Short Stories Books

Am I Blue?: Coming Out from the Silence

Marion Dane Bauer

Amazon Price: $7.99 List Price: $7.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperTrophy Amazon Marketplace: 122 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( B ) -> Bauer, Marion Dane

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 28 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Should be Required Reading in All Classrooms! 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 10 people found this review helpful.

_Am I Blue?_ is a brilliant YA anthology that should be required reading in every classroom! Dealing with homosexuality in teenagers and their parents and friends, these stories will move any reader--gay, straight, questioning, or bisexual. This anthology helps gay kids understand that they are not alone, while shining a light on what it feels like to be homosexual for straight readers. The stories have similar themes, but range in genre, giving every reader something to thoroughly enjoy. I can't recommend it strongly enough!

My only complaint is that there were no stories that really focused on a bisexual character.

Editorial Review:

Original stories by C. S. Adler, Marion Dane Bauer, Francesca Lia Block, Bruce Coville, Nancy Garden, James Cross Giblin, Ellen Howard, M. E. Kerr, Jonathan London, Lois Lowry, Gregory Maguire, LeslÉa Newman, Cristina Salat, William Sleator, Jacqueline Woodson, and Jane Yolen

Each of these stories is original, each is by a noted author for young adults, and each honestly portrays its subject and theme--growing up gay or lesbian, or with gay or lesbian parents or friends.

Visions: 19 Short Stories

Donald R. Gallo

Amazon Price: $6.99 List Price: $6.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Laurel Leaf Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Short Story Collections
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General AAS

Editorial Review:

Imagine...

Nineteen superb stories by today's best-known authors of young adult novels, coming together to create a window of the mind, a vision illuminating the joys and sorrows of young people.

These nineteen splendid stories range from tales of tender romance and the delights of mystery and fantasy to the struggles of death, divorce, and growing up. Here are recollections from the past, stories of today, and visions of the future.

8 Plus 1

Robert Cormier

Amazon Price: $6.50 List Price: $6.50 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Laurel Leaf Amazon Marketplace: 80 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Short Story Collections
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 21 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

A Review on 8 Plus 1 4 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

8 plus 1 is a very well known book by Robert Cormier. This book is intended for young adults. Cormiers draws from his past life experiences to come up with his fictional yet realistic characters and plots. For instance he uses the Depression as a setting for many of his stories. The stories include everyday and sometimes sensitive themes for the growing generation, like stereotyping and prejudice issues. Before each story, Cormier uses an introduction to each story to give a general backround. By reading this book, I have gained a stronger sense of life through his character's problems and solutions. These interesting and ever maturing characters with their suspensueful plots kept me constantly intertwined with the story. The following are less desirable qualities about the book. For the fact that Cormier uses the same characters for some of his stories, it makes it a little confusing. Also some other events that he uses for his plot are offensive or perhaps shocking to a more sensitive viewer. Overall, Robert Cormier uses themes that involve regularly occurring problems that previous authors dared not venture.

Editorial Review:

Meet seventeen-year-old Mike, who visits his grandmother's bedside and learns a family secret.



A divorced father who discovers only love, not bribes, can keep his daughter 'his' on Thursdays.



And Jerry, a young boy desperately looking for the missing Grover Cleveland card to complete his set of president cards.



Here are nine stories by Robert Cormier, one of the most gifted writers of young adult fiction today; stories that are warm, touching, and intensely personal--to be savored by readers of all ages.

Connections

Donald R. Gallo

List Price: $5.99 By: Laurel Leaf Amazon Marketplace: 12 new & used starting at $1.33

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Short Story Collections
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

An excellent collection of short stories for young adults 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I am so pleased to see this book back in print. I first used this book in a summer school class for entering freshmen six years ago, and my students loved it. There are wonderful stories to be found here, from some of the best writers of young adult fiction in the business. Chris Crutcher's "A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune" is probably the best of the book (and far better than the movie "Angus"). There is also an absolutely first-rate rarity, the second-person point of view story, in Gordon Korman's hilarious "A Reasonable Sum." If you're a teacher looking for some contemporary short stories for teenagers, or you just love to read well-written stories, then "Connections" is a great find.

Editorial Review:

Connections : a combination of seventeen short stories by today's most popular writers for young adults, portraying encounters and clashes among teenagers, as well as some surprises and insights into the world of young adults.



These original stories blend and interact to reveal a splendid array of talent.

Baseball in April: And Other Stories

Gary Soto

List Price: $6.00 By: Harcourt Childrens Books (J) Amazon Marketplace: 51 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( S ) -> Soto, Gary
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Issues -> School
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Issues -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 14 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Great storytelling 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I discovered Gary Soto's poetry in a public library in Nebraska. Then I read his short stories, my favorite being "Baseball in April." Like his poetry, these stories are beautiful in that they reveal a child's inner thought life; they also show the challenges that teenagers go through.

Soto takes us back to his childhood in California. The stories occur in sunny Fresno, which is in the Central Valley. The characters, dilemmas, and emotions that he evokes are so real that I often read them over saying, "Yes, I remember feeling like that."

I mostly read adult literature but have been reading a lot in young adult literature, because I often forget what it was like to be a young boy. Soto has a gift for recalling these events and making them come alive again. I've read this collection three times and have read all of Soto's poetry. I hightly recommend "Baseball in April," as well as the poetry collection "Black Hair."


Also recommended: The Gospel of Arnie

Editorial Review:

The small events of daily life reveal big themes--youth and age, love and friendship, success and failure--in this unique collection of short stories. Calling on his own experience of growing up in California's Central Valley, poet Gary Soto paints the everyday experiences of contemporary young people.

Athletic Shorts; 6 Short Stories

Chris Crutcher

List Price: $4.99 By: Laurel Leaf Amazon Marketplace: 62 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( C ) -> Crutcher, Chris

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Courtesy of Teens Read Too 5 out of 5 stars.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful.

In ATHLETIC SHORTS, Chris Crutcher presents original short stories involving characters from his previous novels. In the book's forward, Crutcher explains, "In my travels around the country and in letters from readers, I am constantly asked what happens to certain characters in my books. So once in a while I check in" (pp. ix-x).

Each of these short stories involves a central character from a previous novel, but, while Crutcher may have intended a particular story to be a prequel or an afterward, the stories remain independent. So a person who has not read RUNNING LOOSE will still be able to understand the storyline behind IN THE TIME I GET, in which Louie Banks looks into the eyes of a friend dying of AIDS and realizes the value of time. Additionally, after getting a taste of Crutcher's novels through his short stories, readers may well be inspired to go out and acquire the novels themselves.

Athletics are the uniting theme throughout these stories, but they also give Crutcher a medium to introduce physical, mental, and emotional challenges for his characters. Sports allow a safe setting for conflict and failure, while also providing a site for characters to achieve and excel.

Thumbs Up! Award Winner, 1992

Reviewed by: Mechele R. Dillard

Editorial Review:

Moving and funny stories reintroduce some memorable characters from the author's well-known novels--Chinese Handcuffs, Running Loose--along with new characters, all involved in real-life challenges. Reprint. SLJ. AB. H.

Girl Goddess #9: Nine Stories (Girl Goddess No. 9)

Francesca Lia Block

List Price: $14.95 By: Joanna Cotler Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Short Story Collections
Subjects -> Children's Books -> People & Places -> Girls & Women -> Fiction
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 72 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Every Girl's Diary 5 out of 5 stars.
8 of 8 people found this review helpful.

I look back now, and I realize that Girl Goddess #9 was a big part of my formative years. It was the first FLB book, and it still one of my favorites.

When I read the title story, I remember thinking, "Well,I like Sarah McLachlan, maybe I should give Tori Amos a try." (If you don't know how that story ended, well, know that I think nothing of driving ten hours to go to a Tori concert.) And, a year or so later, I re-read the story and thought, "Hey, I like Sarah and Tori, maybe I should try the Cocteau Twins." Thus began another addiction which annually saps me about fifty bucks.

I was going through major issues with a very dear friend as I read "Pixie and Pony," and for years now, those words have stayed with me: "Best friends? We are sisters." After my mother's injury, I struggled to reconcile the reality of her new self with the way she had once been. The story "La" was of enormous help.

GG#9 is every girl's diary. It is all of our fears and hopes and drems. It is everything we've questioned about life, our futures, our parents, our sexuality, and love. Each girl is perfectly unique, very mysterious, and yet completely familiar. Each of these girls is like a little facet of each other, and of ourselves.

Editorial Review:

Movie stars, rock stars, pond nymphs, intergalactic superheroes . . . who are the real goddesses in Francesca Lia Block's world? Real young women--the kind who ache, bleed, dance, and talk to blue ghosts in closets. Famous for her lyric Weetzie Bat books, Block blossoms in this collection of short stories about love: straight, gay, familial, and otherworldly. Very few young adult authors talk as frankly as Block about sex and some of the other yearnings we feel in this world, yet she guides her readers toward the self-respect and courage necessary to make smart choices about those yearnings.

Doing Time Notes from the Undergrad

Rob Thomas

List Price: $16.00 By: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Issues -> School
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Short Story Collections
Subjects -> Children's Books -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

The real summory of Rob Thomas 1 out of 5 stars.
2 of 24 people found this review helpful.

In Doing Time- Notes from the undergrad, Rob Thomas who is the author tells 10 differant stories by using various student narrators. The students all have in common the fact that they have to do 200 hours of community service for their requirement for their school in order to graduate. In one story "Shacks from Mansions", a football player named Preston plays for the Dallas Cowboys. He is tutoring a boy named Randall. Preston was Randall's big brother. Randall learned a great amount from him. In another story there was a boy and a girl who worked for the library near them. The lirary held meetings every Wednesday. The meetings were about people discussing their emotions about their passed-away pets. One Wednesday when the boy was working he went into the backroom to get something. He accidentally overheard them talking. He looked through the shelves and saw a picture up on the wall of a dead pet. He learned that he did not want to go back to that library. This book was not recommended for children under the age of 12. Some of the language was explicit. I learned that it would be very difficult to do 200 hours of community service.

Editorial Review:

Randall's Social Work 322 class has been assigned to evaluate the community service program at Robert E. Lee High School. He and his classmates have each been given details of individual volunteer projects that the Lee seniors have had to complete in order to graduate.

A Starfarer's Dozen: Stories of Things to Come

List Price: $17.00 By: Harcourt Amazon Marketplace: 35 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Literature -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery & Horror -> Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic

Editorial Review:

A second collection in the series that began with A Wizard's Dozen: Stories of the Fantastic includes short fantasies by such popular authors as Lawrence Watt-Evans, Dave Trowbridge, Jane Yolen, and Nancy Springer.

The Color of Absence : 12 Stories About Loss and Hope

List Price: $16.00 By: Atheneum Amazon Marketplace: 22 new & used starting at $0.01

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Ages 9-12 -> General AAS
Subjects -> Children's Books -> Authors & Illustrators, A-Z -> ( H ) -> Howe, James

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Virginia Euwer Wolff (Make Lemonade, Bat 6) sums up the essence of the 12 stories in The Color of Absence: "One of the things that interests me most about loss is that often, while we are being swept away by losing something, we are gaining something else that totally surprises us." A dozen young adult authors look at this paradox in all its guises as it touches young lives, in this collection of short fictional pieces edited by James Howe. Two of the stories are extraordinary--Wolff's own "Chair," which dramatizes the heartbreaking descent into Alzheimer's over three visits between an old man and his great-grandson, and Annette Curtis Klause's delicate and astonishingly moving tale of a vampire who rediscovers love through the affection and death of a small cat. Knowledgeable fans of young adult literature will be intrigued by the unlikely collaboration of Jacqueline Woodson and Chris Lynch in "The Rialto," an excerpt from a novel in progress. Walter Dean Myers, Avi, Angela Johnson, Norma Fox Mazer, Naomi Shihab Nye, and other authors explore losses ranging from a stolen bicycle to a father dying of AIDS. Young readers of a variety of ages and temperaments are sure to find at least a couple of stories here to touch their hearts. (Ages 12 and older) --Patty Campbell