If you look inside Lizzie Cohen’s high school locker you will see that her world is falling apart. First you will find the unfinished homework assignments and crumpled tests with failing grades and furious teacher comments scrawled in red pen. Then you will see the crushed coffee cups and half eaten bags of chips. Look closer. On the top shelf, beneath an old sweater she is hiding something. A secret. It is a battered journal that used to belong to her older sister Tess, who died six years ago when they were little girls. It is filled with Tess’s poems and sketches, a record of a time long ago when Lizzie almost believed in magic—back when she did everything her sister asked her to do, even if it meant putting herself in danger. The journal is also an account of one child’s mind teetering on the brink between make-believe and something much more frightening and serious—a time when Lizzie was ready to grow up but Tess was still clinging to her belief in magic like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. Now Lizzie is using the journal to come to terms with the terrible guilt of her own survival. She will need to learn that sometimes growing up means letting go—even if that means saying goodbye forever.
To win a brand new hardcover copy of this most excellent sounding book, tell us about something you lost, and how it affected you. Winner will be randomly drawn from all non-anonymous entries Tuesday. Must be a teen (12-18 or 6th-12th grade) in Sno-Isle Library service area to win. Check back here to see if you won!
7 comments:
I guess there's something to be said for losing something that isn't physical.
For me, this thing would probably be my childhood. I haven't completely lost it yet, but I feel myself coming closer and closer to the point where I will, and that scares me. There comes a time when you find yourself teetering on the brink of adulthood, barely able to keep yourself from falling over. It seems that in this sort of world, you have to grow up right away, or else you'll be left behind. So yeah, I haven't lost it yet, but I'm not a kid anymore and I know my childhood could give at any second and disappear in a single instance.
When I was in eighth grade (That was five years ago, give or take) I lost basically every friend I ever had in the past three years of middle school. I don't know why they decided I wasn't worth their time, maybe it was because they were "maturing" and I wasn't, but it was a terrible time to be me. They ridiculed me in the hallways and told me that I was commanding and rude. It was the worst time of my life. I hated school, which is something that I had never felt before, and I cried nearly every day. The two positives that came out of this, is that I spent a lot of time at the school library, and that I met new friends. Of the people that hated me back then, two of them have gotten over it and decided to be my friend again (Neither have ever apologized). But the other three haven't spoken to me in five years, but that's okay. They obviously weren't worth my time.
-AC Marysville
Over the span of my life I have lost friends, family, and pets. These terrible things have made me realize how short life is and that you need to live it to the fullest without turning back and not worying about what could happen, but what will happen. These times have also taught me to cherish what you have and not give up because you might have someone telling you to give up.
DJ
Marysville Branch
I know this my sound strange but one phisical thing that I lost last year affected me mentaly in meny differant ways. The thing that I lost was the key to my house. When I got home from school one day I just could not find my house key. I had one me pocket in my backpack that I always kept my key in just incase my mom or dad were not home to unlock the door. I ended up just going into my backyard to start on my homework. Anyway I was outside for a total of 5 hours with no food or water. This made me think about all the people that go without shelter,food or water for days. After knowing I could not go without these neesesitys for 5 hours it made me relize how lucky I really am.
Something, or someone I should say, that I've lost is my uncle Bill. He took me on my first boat ride, my first fishing trip, and my first hunting/camping expedition. He was the super cool outdoors man that was chill and "laid-back". I lost him a few years ago, and it has changed me because I don't do many of those things now. I don't hunt, we don't camp, and I hardly ever fish, let alone go on a boat. Although I do miss these experiences, I miss being with him so much more.
The most important thing that I have lost is my dog, Moses. This affected me in the way it would affect most people, it was devastating. More so, it affected our other dog, Chip. He was depressed for months after, and has just now overcome it with the arrival of another dog, Jack. Moses death affected me in a sad way early on but it has led to affecting Jack, into having a good home.
I loved all your responses this week...they really moved me. Hugs to you all!
Random Number Generator selected Macey's response. Email me at teens@sno-isle.org to let me know which library to send it to.
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