Kailey

Kailey is ten and she loves to swim in the ocean, but she is especially fascinated by the life in the various tide pools on the beach, watching the various kinds of animals and keeping a record of which ones she sees.

Her interests, though, are about to be destroyed by construction of a theater complex and other shops that will result in the destruction of all the tide pools and the remaking of the beach. Her friend, Tess, looks forward to this, but the more Kailey considers it the less she likes the idea.

Finally, she decides she needs to do something to try and stop the structures from being built, but the townspeople have already tried to stop it and, as usual, their interests are overridden. There's even a personal interest, as her father could get a job doing lots of paintings for the company and earning a lot, but he is ready to turn them down, not wanting the tide pools destroyed either.

It's a good story in that it does show what a small group of people can accomplish when they try to set themselves against moneyed interests, and in this it's trying to present a very positive approach. Unfortunately, the approach is a little convenient as, in real life, when it comes to people vs. greedy corporations and the environment, the corporations almost always win.

Back to American Girls index page

Back to main home page index