All locations are closed today for Victoria Day.
All locations are open today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
All locations are open today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
All locations are open today from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
All locations are open today from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
All locations are open today from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
All locations are closed today.
The (You)th Writer in Residence is a virtual volunteer opportunity for those aged 12-18, running from May through August. The writer submits creative writing in their preferred style for publication on the library’s website and social media.
Please note: The opinions of the (You)th Writers in Residence do not necessarily reflect the values and mission of Kitchener Public Library. We champion the right for ideas to be heard and words expressed without censorship. Intellectual freedom is a fundamental right. Some episodes may contain sensitive content - please listen at your own discretion.
Visit our volunteering page to find out which opportunities are currently accepting applications!
The Aftermath of Struggle: Part One
Farzan Khwaja
“Amidst the discomfort and restlessness, he contemplates the journey that lies ahead—the uncertainties and possibilities awaiting him, the mix of leaving behind everything he knows and the exhilaration of venturing into the unknown. It's as if the very air he breathes holds a whisper of new beginnings, a promise of uncharted paths and untold stories yet to unfold.”
The Aftermath of Struggle: Part Two
Farzan Khwaja
“Aiden's search led him to a secluded underground chamber, hidden beneath the dilapidated building. The air grew damp and suffocating as he descended into the depths, the flickering light of a single bulb casting eerie shadows on the cold, stone walls.”
The Colors of Unity
Farzan Khwaja
“In a distant time and unfamiliar realm exists a planet bearing a striking resemblance to our own. It boasts vast oceans, towering mountains, and profound valleys among its geographical wonders, mirroring Earth's natural beauty. While this world has sheltered life for a prolonged amount of time, only one intelligent species has emerged: the Xers.”
Fortnight with My Family?
Farzan Khwaja
“His room was a shrine to the game, posters on every wall, and a gaming rig that could rival any esports champion's setup. But little did he know that his passion was about to take him on an unforgettable adventure that would involve his entire family.”
The Intervention
Gwen Tanner
“‘Amanda?’
Her name was repeated - with a sigh she pulled out her earbuds and turned around to see the annoying brunette who’d been tapping her. Gabby, her “friend.”
‘Hey! Sorry, my music was too loud, what’s up?’ Amanda’s voice was chipper, too bright and cheery to be natural. Not that Gabby noticed.”
The Test
Gwen Tanner
“Every eye was on her as Mags walked through the door to her math class. They were surprised to still see her in this class, especially considering it had been almost two weeks.”
The Argument
Gwen Tanner
“There was no way this was happening. How did she find this place?
Mags ground her teeth together, her nose scrunching and her face growing red from anger. She stood from her spot behind the drums and tore the earplugs out of her ears.
'Get out. Right now.'”
The Confession
Gwen Tanner
“'I think we need to talk. The band will understand. Plus, they aren’t that useless without a drummer.'
A small, melancholy smile appeared on Amanda’s face, and she followed Mags silently until the two were out of the warehouse, standing under the small canopy as rain began to fall.”
The Where Watch
Muhammad Abeer Mustafa
“I blink my eyes a couple of times and look around. Most of the old books, heirlooms, and other things are in big cardboard boxes. I duck my head to dodge a piece of loose wood. I approach the end of the attic - the further I go, the older the things are.”
Hounds of Hell and Wolves of Sea; Part I
Muhammad Abeer Mustafa
“And there was a good reason for why there was only one city on this planet. It was because none explored beyond it. And why you may ask…because danger lies just beyond the wall.”
Hounds of Hell and Wolves of Sea; Part II
Muhammad Abeer Mustafa
“We walked and looked at the countless desks and supplies. This probably had more books than the main library in the central sphere. Though just before us appeared a platform, floating.”
Multiple Choice
Candice Wallace
“My last breath has lost its shakiness. It still blows my mind how well that works. I’ve released myself from the suffocating pressure of having to fix every problem as soon as it comes up.
I never knew how easy it was to just breathe.
I guess I learned that from tonight.
Tonight.
And then I start to remember.
I start to remember what tonight was.”
Just Enough
Candice Wallace
“I knew I shouldn’t have been doing this.
I shouldn’t have been filling up my bag as if I was packing a suitcase for a vacation.
I shouldn’t have been putting on my socks with the energy of an athlete who was about to run a marathon.
But I wasn’t one to overthink.
And right then, all I could think about was how for the life of me, I couldn’t sleep.”
No-Nighters
Candice Wallace
“Not every all-nighter was like that, though.
Some of them were the opposite.
They always seemed to happen completely against your will.
You wanted them to end? They’d say no.
You wanted to have even a little fun? No.
You just wanted to sleep? No.
I called them No-Nighters.”
As It Should Be
Candice Wallace
“It suddenly felt so real that he was going to talk to them that it was starting to not feel real.
Under the warm glow of the sunlight, they almost looked like ghosts.
Like if he made one wrong move, they’d disappear forever.
Did he miss them that much?
He really did.”
Him
Lex Nandalall
“He has no past, no future, he only has the time he is with me. He always comes to me in any state I need him, if that means for him to just sit next to me, or the cute witty banter he loves to make, despite the fact that no one else can hear or see him. He simply isn’t real.”
Get Out
Lex Nandalall
“Communication, this was something we needed to work on. I guess when I say this what I really mean is that I need to work on this. It was strange, not only did he seem to be teaching me how to maintain a relationship, he was also making me see all the flaws in my over-romanticized idea of a partner. Regardless, we can work that all out later, I just needed to focus.”
The Morning After
Lex Nandalall
“I knew this was going to be tough, I once had constant company to love and cherish me at any moment I needed, and now it was gone in an instant. It felt as if I had lost my partner, but when it was time for me to grieve, no one could comfort me. The world would go on as normal for everyone else, while mine had just come to a complete halt.”
I Can't Love You Anymore
Lex Nandalall
“But just as the thought came to me that progress was finally being made, as I exited school, I saw him. Just as I was about to scold myself for imagining him again I saw my friend talk to him. They both wave me over, but while she’s introducing me I couldn’t help but stare mindlessly. Every single feature was the same, his height, build, his face, all of it.”
A Piece of Me 1: The Dark Side of the Moon
Claire Liu
“Tiffany is like the visible side of the moon. She is well-known at her school, and just like the moon, many people comment on Tiffany’s dazzling beauty as she shines in the night sky. These people are unaware there exists the far side of the moon, a side hidden from the rest.”
A Piece of Me 2: Our Greatest Achievement
Claire Liu
“I toss the remote control to the side. There’s no use in watching TV since every channel is covering the release of the Hubba update. It happens every year: Hubba Corp. releases an update, we update our Hubba’s, the world becomes a better place. Who doesn’t like that?”
A Piece of Me 3.1: Suddenly Sinking
Claire Liu
“Mrs. Normandy frequently volunteers at the Ocean Cleaning Committee (OCC), an organization dedicated to removing harmful above-world objects from our neighborhood, the Red Valley. Recently, she joined the OCC as a full-time member due to the increase of above-world objects that were swept in our neighborhood. We all know the real reason she joined is because her husband was one of the first to get caught in the above-world objects and swept away.”
A Piece of Me 3.2: Revisiting the Past
Claire Liu
“And then I noticed it.
My tail was gone, and in its place were two long limbs that supported my weight on the sandy ground. The tail that helped me swim in the Atlantic Ocean all these years just suddenly disappeared. The thought made me weak, and I stumbled on the sand.”
Countdown
Brigid Campana
“Today was the day. Ever since James was born, he’d had a timer inked into his right wrist. Like for most people, the timer counted down to the exact moment when you’d discover who your soulmate was. He’d probably be meeting his at school, considering that it wasThursday. In just over an hour, he’d find out exactly who he was destined to spend the rest of his life with.”
Three
Brigid Campana
“Henry checked his soulmate timer subtly as the vampires began to bare their fangs, their leader examining him and his friends closely.
6:37
Fine, then. Love on the battlefield. Hopefully, his soulmate wouldn’t end up being one of his adversaries.”
Two
Brigid Campana
“Hours later, within the final moments of the game, Becca skated her hardest towards the net. With mere seconds to go in the third and final period and a tally of three to two for Kitchener, there was only one thing left to do. Score.”
One
Brigid Campana
“Phoenix always knew she was special. They were one of the select few people who were lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you looked at it) enough to have been born without a timer on their left wrist. To her, it never changed anything, except they were the only person they knew who didn’t have a soulmate.
But that was just the way she liked it.”
Forget Me Not
Varisha Singh
“Her laughter was rare but contagious, echoing smoothly off of the walls in our home. It was moments like these that I cherished the most, as her eyes crinkled in laughter and her mouth turned upwards into a wide smile. The reason for my grandma’s laughter was because I had misspelled the name of her favourite flower ‘forget-me-not' as ‘furgot-me-not.’”
Cosmos
Varisha Singh
“From afar, however, he thought beaches were beautiful, especially when watching the sky aflame in the afterglow of the setting sun and its stunning reflection on the water below. But, as with most elements of beauty, they were only meant to be gazed upon from a distance. He found that the closer he got, the more devastating the consequences were for him and so it was all he could do not to be lured into the trap disguised as elegance that would only end in disaster.”
Purple Hyacinth
Varisha Singh
“I never really liked four-letter words. All of them mean so much more than the confines of four letters. Love. Hate. Time. Loss. Pain. No mere words can accurately describe any of these terms. In order to understand them, you need to feel. The tender caress of love. The hate that consumes you. The adrenaline coursing through your veins. The heart-wrenching loss. The heavy weight of time. Or the aches and consequences of pain.”
Lily of the Valley
Varisha Singh
“She opened her eyes and sat up, her heart pounding loudly in her chest. There was a faint ringing in her ears that only ceased after she had fully woken up, as if her ears were still recovering from being overused within her dream. It was strange because she felt like she had had that same dream before, only she couldn’t remember when.”
The Pieces of the Rainbow: Chapters 1-2
Maggie Ray
“I came face to face with a girl I was sure I had never seen before. I looked at her puzzled but by the excitement expressed on her face, I thought maybe I was the mistaken one. I didn’t have the best memory and at that moment I cursed my hippocampus for failing me in a time of need. “I’m sorry, have we met before?” I asked politely.”
The Pieces of the Rainbow: Chapters 3-5
Maggie Ray
“To you, it might seem crazy that my society runs that way but it's just as crazy to me that your society doesn’t run that way, although I have gotten a little more used to it over my years of dimension-hopping. Oh! That’s what we call people who travel to other dimensions, ‘dimension hoppers.’”
The Pieces of the Rainbow: Chapters 6-9
Maggie Ray
“I noticed on the inside of the box was a written-out description about where to find the green crystals that we needed. I showed it to Indigo as we both shared a look of confusion. The little notes were one thing, but this, this felt like someone was making sure that we found all the crystals that we needed.”
The Pieces of the Rainbow: Chapters 10-13
Maggie Ray
“There were only a few passengers on the bus, most sitting by themselves and spaced out. Indigo and I sat in the very back and planned out how to execute the spell for Indigo to get back home. We chose to do it by the lake so that we would be in a secluded area and the water would be right there so that we could cleanse the crystals.”
The Phoenix
Sarah Pace
“At this time, I don’t know the locations of any other prison camps, except that they are very far away.” she explains. “They’ll also be more heavily guarded in light of our attack here, so it only makes sense to strike the government while we have the element of surprise.” Here, Brealynn pauses and gazes around the room. “Are there any objections?”
The Smothered Light
Sarah Pace
“I jump up to my feet, standing protectively beside Jayda. She hardly blinks at the sudden appearance of the Accursed street gang. None of them bear the tattoos of an Accursed, making me wonder whether they’ve hidden theirs as well or simply never got them. Veronika stumbles back a step, standing beside me as if preparing to grab my hand so I can teleport us away. I’m not against that idea, but I’m not sure if Jayda will be with us, or if I have the energy to teleport all three of us again to some unknown location.”
Love’s Treason
Sarah Pace
“In a blink, the three of us appear. Somewhere else. We’re surrounded by forest, and I have no idea where we are.
I stumble, catching myself on a tree and Abigail lets out a small moan.
“That’s the first time I’ve teleported three people. I don’t think I want to do it again,” she complains.
“What are we going to do?” Veronika asks, clearly panicking at the newness and reality of the situation.
Without even attempting to read her mind, I can clearly sense the waves of panic circuiting her mind.”
The Awakening
Sarah Pace
“I take a seat and roll up a sleeve. On the underside of my arm, my veins are clearly visible. The doctor comes over and quickly inserts a needle into the crook of my elbow. I watch as he takes some of my blood. The blood will be tested and based on the results, they’ll know if I have any of the three curses.
He quickly pulls the needle out and leaves the room with a call of “I’ll be back momentarily with the results.” Mom passes me a bandage to cover the needle prick.
After mere seconds he returns, as promised. His face has hardened and dread floods me.
“Come with me.” He growls roughly at me.”
Reassurance & Tranquility
Ruth Yallew
“I refuse to conform and cave,
The palms of my hands are like earphones,
The world becomes silent,
My mind is somewhere else,
My eyes close,
I begin to dream of tranquility”
What Are You Living For?
Ruth Yallew
“Jean Shinoda Bolen once said, “When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” While we learn many valuable things throughout our high school careers, one thing that can’t be answered during a lesson or through reading a textbook is finding joy in our lives.”
What Will I Live For?
Ruth Yallew
“Four goals. Four objectives. Four things I am striving to attain and understand in the future. Like a kid trying to grab the cookie jar from a high shelf, despite a step stool or jumping as high as they can, they are not able to reach it. Like the kid, often times people take shortcuts or rush themselves to grow up fast in modern society due to cultural lag. However, is anyone truly prepared for adulthood?”
Are Teenagers and Older Generations Truly Different?
Ruth Yallew
“Teens have the ability to look back on some of the most impactful moments in history, the good and the bad, and make different decisions in the present. The current generation of teens can even be compared to the 60’s; a time where advocacy of social issues was more common and people were more willing to be independent and vocal with their opinions. This is a quality which can help with the reconstruction of society, allowing future generations to become more expressive about changes that need to be made in our world.”
Home
Tiffany Trinh
“If you were to ask me three years ago if I wanted to move, I would hesitate to say yes. I had dreams at a young age to grow up as quickly as possible, move out onto my own, live in the city, and somehow perfectly balance a work life, school life, and social life all at the same time like they do in the movies. I didn’t want to let go of my friends at the time, but I knew we all would drift apart eventually with time and my life choices shouldn’t be based around them. But, there was something daunting about that at the same time.”
Gardenias
Tiffany Trinh
“The Kingdom of Gardenia had never fallen so silent before. All the children who would play out in the long narrow streets close to their friend’s homes became hidden within the depths of their own rooms. Merchants had all closed down their shops and the maidens had given themselves house chores to fulfill while they had all prevented from going outside to run their errands. Today marked the second year from the passing of Aliana’s father.”
Brothers
Tiffany Trinh
“In fact, I couldn’t wrap my head around the reason as to why my mother wanted me to get along with my siblings. At the time, I didn’t have a role model of any sort (other than aspiring to be Hannah Montana), and I definitely didn’t think my brothers would be one. How they acted and their values at the time were things I never really cared about nor wanted to. Additionally, they were people I grew up arguing with. Our sibling banter got in the way of me seeing what they were actually like as human beings.”
Repudiation
Tiffany Trinh
“The feeling of home is quite hard to explain. It’s like having your mother cradle you in her arms for the first time and the sheer look of love on her face as she adores your entire existence. It is a place where you can strip away your most outermost levels and truly be yourself. Home is more of a feeling than a location; a destined place of residency, a permanent location that you could find on a map — or at least that’s how I see it.”