A bluish cabin near a quiet peaceful lake. Nothing, nothing at all could beat a place like this. Colorful sailboats glide along the silent water. A loon and its babies dive down to get a fish, Leaving a ripple in their place. Birds calling, a tree swaying, Laughter of my family fills the air. My feet run across the soft mossy and green grass, While playing with my dog. In this place, it makes me happy, Takes me away from all the dangers of the world. It protects me. I jump into the crystal-clear water. It refreshes me on a hot summer day. This place is better than an arcade or a water park. The hammock swings near the water, While hot dogs and hamburgers are grilling. It’s old I know, but it’s the best. It’s Camp! Kayla Walsh, 13Falmouth, Maine
September/October 2010
Splintery Embrace: A Memoir
Crunch. Crack. The pavement gurgles under our car. My excitement turns the corners of my mouth up. We are going miniature golfing for the first time. I push the button to open the window. The crisp fall air lifts the pieces of hair that rest on my forehead. The light is like liquid, shimmering down from the sky. Everything is palpable. The royal, jade trees, the soft, quiet pale blue of the sky and the warmth of my rose-pink fleece sweatshirt on my skin. We follow the wrong road and we don’t see the right signs. Finally, after searching, we find our path. When we get to the park, there is a sign that reads, “Closed. Under Construction.” I sigh as my breath circles around me. We get back into the car. My mom announces that we are going to find Jones Beach. I wonder how we will swim in weather that bites at your face. We can’t find Jones Beach but we find our way to Oyster Bay Beach. We go to an ice cream parlor near the sand. As we walk towards the boardwalk, I slip the blue plastic spoon into my mouth as the Oreo ice cream slides down my throat. I begin to skip but bend down to tie my blue-and-white sneakers perched on the ground like a blue jay’s vibrant wing. We walk as our feet tap on the wooden boards. The ocean wrinkles to my left and my sister walks next to me on my right. The wind blows through our ink-black hair and we all smile. We do not talk. The wind whispers secrets that we do not have to speak. The setting sun melts like sweet butter into the ocean. This day that we had not planned was perfect My thoughts wander and the boardwalk stretches far as if being pulled by a giant. I think about my birthday that just passed, and how I spent months planning it out to be perfect. In the end, it did not live up to the times and activities I had carefully laid out on paper. Now that I look back, how could a game end at a perfect hour and not interfere with the next activity? I had tried my hardest to anticipate the exactness of the special day but I had not succeeded. We finally reach a bench next to a broad and aged tree a few feet off the boardwalk. The knotted roots tightly embrace the splintery edges of the bench. I sit down as the lowest branch gently grazes the top of my head. I squeeze my mom’s hand tightly, look far out across the golden water and smile. This day that we had not planned was perfect. Serena Alagappan, 12New York, New York Emma Collington, 13Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Counter Clockwise
Counter Clockwise, by Jason Cockcroft; Katherine Tegen Books: New York, 2009; $15.99 Have you ever read a book that has changed the way you look at your life? A book that opens your eyes? Counter Clockwise did that for me. Suddenly, you don’t take everything for granted. Most days I wake up, look at the clock, get dressed and head downstairs. I am in the same house, same place; I am with the same people. It’s a secure feeling, like a rooster crowing at the break of day. I always took that for granted, waking up in the morning and having a house and parents that care for you. I never quite realized how lucky I am, that my life is intact and doesn’t just break apart suddenly. Like shattering a thin layer of ice. But some people aren’t so lucky. They set out one day and take the wrong step and suddenly things shatter. This happens in Counter Clockwise, by Jason Cockcroft. A bus that is just going too fast hits Cornelle, Nathan’s mom. The bus tries to stop but it’s too slippery, and right there in that split second life will never be the same for Nathan or his family. The author captured those seconds when the bus slides but can’t stop. My heart beats as if I am there living the life of Nathan. Every single person has the right to choose his or her step. As I write this I choose to tap this review out. I don’t have to but I do. Changing the course of my life in a small way but still changing it. Anybody can accomplish anything because they choose the steps they walk. Nathan’s mom made the wrong steps. Why does it have to happen to her? Only fate can tell. Nathan is overcome by grief; he can’t understand why this had to happen to him. One night after school he goes to a bonus class. By the time it’s finished it’s dark. As he waits for his dad, something odd happens. He meets a Beefeater who helps keep the crows away at the Tower of London. He remembers his father telling him his grandfather was a Beefeater. His dad was always embarrassed having his father dress up for a job; in Nathan’s dad’s view not even a job. The creature says his name is Bartelby. Nathan follows him and Bartelby starts changing the dates and papers at the school’s office. Nathan tells him to stop. He says that Bartelby is ruining somebody else’s work. Bartelby turns with a glint in his eye and says, “What would we do if everything were perfect?” That line was interesting to read. It’s true. What would we do if everything were perfect? In India they sew beautiful rugs. They purposely make a mistake so their work is not quite perfect. So the work has character. Then something unimaginable happens, Batelby takes Nathan back in time, counterclockwise, to the day his mother died. He is confused and scared. He walks along and sees his mother about to walk across the road. He runs toward her and then everything is a blur of sirens and shocked people. Nathan begins to move back and forth through time’s mazes. Will Nathan lose himself in the past? Or will he be able to move forward, into the future? Hayden Rasberry, 11Yarker, Ontario, Canada
