Ethan Hightower's "Spanish Moss"

     This story was about three 8th grade boys Blake, Tommy, and Trig, the narrator of the story. The summer prior to becoming "men" and attending high school, they decide to smoke weed, something more "kids their age were doing," or I'm guessing the kids that mattered. The three journey into the woods and smoke a joint. After finishing, Trig notices a black suitcase or bag across the creek, and as the three swim across to check it out, they find a small grey hand poking from the bag's side. Terrified, the three run, not only from the confusion of what they've seen, but from each other. Their friendships are never the same after stumbling across a dead body.
     I thoroghly enjoyed this story, especially the narrator's voice. I found the eighth grade narration not only authentic, but humorous. The 13-14 years are hard to capture, but Ethan does a nice job of it here. I wish I could have gotten a little more insight to why the three boys never spoke about it or why they didn't tell anyone. Maybe it's just the girl in me, but my first instinct would be to discuss what the heck we just saw and then tell someone with some sort of authority like my parents, the police, etc. I wanted to see the narrator change a little more. He tells us that part of his innocence is gone, but I wanted to see it through action/dialogue in the end. Nonetheless, I like how the story ended and the plot as a whole! Also, I enjoyed the contrasting personalities of the three boys. Blake, the "goody-goody" who wears his emotions on his sleeves; Tommy, the boisterous leader of the group that must be the center of attention; and Trig, the character between his two counterparts who represents more of the general reader and a more relatable character. Though these extreme personality types are quite commonly put together in tv shows, movies, and books, I think it also works in this story very nicely. I loved all three characters and was interested in Tommy and Blake just as much as Trig. I felt satisfied as a reader when Trig tells us what happened to Blake and Tommy after the dramatic event. As a whole, I loved the story and found it extremely entertaining. I simply would have liked to see more of a change in Trig maybe through action or dialogue, but nonetheless it's a great piece!
     

Kody Blackwell's "Whatever Gods May Be"

     Told through a third person narrator, whose voice I highly enjoyed, this story focused on a religous man named Thomas Abrams and his loss of faith. Thomas began filling in for his church as the preacher after his previous one resigned. As Thomas begins to really take on his role as pastor, giving up his coaching and teacing jobs at Ambert County High School, it seems as though he simply goes through the pastorial motions: visiting members, reading his Bible daily, etc. Throughout the coming year, we slowly see Thomas begin to doubt his own faith, becoming less and less concerned about his sermons, readings, and his God. Thus, resulting in the final scene where Thomas announces to the congregation that he can no longer preach things he no longer believes in himself, and we also find his wife has birthed a son whom they named Thomas.
    I really enjoyed the narrative voice through th story, however, I wish I would have been able to possibly read it from Thomas's perspective. At times, I am not completely convinced why Thomas simply abandons his faith especially in such an exciting and life-changing time as becoming a parent. I think it would be more impressionably moving if we could see Thomas's thoughts through the process because in the end it doesn't necessarily seem to be a big deal at all. Thomas walks up to the pulpit one day and basically says he quits. It would have ben neat to see the crowd's reaction, Bethany's thoughts, or something like that. Many religious leaders in the church are very confident in what they teach and live by, therefore, I find it hard for Thomas to let go of his faith so easily. Another tiny issue I had was with the way time passed. I know in order for someone like Thomas to doubt his faith it does take time, but I wish it would have been either a short amount of time, or maybe I just wanted to see time change through desciptions rather than being told? I'm not sure, maybe I'm just being picky/weird. Along with the narrative voice, I really loved the character Bert in the story. I found myself rooting for Bert as he showered Thomas with his wisdom and advice. Also, I thought the characters were extremely realistic and relatable, especially since we're in the "Bible Belt" and I loved the settings and little details like the congregation singing the hymn, "The Old Rugged Cross," in the opening scene. All in all, this story was very well put together and I loved the whole concept of the story. The character change through Thomas was well developed and easy to spot, and I liked that I did not see the story ending with Thomas's loss of faith. It threw me for a short loop in which I enjoyed. Great work!