Reviewed by Richard

In "The Rescue," Charles Jones tells a tale of friendship and the extreme measures one will take to help a friend in need. In this story, Jones paints images of childhood and childhood friendships, lazy summer days and youthful daring. The story gives the reader a reminder of a time when we thought life went on forever and there was no such thing as danger. In the end, the story is a child�s first confrontation with mortality and the first real kick one gets in the direction of maturity.

Although this has the makings of a very engaging, emotional, thought provoking story, "The Rescue," unfortunately, falls short of reaching it�s potential. The main reason for this is the prose style. The story is "told to" the reader, by the main character, which keeps the action from being able to unfold on it�s own. When the climax occurs and all is well for the main character and his friends, one may wonder, "Who cares?" The reader is not given the opportunity to know the characters. No empathy is created, as the characters are denied the chance to express themselves.

Another weakness in the story is what information is given, and how. Was it necessary to tell us how polluted the canals were? Had this been a tale of childhood friends coming together in later years to bury one of their own, who died of some horrible cancer, it would have been relevant. In this story, this information served no purpose other than to keep the reader guessing which way the action would go. A great deal of space was devoted to developing the role the YMCA would later play in the story, when a mere sentence would have been more effective.

The author has obvious talent and needs to keep writing. As the violin player said, when asked how to get to Carnegie Hall, "Practice, practice, practice."