overview:friends of pendragon park is a five book series that chronicles the lives and activities of five childhood friends, raised in a lower middle class neighborhood of grande lake, tx, who are learning at a young age the implications of gentrification.delwood heights, where the kids have lived all their lives, is coming up, and as old favorite corner stores and restaurants are replaced by new, more upscale establishments, and property values begin to rise, the neighborhood association announces that they are proactively searching for bidders to develop pendragon park, which is home to the old man tree, the kid's favorite gathering place. artists' renderings of lofts and retail spaces abound in the pages of the delwood heights mirror. the kids are heartbroken and decide to start a club, the friends of pendragon park, with a mission to educate the neighborhood about the nefarious implications of the plans, and save their beloved park from the bulldozers and jackhammers of urban developers. to this end, they start an underground newsletter, the pendragon periodicals, for which they do all the writing, photography, and distribution.each book in the series of five covers a smaller subplot within this overarching narrative, and these focus more on the social interactions of the kids with each other, with their peers, with their families, and with the neighborhood at large.
without further ado, here are some sketches of the kids! meet justin and lara, age thirteen, the two main characters of the books. both in their first year at maplethorpe junior high, the two are childhood best friends just entering the tumultuous throes of adolescence. they are the charter members of the friends of pendragon park, and the story revolves largely around their friendship.
justin crosier, age 13
justin is the president of the friends of pendragon park, and is the group’s “fearless” leader. although justin is generally more well-liked by his peers than the rest of the group, he is loyal to the members of the FOPP and values their friendship above all else. raised by his grandmother since his mother moved to a nearby city to live with justin's stepfather three years ago, justin leaves town somewhat frequently to visit the couple, but is based in grande lake, where our story takes place.
justin is a pensive type, who tends to worry over things and doubt his own judgment, but his plans for the group are always well thought out, and his ideas often inspired. he is very deliberate in his actions and decisions and sometimes gets flack for it from other members of the group, especially ryan.
obsessed with the anachronistic, justin often spends afternoons exploring lara’s father’s record collection, which is stored in boxes in her mom’s garage or combing thrift stores for all manner of interesting treasures. he discovered his favorite band “pelican bistro ensemble” in this way. justin is a musician himself, and often writes songs on an old classical guitar, which are rarely played for others. he has a good eye for composition and takes pictures with an old-fashioned camera with disposable flashbulbs. these often grace the pages of the
pendragon periodicals, the FOPP’s underground newspaper.
justin has a subtle sense of humor, riddled with inside jokes, and this often confounds non-club members who wish to befriend him. among the larger peer group, he is especially well-liked by girls, though his dedication to the club, and close friendships with lara and sheena, are often points of contention when it comes to these matters. regardless, it isn’t something that worries him much, as pendragon park and old records are of more interest to our hero (at this point in his life) than the fairer sex. jason’s favorite pastimes are visiting thrift stores and picnicking at the old man tree, and his favorite food is kofta korma. when it comes to colors, he'll take blue. justin is a cancer.
lara black, age 13lara is the vice-president and secretary of the FOPP, and has been justin’s best friend since kindergarten. to casual observers, she tends to come across as a goodie two-shoes. she is extremely polite and somewhat fixated on social convention, and dresses in a highly formal and quite old-fashioned manner (she shares justin's love of the anachronistic). however, among friends, she is known to be somewhat moody and a bit prickly. she is very sensitive and her feelings are easily hurt, but she is also very empathetic. she is an excellent listener, and takes a genuine interest in people’s lives and occupations.when situations get too complicated or stressful, she often retreats to one of several secret hiding places. at these times, it becomes nearly impossible to locate her, and justin (the only person who is privy to the whereabouts of these hiding spots) must be consulted. lara also keeps an extremely detailed fictionalized diary in which she is popular among her peers, her parents are still together, and she is an only child. sometimes the diary is very realistic, and sometimes it veers into the fantastical, incorporating mystical creatures, superhuman powers, and far off lands of romance and intrigue.
lara’s parents divorced very shortly after the birth of her younger brother jason, age 9, but live only 5 houses apart on the same block in delwood heights. lara is close to both of her parents, but lives mostly with her mother, who has an office/converted carriage house out back above the garage where the FOPP have their meetings and print their newsletter. lara’s mom is a freelance graphic designer and the FOPP use her obsolete paste up equipment to layout their independent rag.
in addition to writing for the pendragon periodical, lara’s drawings are often featured as illustrations and in ads (most of which are for the bakery/coffee house/flower shop,
flour, owned by the parents of fellow FOPP member, sheena riot) for she is considered the most capable artist of the group. she is smart, and a bit of a dilettante, or renaissance kid if you prefer. she is always working on a new hobby, and has a proficient grasp, but certainly not mastery of, several musical instruments, various needle crafts, carpentry, bookbinding, botany, and sewing. she is also the club epicurean, and packs tasty lunches for the group whenever they hold their meetings.
lara’s dad is a professor at the local university and suffers from OCD, a trait she gets honestly. although she is often chided about it by others in the group, especially ryan, it does aid her in keeping a very detailed and well-kept chronicle of all the goings on of the FOPP which she keeps in a black and white marbled composition book labeled “TOP SECRET! FOPP PROCEDINGS.” because lara examines every angle of a problem before weighing in, she is often defaulted to as a voice of reason and to settle disputes. she has a funny sneeze, sometimes has difficulty articulating her thoughts in speech (she’s much better in writing!), and has notoriously bad balance. her favorite band is “the unicorns." her favorite animal (buffalo) and her favorite drink (hot chocolate) are both her favorite color (brown). like justin, she is a cancer.
sheena roitt, age 12
when it comes to finding sponsors for the pendragon periodical, she's the go-to girl. her parent's, who are youngish hippy liberals and own a coffeshop/bakery/flower shop called flour power purchase a full page ad in every issue.
does, he it doesn't inform his behavior. this can cause tension at times with the more emotional element of the the FOPP (justin and lara) but is generally overlooked.
