Review

The shorty story 'The Clearing', written by james Roy, has a couple young adult themes. It portrays the life of Veronica Bennett. Veronica goes through a lot and as shown in the chapter, she's not promiscuous. It's a very intriguing story that does captivate people's attention. Bullying and reputations are showcased in this story making it more interesting. Veronica goes through so much that it makes you wander how she copes with it all.

Veronica has recently broken up with her boyfriend known as Reece Tormay. They were together for a little while but a few things went in the wrong directions causing a break up between the two. A lot of people questioned their relationship and there were a few guys who fancied Ronnie as well. I guess the relationship just wasn't meant to be, seeing as they broke up.

Ronnie is then asked out for a ride around town with one of the most popular guys called Josh Waldren. I found Josh Waldren a bit intimidating because nearly every girl has a thing for him making him seem like one of "those" guys. Meaning his reputation is very high on the charts and I'm not a big fan of those high rank people. Josh does have a nice side but it seems to depend on who you are or what his mood is like. Whereas Sam Waldren is just an innocent, nearly 16 year old, teenager trying to act all tough but failing.

Knowing that Ronnie gets bullied and called Carbo makes her life a littler harder to live through. Reading through the story, Ronnie experiences pressure from Josh and I knew he was making her do something she didn't want to do. Luckily, nothing bad happened and Ronnie managed to avoid doing anything she was going to regret.

Overall, the story was a good read. Even though there were some parts that weren't exactly my taste in reads, it was a great. It's recommended for Year 9s and above. If I had to rate this short story, I'd give it a 7 out of 10. I've read it a couple times to fully understand the story now and a few of the quotes are stuck in my head.