Cornerstone: A Coming-of-Age Novel

Ian McKenzie is a bright fifteen-year-old street kid who's been sent to a Washington State summer camp in 1944 to be straightened out. Andy Ackerman, the counselor assigned to the camp's charity cases, is a young man fresh from the war in the Pacific, tough, angry, but understanding. Through Ackerman's tough love and the sharing of a strenuous task, Ian gains pride and a sense of honor. It is Ackerman's tragedy that forms the cornerstone of McKenzie's life and makes this coming-of-age novel so compelling.

In this coming-of-age novel set in 1944, Ian McKenzie is a bright fifteen-year-old street kid who's been sent to a Washington State summer camp to be straightened out. Andy Ackerman, the counselor assigned to the camp's charity cases, is a young man fresh from the war in the Pacific, tough, angry, but understanding. Through Ackerman's tough love and the sharing of a strenuous task, Ian gains pride and a sense of honor. It is Ackerman's tragedy that forms the cornerstone of McKenzie's life and makes this novel something truly special and moving.

VOYA

The Service Organization Kids (SOK's) are the scourge of Camp Roswell-charity cases who attend via scholarship. In the summer of 1944, fifteen-year-old Ian McKenzie and the other SOK's are assigned to the most ramshackle cabins and lackadaisical of counselors. Andrew Jackson Ackerman is a Navy man on medical leave from the war who has been assigned camp duty, but does not seem interested in being an a role model. When Ackerman volunteers the SOK's to build a new chimney and fireplace for the camp lodge, the work becomes a way the boys can contribute something as well as a bonding experience-especially between Ian and Ackerman. Ian is honored (and burdened) by the trust that Ackerman ultimately places in him: his friend and mentor is dying, and has become addicted to morphine. Ian is on the verge of becoming a hardened criminal, but Ackerman is the first adult in his life who can also see his potential. By the end of the summer the boys have become fast friends, the chimney and fireplace have been successfully completed, and Ackerman has died, but not without leaving Ian a gift that will change his life forever-an appointment to the Naval Academy in Annapolis. The book begins and ends in the present day, with a middle-aged Ian just retired from the Navy returning to Camp Roswell for a visit. His thoughts back to that turning point make up the majority of the text; this is not an original device, but it works just fine here. The characters are very well drawn, and the reader will come to care about all of them. Former campers will enjoy fond memories of swimming, arts and crafts, and campfires. Strong language prevalent in the book fits the characters and the setting. VOYA Codes: 4Q 4P M J S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses, Broad general YA appeal, Middle School-defined as grades 6 to 8, Junior High-defined as grades 7 to 9 and Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).

Randall Beth Platt is the author of The Royalscope Fe-As-Ko, Honor Bright, Out of a Forest Clearing, and The Four Arrows Fe-As-Ko. She lives in Gig Harbor, Washington.