by Christina Kilbourne
2003 Winner
November 10
Dear Diary;
Everything is black, so black I canโt see through it. When it first started closing in around me, I thought Iโd be okay, that Iโd let it creep in a little way and then fight it back when I had the energy. The thing is, I didnโt realize it was stronger than me and now Iโm afraid I wonโt ever win.
November 11
Dear Diary;
Happy Remembrance Day. It was exactly what I needed to cheer me up, a day to remember a bunch of dead guys.
November 12
Dear Diary;
Iโm so royally screwed up right now and itโs not a good place to be. Do you know what Iโve been thinking about lately? Tally Hanenโs cousin, Chloe. Tally was abducted from her own yard, where she was playing with Chloe. They were both five at the time. When the man grabbed Tally and started to drag her away, she yelled to Chloe to get her mom, whoโd stepped inside for Popsicles. But the man shoved Tally in his car and drove away before her mother got back outside. The police were on the case in minutes. They even issued an Amber Alert. A stranger found Tallyโs body later that same day.
I know all this because I saw it on a TV documentary the other night. Mom would have freaked if she caught me watching it, but I couldnโt turn it off once Iโd started, and I couldnโt sleep anyway. Now Iโm having nightmares again, but not about Tally.
I canโt stop thinking about Chloe. I mean, itโs over for Tally, sheโs not in the nightmare anymore. But poor little Chloe is going to spend the rest of her life thinking that if only sheโd been closer to the picket fence, sheโd be the one who was abducted. Thatโs what itโs like for me right now.
About this Story
Published by Lobster Press, 2007
โข Winner, Manitoba Young Readers’ Choice Awards (2009)
โข Winner, 2009 Snow Willow Award (Saskatchewan Young Readersโ Choice Award)
โข Winner, 2009/2010 Red Cedar Award (British Columbia Young Readersโ Choice Award)
โข Nominated for the 2010 New York State Reading Association Charlotte Award
โข Selected, Canadian Childrenโs Book Centre’s โBest Books for Kids & Teensโ (Starred selection, 2008)
โข Selected, Ontario Library Association’s โBest Bets for 2007โ
โข Slovenian and Portuguese language rights sold
โข Winner of the 2003 Muskoka Novel Marathon .. as a winner was published in a limited-edition, first-rights two-novel compilation by Fox Meadow Press in Spring 2004.