FICTiON
White Pine Lake
Written by Lindsay Reeve, Illustration by Gillian Wilson
It’s a complex thing, making sense of female friendships on the page. “White Pine Lake” tackles this with as much instinct as lauded titles in the genre: the Neapolitan novels by Elena Ferrante, The Girls by Emma Cline, and Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney, among others. In this month’s story, Lindsay Reeve captures the unspoken requirements of adolescence, detailing how early friendships can help us construct our sense of self.
With a delicious kind of dissection, our author reveals the power dynamics of two high school friends in a small beachside town during summer break. At the heart of their relationship, there’s a palpable and recognizable tension between the narrator and her friend Sara. The whole thing feels sensitive and raw, as if not to disturb the energy in the room. Blunt dialogue cuts through the air of uncertainty; phrases like “It’s a little trashy, don’t you think?” and “I’m jealous of your knees, mine are this weird shape,” illuminate the intricate, doubtful way teenage girls talk to each other, especially when it comes to sex and desire, the two burning topics that fuel this story.
Featured story for February 2020
“There were so many ways you could get hurt if you weren’t paying attention. But Sara could make even bruised skin look good. Those little green and yellow marks were proof that she was alive, vital. Like the occasional faded phone number on a forearm, like slept-in makeup. ”
GILLIAN WILSON
Gillian Wilson is a freelance illustrator and screen printer living in Guelph, Canada. She received a BFA from Concordia University in Montreal and has since been developing her own line of hand-printed goods, available in select stores throughout North America. Some of her illustration clients include Showtime, Today's Parent, Owl Kids, and VICE.
lindsday reeve
Lindsay Reeve studied English Literature and Critical Theory at the University of Toronto. She now lives in Los Angeles, and some of her recently published writing can be found at The Cincinnati Review and Storm Cellar.