Class Trip

Lisa Arsenault is a high-school English teacher who is involved in
several ministry campaigns to increase literacy.

Nate, a Grade 8 student, keeps a journal that he writes in nearly every
day, primarily about events that are happening in school. Of major
interest to him and his peers is the annual Grade 8 four-day trip to
Ottawa. A source of much annoyance and several running entries in the
journal is the fact that this year the class has to raise funds and
solicit volunteers to help with underprivileged children in Ottawa.
Nate’s coverage of the trip is extensive. In common with many young
teens, he gives short shrift to the cultural aspects of the city, and he
and his buddies spend a lot of time looking for “the Courtyard,” a
local skateboard venue that has achieved almost urban-legend status in
the collective teen mind.

There is some insightful commentary on the likes and dislikes of young
teens. For example, the high-school experience that Nate will be
encountering after graduation is summed up rather accurately for a
certain type of teenager: “He said I’ll really love it next year
when I get there. And then I’ll hate it. Then after a couple of years
I’ll love it again.” Dialogue is believable: the speakers sound like
contemporary teens. The inclusion of email entries enhances the
verisimilitude. The byplay between Nate and his younger sister is
realistic, as is the big-brother/mentor relationship Nate develops with
a neighbour. His preoccupation with skateboarding accurately reflects
the interests of his age group and there is evidence of a typical
burgeoning teenage romance between Nate and another skateboarder,
Miranda.

This short journal holds a mirror up to contemporary adolescent culture
and therefore has some relevance as social commentary, but otherwise
there seems little reason for it. The diary entries lack plot, thrust,
and direction, and are not sufficiently gripping to be engrossing on
their own merits. Not a first-choice purchase.