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Senior Book Jacket: A Senior Narrative Book Jacket by Arlene Oriel (2015)

My short story is about a 17-year-old boy by the name of Steven Bentley, who is very hard-working. Although Steven's parents are immensely proud of their success-driven son, they know that he lacks something very important: the willingness to help others. One winter night, Steven's parents announce that they've volunteered him to go on a service trip to Mexico. Steven is shocked to hear this, and he reacts in a way that is completely unexpected by his parents. He bitterly asks, Why can't they just help themselves? to which his father replies, Steven, you have to understand that their reality is a lot different from yours. But Steven still won't listen to reason, and very abruptly leaves the family meeting and storms out of the house. He takes a walk around the park that is near his house, and it begins to snow shortly after he makes it outside. The first snowfall of the season reminds him of all the holiday traditions he'd have to miss this year because of the service trip. He tries to clear his mind, but his father's words keep playing over and over in his mind. You have to understand that their reality is a lot different from yours. After some deep soul-searching, Steven eventually has a change of heart. He takes a long look around at all the falling snow, and quietly says, to himself, Goodbye, snow. Hello, Mexico.

For my book jacket, which I created in InDesign, I wanted to include elements of the important aspects of the story. I made the illustration of a globe to represent the traveling that Steven would have to do. He's very reluctant to the idea of having to travel without his family this holiday season to help people that he doesn't even know. I also included many snowflakes in my design because they represent what is making Steven want to stay. As soon as he sees the snowflakes, he is reminded that he won't be spending the holidays with his family and that he won't be enjoying the traditions he normally enjoys during this time of year.
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