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The Cornerstone
Every life has a cornerstone. Some are made of clay, some are made of rock, and a few are made of duty, honor and blood.
It’s 1944, toward the end of the Second World War, but far away from the action. Ian McKenzie, a bright fifteen-year-old street kid ready to take anyone on, has been sent to a Puget Sound 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, angry, demanding, unorthodox, dangerous.
Ian and his cabin of outcasts spend the summer building a chimney for the camp’s lodge, while all the other boys are enjoying camp life, water sports and forgetting about the war. Through Ackerman’s tough love and the sharing of a strenuous task, Ian learns to solve problems, from discovering and unearthing rocks for the chimney’s perfection to finding a way to get along with a street kid from a rival neighborhood. He gains pride and a sense of honor and, as Ackerman unveils his dark secrets, Ian learns to cope with fears and responsibilities he’s never imagined. Most important, he learns how to care for someone else and to care about his own life. It is tragedy that forms the cornerstones of Ian’s life and make this novel something truly special and moving.
This coming-of-age story is framed by Ian’s return to the camp nearly fifty years later, as a naval admiral, and his eventual discovery of Ackerman’s final secret.
“ … emotionally powerful and skillfully crafted.”
Library Journal
“Platt creates a moving relationship that survives the ravages of forty-eight years, and provides an inspirational ending.
Publishers Weekly
“Excellent story which keeps interest high … Recommended highly.”
Children’s Book Review Service
It’s 1944, toward the end of the Second World War, but far away from the action. Ian McKenzie, a bright fifteen-year-old street kid ready to take anyone on, has been sent to a Puget Sound 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, angry, demanding, unorthodox, dangerous.
Ian and his cabin of outcasts spend the summer building a chimney for the camp’s lodge, while all the other boys are enjoying camp life, water sports and forgetting about the war. Through Ackerman’s tough love and the sharing of a strenuous task, Ian learns to solve problems, from discovering and unearthing rocks for the chimney’s perfection to finding a way to get along with a street kid from a rival neighborhood. He gains pride and a sense of honor and, as Ackerman unveils his dark secrets, Ian learns to cope with fears and responsibilities he’s never imagined. Most important, he learns how to care for someone else and to care about his own life. It is tragedy that forms the cornerstones of Ian’s life and make this novel something truly special and moving.
This coming-of-age story is framed by Ian’s return to the camp nearly fifty years later, as a naval admiral, and his eventual discovery of Ackerman’s final secret.
“ … emotionally powerful and skillfully crafted.”
Library Journal
“Platt creates a moving relationship that survives the ravages of forty-eight years, and provides an inspirational ending.
Publishers Weekly
“Excellent story which keeps interest high … Recommended highly.”
Children’s Book Review Service
244 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 1998
2 people are currently reading
4 people want to read
About the author
Randall Platt
15 books76 followersJUST WHO IS THIS RANDALL PLATT?
(hint: Not a guy!)
Randall Platt writes fiction for adults and young adults and those who don't own up to being either. Platt, a lifelong resident of the Upper Left Hand Corner, has been a full-time writer for twenty-five years which is certainly long enough to know better. But since Platt finds no shortage of fascinating characters and stories springing from the beautiful Pacific Northwest, the books just keep coming. Which explains why nearly all Platt’s novels take place in Washington or Oregon, the exception being Liberty’s Christmas, which takes place in Texas during the Depression.
Platt's novels have won several awards including twice winning the Willa Literary Award and twice winning the Will Rogers Medallion for best young adult literature. Platt has also received the Keystone State Reading Award, been a finalist for the PEN Center USA award as well as the Washington State Book Award. Platt is a sought-after speaker and presenter at conferences, schools, and libraries, specializing in fun and honest answers shot straight from the hip.
Platt’s latest novels have two things common - they take place during World War II and feature a strong female protagonist who stands up, stands out and resists. The paperback edition of Incommunicado, set during the first turbulent months of World War Two and dealing with Japanese internment, releases in the spring of 2017.
The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die, also releasing in the spring of 2017, is an intense young adult novel of street kids surviving and resisting on the Nazi-occupied streets of Warsaw.
Twice Hollywood has called Platt - her first novel, The Four Arrows Fe-As-Ko was filmed by Sullivan Entertainment as Promise The Moon. Another novel, The Cornerstone, has been optioned for feature film by actor/director Tom Skerritt.
Several times a week Platt puts away the words and heads for the nearest handball court or hiking trail.
More information than you ever wished to know about Platt is available at www.plattbooks.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, as well as the usual book websites.
(hint: Not a guy!)
Randall Platt writes fiction for adults and young adults and those who don't own up to being either. Platt, a lifelong resident of the Upper Left Hand Corner, has been a full-time writer for twenty-five years which is certainly long enough to know better. But since Platt finds no shortage of fascinating characters and stories springing from the beautiful Pacific Northwest, the books just keep coming. Which explains why nearly all Platt’s novels take place in Washington or Oregon, the exception being Liberty’s Christmas, which takes place in Texas during the Depression.
Platt's novels have won several awards including twice winning the Willa Literary Award and twice winning the Will Rogers Medallion for best young adult literature. Platt has also received the Keystone State Reading Award, been a finalist for the PEN Center USA award as well as the Washington State Book Award. Platt is a sought-after speaker and presenter at conferences, schools, and libraries, specializing in fun and honest answers shot straight from the hip.
Platt’s latest novels have two things common - they take place during World War II and feature a strong female protagonist who stands up, stands out and resists. The paperback edition of Incommunicado, set during the first turbulent months of World War Two and dealing with Japanese internment, releases in the spring of 2017.
The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die, also releasing in the spring of 2017, is an intense young adult novel of street kids surviving and resisting on the Nazi-occupied streets of Warsaw.
Twice Hollywood has called Platt - her first novel, The Four Arrows Fe-As-Ko was filmed by Sullivan Entertainment as Promise The Moon. Another novel, The Cornerstone, has been optioned for feature film by actor/director Tom Skerritt.
Several times a week Platt puts away the words and heads for the nearest handball court or hiking trail.
More information than you ever wished to know about Platt is available at www.plattbooks.com, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, as well as the usual book websites.
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