A Test of Loyalty: Mechanicsville book 1

I highly recommend you have your teens read A Test of Loyalty by Laurie Stewart." Gale S. Isolation... you can feel alone in the most crowded places. Change... it's the only thing you can count on. Loyalty.... who deserves yours? Told in first person, this is the story of three teenagers growing up in Mechanicsville, a bad neighbourhood in Canada's capital. Surrounded by drugs, sexual assault, poverty, and peer pressure. Separated by race, religion, and distrust, they must learn to trust each other. When the unthinkable happens, what changes can they survive?

Part 1: Samantha
BeginningsSamanthaWe moved on a Saturday in late August. I hated the place from the moment the U-Haul pulled up. I couldn&rsqu ...

Part 2: Ashleigh
AshleighI was eager to see who’d be moving into Snake’s old apartment. Of course, I couldn’t let the others s ...

Part 3: Faraj, and Samantha
FarajI couldn’t believe those stupid girls. Standing around the porch stairs like they were the only ones who needed to u ...

Part 4: Ashleigh and Samantha
I snuck in the house as quietly as possible. Mom was on late shift, she’d left by four. That meant Jeff and I were alone ...

Part 5: Samantha
SamanthaFor the last eleven years, school started in September, the day after Labour Day. Starting in August seemed like such a ...

Part 6: Ashleigh and Samantha
AshleighSeven o’clock in the freaking morning. Whose idea was it to have a seven in the morning, anyway? Some sadistic g ...

Part 7: Faraj
Faraj“A decent man understands the difference between being friendly to his neighbours, and acting like a whore.” S ...

Part 8: Samantha
I couldn’t believe it. He’d stolen all my papers. How was I supposed to finish registration if he took off with al ...

Part 9: Ashleigh and Faraj
Ashleigh“Stupid white bitch.” She just walked away, like she couldn’t see something was wrong. Little prince ...

Part 10: Samantha and Ashleigh
SamanthaI couldn’t believe my mother! How dare she just brush me off like a five year old? Neither she nor Faraj’s ...

Part 11: Ashleigh and Faraj
AshleighI jiggled up and down on my toes; my grandfather would’ve said I had ants in my pants. I grimaced, the thought of ...

Part 12: Samantha and Ashleigh
SamanthaI was definitely not comfortable here.Carrie Whitehorse wasn’t one of Ash’s two native friends that I’ ...

Part 13: Faraj
FarajFadi certainly looked relaxed. Sitting in the library carrel with his feet up on the chair beside him, reading the paper. ...

Part 14: Samantha and Ashleigh
SamanthaI looked at my watch again. What was taking so long? Were they growing the pot from seed? I started to feel certain t ...

Part 15: Faraj and Samantha
Faraj“We’re alone, I checked.”“Did you check under the stalls?”There was a shuffling noise. I ima ...

Part 16: Ashleigh and Samantha
SamanthaSomehow we made it back to the bike path. I had no idea where we were going; I had never been so lost in my life. How ...

Part 17: Samantha and Ashleigh
SamanthaAsh pushed, then tugged on the piece of metal mesh fence that ran across the opening to the old mine. I felt sure this ...