{"title":"The Cornerstone Story Collection - High School","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHistorical novellas for older readers ready to wrestle with questions that don't resolve easily. Set in nineteenth-century worlds where duty, loss, and conscience collide, each volume follows young men and women through moments that demand more than good intentions — courage, sacrifice, integrity, and the willingness to bear what cannot be changed. Written for ages 14–18, these books are ideal for students in grades 9–12 and a natural fit for classical homeschool families pursuing serious literary study.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"the-captains-boy-the-hard-truth-two-novellas-the-cornerstone-story-collection-high-school-cornerstone-academics","title":"The Captain's Boy \u0026 The Hard Truth","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cornerstone Story Collection — High School\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo complete novellas in one volume, written for readers in grades 9–12 — substantial, unhurried historical fiction about the courage to tell the truth - about yourself, and to a friend.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Captain's Boy.\u003c\/strong\u003e On a Norwegian herring boat in a failing season, fifteen-year-old Eskil makes one small, proud choice that costs the whole crew their catch - and lets another man take the blame. What it costs him to set it right, spoken aloud on the open deck, is the truest work of his life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Hard Truth.\u003c\/strong\u003e Sivert can tell false gold from true by the drag of it on the stone. When his closest friend stakes everything on a stranger's glittering promise, Sivert must decide whether friendship means keeping the peace or telling a hard truth to a face he loves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet in richly imagined working worlds — herring boats and hill farms, smithies and droving roads — these are stories that trust their readers: no easy lessons, no thin characters, only real people carrying real weight and choosing well at real cost. Together the pair turns on honesty, accountability, and the courage to speak plainly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdeal for the classical or Charlotte Mason high-school reader, for family read-aloud and discussion, and for anyone who wants literature that forms character without ever preaching. A companion to the elementary volumes of The Cornerstone Story Collection, written for older hearts and longer attention.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis volume includes two complete novellas:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Captain's Boy\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Hard Truth\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoose your format:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback (6 x 9 in, printed and shipped) or EPUB ebook (instant digital download).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornerstone Academics","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50584123703525,"sku":"9798951391452","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"EPUB (ebook)","offer_id":50584123736293,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0787\/3845\/6805\/files\/ChatGPT_Image_Jul_22_2026_04_18_06_PM.png?v=1784765918"},{"product_id":"the-enemys-door-the-runaway-two-novellas-the-cornerstone-story-collection-high-school-cornerstone-academics","title":"The Enemy's Door \u0026 The Runaway","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cornerstone Story Collection — High School\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo complete novellas in one volume, written for readers in grades 9–12 — substantial, unhurried historical fiction about crossing the distance to someone the world says is beyond reach.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Enemy's Door.\u003c\/strong\u003e Sigrid has never seen the farm across the valley as anything but the house of her family's enemies. Then, through one long and terrible night, a child lies dying under that roof - a child she is forbidden to save - and an old hatred is weighed against a single life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Runaway.\u003c\/strong\u003e When his nerve breaks and disaster follows, Ewan runs north into the winter rather than face his shame at home. Callum goes after him alone - not to drag him back, but to walk him home of his own will, because a fetched man only runs again.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet in richly imagined working worlds — herring boats and hill farms, smithies and droving roads — these are stories that trust their readers: no easy lessons, no thin characters, only real people carrying real weight and choosing well at real cost. Together the pair turns on mercy, reconciliation, and steadfast loyalty.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdeal for the classical or Charlotte Mason high-school reader, for family read-aloud and discussion, and for anyone who wants literature that forms character without ever preaching. A companion to the elementary volumes of The Cornerstone Story Collection, written for older hearts and longer attention.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis volume includes two complete novellas:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Enemy's Door\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Runaway\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoose your format:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback (6 x 9 in, printed and shipped) or EPUB ebook (instant digital download).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornerstone Academics","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50584123932901,"sku":"9798951391469","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"EPUB (ebook)","offer_id":50584123965669,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0787\/3845\/6805\/files\/ChatGPTImageJul22_2026_04_18_11PM.png?v=1784766025"},{"product_id":"the-lame-mare-the-widows-field-two-novellas-the-cornerstone-story-collection-high-school-cornerstone-academics","title":"The Lame Mare \u0026 The Widow's Field","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cornerstone Story Collection — High School\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo complete novellas in one volume, written for readers in grades 9–12 — substantial, unhurried historical fiction about stooping to help the ones everyone else has written off.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Lame Mare.\u003c\/strong\u003e The whole farm has given up on the ruined mare - everyone but Jean, and the knacker's cart is nearly due. Certain the creature was never rotten, only never truly looked at, Jean sets out to find the hidden hurt no one else would stoop to see.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Widow's Field.\u003c\/strong\u003e The widow's grain stands ripe and about to shatter, with no one to bring it in. Against his own father's grudging silence, Mikkel crosses the valley to help - and learns that the hardest part of charity is giving it without shaming the one who receives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet in richly imagined working worlds — herring boats and hill farms, smithies and droving roads — these are stories that trust their readers: no easy lessons, no thin characters, only real people carrying real weight and choosing well at real cost. Together the pair turns on perseverance, compassion, and seeing worth others miss.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdeal for the classical or Charlotte Mason high-school reader, for family read-aloud and discussion, and for anyone who wants literature that forms character without ever preaching. A companion to the elementary volumes of The Cornerstone Story Collection, written for older hearts and longer attention.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis volume includes two complete novellas:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Lame Mare\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Widow's Field\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoose your format:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback (6 x 9 in, printed and shipped) or EPUB ebook (instant digital download).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornerstone Academics","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50584123998437,"sku":"9798951391476","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"EPUB (ebook)","offer_id":50584124031205,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0787\/3845\/6805\/files\/ChatGPTImageJul22_2026_04_22_55PM.png?v=1784766193"},{"product_id":"the-failing-forge-the-cold-catch-two-novellas-the-cornerstone-story-collection-high-school-cornerstone-academics","title":"The Failing Forge \u0026 The Cold Catch","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cornerstone Story Collection — High School\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTwo complete novellas in one volume, written for readers in grades 9–12 — substantial, unhurried historical fiction about the fire kept alive at the hearth - through faithful work and through mercy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Failing Forge.\u003c\/strong\u003e Trygve wakes the smithy fire before the village stirs, the way his father taught him, though the forge is failing and the work is thin. What it takes to keep a fire - and a trade, and a family - burning true through a hard winter is the quiet inheritance at the heart of this story.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cold Catch.\u003c\/strong\u003e Two fishing families have hated each other since the night the feud was born over a herring shoal and two men were lost. Now, in a starving winter, only one family has fish - and the other's children are going hungry. Jem must decide whether an old grudge is worth more than the bread in his hands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSet in richly imagined working worlds — herring boats and hill farms, smithies and droving roads — these are stories that trust their readers: no easy lessons, no thin characters, only real people carrying real weight and choosing well at real cost. Together the pair turns on faithfulness, stewardship, and costly mercy.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdeal for the classical or Charlotte Mason high-school reader, for family read-aloud and discussion, and for anyone who wants literature that forms character without ever preaching. A companion to the elementary volumes of The Cornerstone Story Collection, written for older hearts and longer attention.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis volume includes two complete novellas:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Failing Forge\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Cold Catch\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoose your format:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback (6 x 9 in, printed and shipped) or EPUB ebook (instant digital download).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornerstone Academics","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50584124063973,"sku":"9798951391483","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"EPUB (ebook)","offer_id":50584124096741,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0787\/3845\/6805\/files\/ChatGPTImageJul22_2026_04_17_13PM_b0f3de06-83f6-4f2c-b3a0-0060f7e1f400.png?v=1784766224"},{"product_id":"the-inherited-debt-a-novel-the-cornerstone-story-collection-high-school-cornerstone-academics","title":"The Inherited Debt","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cornerstone Story Collection — High School\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA standalone novel for older readers (grades 11–12).\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e“He did not steal the cloak. He is only wearing it. But let him stand in the road in it while the rightful owner goes shivering past…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen his father dies, seventeen-year-old Gideon Hale inherits the land, the bank, and a whole valley's respect for a careful, honest man. Then he learns what that carefulness was built on: a theft, buried fourteen years, that made the Hale fortune out of another family's ruin. No court will touch it. No one living would blame him for letting it lie. But a blind old judge, teaching him Cicero by lamplight, has already named the only question that matters — and answering it will cost Gideon the land, the money, and the girl he loves.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA grave, unforgettable novel of inheritance, conscience, and the true cost of doing right. Set in the farm country of post-war America, it is literature for the mature high-school reader — substantial, morally serious, and written to be discussed. Character formation without a trace of preaching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoose your format:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback (6 x 9 in, printed and shipped) or EPUB ebook (instant digital download).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornerstone Academics","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50584124162277,"sku":"9798951391520","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"EPUB (ebook)","offer_id":50584124195045,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0787\/3845\/6805\/files\/ChatGPTImageJul22_2026_04_19_34PM.png?v=1784766112"},{"product_id":"the-silence-after-the-trumpet-a-novel-the-cornerstone-story-collection-high-school-cornerstone-academics","title":"The Silence After the Trumpet","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cornerstone Story Collection — High School\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA standalone novel for older readers (grades 11–12).\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e“I am writing it. What happens after the writing is a different matter.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eHe was christened Elihu ben Zadok in the year the Romans counted as 803, in the month of Nisan, in the shadow of the Temple his father served. By twelve he knew the difference between the tekiah — one clear unbroken blast, the voice of heaven opening — and the shevarim, three short broken cries, the sound of a heart that has not yet surrendered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eThen the legions come. The Zealots take the courts and forbid the trumpets. The daily sacrifice fails for the first time in living memory, and the Temple his family has served for four hundred years burns to the foundation stones.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eWhat remains is the question his father asked him in the dark: what is a man's faithfulness worth when everything that gave it a form is gone?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFaith content:\u003c\/strong\u003e Deeply religious, and Jewish rather than Christian — set among the Temple priesthood in AD 70. Families studying the Second Temple period will find it valuable; it does not present the Christian gospel.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA note for parents:\u003c\/strong\u003e Siege, starvation, and the death of a child. Handled soberly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\" dir=\"ltr\"\u003eGrades 11–12 · Ages 16–18\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornerstone Academics","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50584124260581,"sku":"9798951391506","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"EPUB (ebook)","offer_id":50584124293349,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0787\/3845\/6805\/files\/ChatGPTImageJul22_2026_04_27_42PM.png?v=1784766497"},{"product_id":"the-weight-of-borrowed-light-a-novel-the-cornerstone-story-collection-high-school-cornerstone-academics","title":"The Weight of Borrowed Light","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cornerstone Story Collection — High School\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA standalone novel for older readers (grades 11–12).\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e“Not accusation. Recognition. The necessity of seeing a thing as it was before anything else could follow.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn a Depression-era mountain hollow, a preacher's son named Eli hides a wounded stranger in the family barn — a quiet bookkeeper with a leg that won't heal and a ledger he guards closely. What that ledger holds is a truth the whole valley has kept its peace by not knowing: a survey, years back, that moved a boundary line and quietly ruined one family to enrich another. As the secret presses toward the light, Eli must weigh the cost of silence against the cost of telling — and learn that some debts are inherited, and some can only be paid by those who never incurred them.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA novel about buried wrongs, the slow courage of the truth, and what it costs a community to finally see. Set in Depression-era Appalachia, it is literature for the mature high-school reader — substantial, morally serious, and written to be discussed. Character formation without a trace of preaching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoose your format:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback (6 x 9 in, printed and shipped) or EPUB ebook (instant digital download).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornerstone Academics","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50584124391653,"sku":"9798951391513","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"EPUB (ebook)","offer_id":50584124424421,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0787\/3845\/6805\/files\/ChatGPTImageJul22_2026_04_29_52PM.png?v=1784766602"},{"product_id":"the-silver-cup-of-wieringen-and-other-stories-four-stories-the-cornerstone-story-collection-high-school-cornerstone-academics","title":"The Silver Cup of Wieringen and Other Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe Cornerstone Story Collection — High School\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eFour complete stories in one volume, written for readers in grades 9–12.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003e“Once is enough.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eThe night the Spaniards came to the island of Wieringen, Tijmen's father pressed a small leather pouch into his hands. Plain silver. No mark but a nail-scratched cross on the foot. In the Low Countries in 1573, possessing a Reformed communion cup is evidence of heresy — and the soldiers are already searching the parsonage.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003eWhat follows is a journey across the Zuiderzee through storm, ice, and siege, and three more stories of people holding to something when holding costs them. A masterless samurai in the ruin after a great battle, choosing not to draw. A weaver in plague-emptied Flanders, working to finish a Resurrection tapestry for a church that may have no one left to see it. A lighthouse keeper's daughter on a lonely Scottish rock, tending the light through the longest night of her life — and every night after.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInside:\u003c\/strong\u003e The Silver Cup of Wieringen · The Undrawn Sword · The Unfinished Tapestry · The Daughter of the Lighthouse Keeper\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFaith content:\u003c\/strong\u003e Explicitly Christian. The title story follows a Reformed pastor's household during the Spanish persecution of Protestants, and The Unfinished Tapestry turns on a Resurrection panel woven for a church. The other two stories — feudal Japan and the Scottish coast — are about restraint and faithfulness rather than Christian doctrine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\" class=\"font-claude-response-body break-words whitespace-normal\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA note for parents:\u003c\/strong\u003e These stories deal honestly with religious persecution, war, and plague. There is an execution, the aftermath of a siege, deaths within families, and the loss of a parent — all handled soberly rather than graphically. Best for readers fourteen and up.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdeal for the classical or Charlotte Mason high-school reader, for family read-aloud and discussion, and for anyone who wants literature that forms character without ever preaching.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGrades 9–12 · Ages 14–18\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis volume includes four complete stories:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Silver Cup of Wieringen\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Undrawn Sword\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Unfinished Tapestry\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Daughter of the Lighthouse Keeper\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eChoose your format:\u003c\/strong\u003e Paperback (6 x 9 in, approx. 160 pages, printed and shipped) or EPUB ebook (instant digital download).\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Cornerstone Academics","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50584163844325,"sku":"9798951391490","price":12.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"EPUB (ebook)","offer_id":50584163877093,"sku":null,"price":6.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0787\/3845\/6805\/files\/ChatGPT_Image_Jul_23_2026_01_08_37_AM.png?v=1784797736"}],"url":"https:\/\/cornerstoneacademics.co\/collections\/the-cornerstone-story-collection-high-school.oembed","provider":"Cornerstone Academics","version":"1.0","type":"link"}