked how the characters were connected and the idea of very long life. There was also some about Louis XIV, and the royals and court life are very intriguing to me. Overall, a good story, but there were a few parts that lagged a bit. show less