Jenna McAllister

### Outfit

Two colour hoodie (blue and green), neon green capri leggings, blue and green knit runners, blue hair elastics

**Jenna Margaret "Flash" McAllister** was one of the four original Maplelea Girls released by Maplelea. She was released in **2003**.

## Character and Personality

Jenna is an eleven-year-old Scottish-German girl living in Hilltop Street, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, near the Front Harbour of the town. Her father, James, is a Scottish marine biologist, sailor, and bagpipe player, who was born in Neils Harbour, Cape Breton. Her mother, Evelyn, is a creative German woman who "never stops!" and always helps everyone, nominally a stay-at-home mom but assisting with the next door bed-and-breakfast. She has three brothers; her older brother, Ian, often teases her for her freckles, and she and him have to "negotiate" over television time. Her two younger brothers are Robert "Robbie," who is an optimistic and excitable five-year-old, and Darryl "Cute Pie," who is a year and a month old.

Jenna is a very outdoorsy and active girl, nicknamed "Flash" due to her rapid movement, flame-red hair, and fast temper. She is a fiery and very talkative young girl who enjoys running, sports, sailing, and highland dance. She especially loves playing soccer with her team, which includes Coreen, her cousin, and their friend, Isabel. The three girls often practice on their own, with Isabel as the goalie. She loves the ocean, especially seeing her favorite animal, the gannets; her favorite hobby is simply watching them. She also enjoys the boats' movements and seeing the nearby whales. When her father practices bagpipes on the beach, she likes to scour the beach for beach glass, stones, shells, and sand dollars, which she keeps on her room's windowsill. Her mother is trying to make a wreath out of the sand dollars her daughter has found.

She is in grade five at Lunenburg Academy, a historic building constructed in 1895 which is about ten minutes away from her house by walking distance; she will walk down with Isabel, who lives "across the street and three doors up." Her main teacher is Miss Sims, and her favorite subjects are English, Social Studies, and Phys Ed. She loves to play wtih Coreen, Isabel, Alison, Brandon, Jimmy and "a bunch of others" at recess, where she often plays four-square or soccer, or skips or swings. In the winter, they slide down the snow banks and throw snowballs at targets, never at each other. At lunchtime, Jenna likes to take a bus to read to the senior citizens at the nearby retirement home. She dislikes homework (unless it's a project on animals), tidying her room, and taking out the garbage, which she finds disgusting. She also seems to enjoy performance, as she takes highland dance classes and won the lead role of Anne Shirley in her school's production of *Anne of Green Gables.*

Jenna is proud of living in Lunenburg, where she was born. Her family lives in a house, with her room in a famous "Lunenburg bump–" a top window that sticks out, built in the early settlement days so that women could look out to the ocean and see if their men were coming home. She likes to let people know about the city's summer festivals, such as the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival; the dorys, sailboats, and motorboats, including the historic Bluenose sailing ship and its replica; the historic buildings and summer Town Crier; the lobster meals served; and the whales that can be seen from the Atlantic.

Jenna also has an Aunt Mary and Uncle John, Coreen's parents. While it is unknown if they are her paternal or maternal family, Coreen's hair color more closely matches Evelyn. Her mother's grandfather was also a sailor on the Bluenose, so Evelyn often says sailing is in their blood; James also grew up in a sailing town. The older family will sail on the *Little Dipper,* named as such for how it dips into small waves, and how its name could make you think of the stars. Robert and Darryl are too young to go sailing with the rest of the family, and so stay with the B&B owner, "Auntie Margriet." Margriet is not their relative, but is close enough with the family that both the children will constantly come and go, and the family cats, Mackenzie and Fox, will wander over there to fall asleep and be pet by guests. With the B&B so close, often Margriet or guests will come over, especially if they hear music coming from the home. Jenna says, "There's music and dancing and, when everyone's tired, there are always stories to be told."

She has considered many occupations for her adulthood; her number one most-likely plan "for now" is journalism, because she would like to travel the world and do reports on international sporting events, though she is also interested in marine biology like her father, in order to protect the underwater world from pollution, and sports medicine, in order to take care of athletes. She has a great desire to travel, and met her friend Saila while traveling with her father to an event in Nunavut. She describes her style as fast, clean, and simple, and she prefers clothing that won't restrict her movement. Her absolute favorite color is blue, and she will wear it as much as possible.

Jenna is learning from her Uncle John how to play the fiddle for two years, since she was inspired by seeing Natalie MacMaster at the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival; both she and Coreen have her autograph. She loves to go biking on the Back Harbour Trail, which will someday be a part of the Trans Canada Trail. In the summer she is usually swimming at Hirtle's Beach, in teh winter she will be shoveling snow outside, on rainy days she will search for her cats, and on Canada Day she attends a picnic. She also enjoys watching TV or doing a craft with her mom, and before bed she always reads for a half hour; despite her wild personality, she does enjoy her quiet time, cuddling with her cats and daydreaming about the future.

## Family and Friends

### Family

* Evelyn McAllister: Jenna’s mother, a creative stay-at-home mom who volunteers at the local B&B.
* James McAllister: Jenna’s father, a marine biologist who often tells tall tales.
* Ian McAllister: Jenna’s older brother, who is 12 years old is the only child in the family to not have red hair. She says he is a big tease, and her pet peeve is when he bothers her about her freckles.
* Robert "Robbie" McAllister: Jenna’s younger brother, who is 5 years old. She says that he is never cranky, disappears easily, and often wakes her up for school by jumping on her bed.
* Darryl McAllister: Jenna’s youngest brother, who is 1 year and 1 month old. She says he has yet to talk, and calls him "Cutie Pie."
* Coreen: Jenna's best friend and cousin.
* Aunt Mary and Uncle John: Coreen's parents. Uncle John is teaching Jenna to play the fiddle, while Aunt Mary step dances.
* Jennifer McAllister: Paternal grandmother.
* Anna: Maternal grandmother.

### Friends

* Isabel: Jenna’s friend and soccer teammate, who plays goalie.
* Jenna names several other friends from school, specifically Alison, Brandon, and Jimmy.
* Alexi: Jenna's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Cabbagetown, Ontario.
* Brianne: Jenna's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Sandy Lake, Manitoba.
* Charlsea: Jenna's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia.
* Leonie: Jenna's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Quebec City, Quebec.
* Saila: Jenna's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Iqaluit, Nunavut.
* Taryn: Jenna's friend and fellow Maplelea Girl who lives in Banff, Alberta.

## Doll

*See Jenna McAllister (doll).*

* Face Mold: Classic
* Complexion: Light with freckles
* Hair: Red, long with bangs
* Eyes: Green

## Trivia

* Jenna notes that her family is related to the namesake of Hirtle's Beach, though she can't remember who exactly.
* Her name is a combination of her two grandmothers' names, Jennifer and Anna. Her parents liked her middle name, Margaret, as it is both German and Scottish and means the same thing in both languages, "little pearl."
	+ She says if she could choose her own name, it would be Fiona Maxine.
	+ She also says she is grateful she wasn't named "Mortisha Hortense Clopenhammer."
* Jenna's favorite breakfast is yogurt with fruit and her mother's blueberry jam, her favorite lunch is fish chowder and home-made bread, her favorite dinner is shepherd's pie and gravy, and her favorite dessert is blueberries and cream.
* Aside from gannets, her favorite animals are whales, dolphins and unicorns; she dislikes sloths, though, as they are too slow for her.
* "The Bluenose is Sailing Once Again!" gives Jenna "a funny shivery feeling."
* Jenna states that she was born during a snowstorm on January 18.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 *Jenna's Journal*
2. ↑ KJ37 - Highland Dance Outfit
3. ↑ KJ13 - Anne of Green Gables Costume
4. ↑ *Saila's Journal*

 **Léonie Bélanger-Leblanc**