Quicksand Pond. A story about two preteen girls, and a old woman who can't let go of the past. One of the girls is named Jessie. Twelve year old Jessie, is a girl from Pittsburgh on vacation with her family, visiting an old pond from her fathers past. Her father said he came down to this pond one summer, and met his best friend there. They went fishing and had a blast, till he had to go back to his home town. They lost contact and forgot about each other till her father returns.
Jessie found a raft right out side her cottage, on the pond. She gets on the raft and uses the reeds around her to direct her further out on the pond. Unknowing she's gonna meet her new best friend Terri Carr, which happens to be Jessie's fathers, old best friends, daughter. They make it their mission to fix the half sunken raft, hopping it will float better.

At this point of the story (still the beginning) an old lady named Henrietta comes down from her room, and outside to meet the girls after days of watching them from her window. She tells them she's counting on them and that they'll be in touch soon again. After she goes back, she continues to watch them from her bedroom mirror with her big binoculars. Watching them rebuild the thing she made. Her piece of art The raft.
Jessie and Terri barrow tools from Terri's dads work shop, and from Henrietta's fathers tool shop. While Terri and Jessie are off trying to fix the raft, Jessie's older sister Julia, is on the beach hanging out with people who've been around for a while. Julia hears that Terri is bad news, a no good child. When Julia's dad's laptop goes missing, Julia starts making assumptions. She told her family and they didn't know what to think. A week or two later a fire started in Henrietta's garage, no one new where Terri was when it happened, So people assumed Terri was the one that started the fire. The police came to Henrietta's house, to investigate. They found a gallon of gasoline Terri has been using to make fires for her camp.
Terri was put behind bars just until they find out if she really did it or not.
Henrietta gets interviewed by the police incase she knows anything about the fire, she starts telling what she remembers but then changes the story to a murder that happened about thirty years ago. The story never get resolved but Henrietta slips away into her mind and then the story ends. ( )

Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle brings to life a story of summer friendships, small town preconceptions, and the choices that define us. Jessie Kettel's father is determined to make the most out of their summer vacation by uprooting his kids from the city and renting out a decrepit old cabin by a dingy old pond for a few weeks. Jessie is immediately entranced by the pond and finds an old raft on which to explore the secrets of the swampy land. It's there she discovers Terri and the two become inseparable, fixing the raft and learning about each other. The more Jessie gets to know Terri though, the more concerned she becomes. Terri is from a no good family and everyone knows that they're always in trouble. As things start to fall apart, Jessie starts distancing herself and begins questioning her own feelings and convictions. Although intended for a middle grade audience, the novel reads more mature and may lose younger readers. The story isn't very fast paced, but there is rich character development with Jessie and Terri. The narrator's youthful voice helps capture the innocence and excitement of the young girls. Not for everyone but will appeal to more mature middle school readers, not for content but for plot, dialogue, and character development. ( )

When reading the dust jacket of this one I really thought I was going to like the story. It had a great setting and a great premise. However, this story was very disjointed. Too many stories being told, especially for a young reader. This book does have some interesting characters but the reader does not get to know them really well because of the way the story is told. I was very disappointed in this one. ( )