Faith and belief

Soul Searching: Thirteen Stories about Faith and Belief


These stories attempt to provoke thought and discussion about the conflicts between faith and belief. The teen characters are still struggling with identity issues and their religious faith (or lack of one) heavily influence their personal developments. There are a few good stories: The Shunning of Sadie B. Zook, in which an Amish girl copes with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy; The Funeral, set in Thailand, about an apprentice monk; The Olive Grove, in which the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis are played out in an ancient olive grove; and Star Vision, a free verse poem about a Native-American vision quest ceremony. Other stories seem incomplete, with one, The Evil Eye, about a Venezuelan cult, is overlong and just plain weird. But they will have teens pondering new ideas and different perspectives.

Love and football

Love, Football, and Other Contact Sports
by Alden R. Carter


Football players and their more intelligent girlfriends are the main characters in Carter's interconnected stories. It begins, hilariously, with A Girl's Guide to Football Players, which introduces the various members of the team, from linemen to long snappers, their roles, their cars, and their brain power. With guidance, these athletic young men fumble their way through life, love, and high school, while managing to prove that they're not all stereotypical dumb jocks (though the quarterback is still a jerk). These are guys who look out for their friends and stand up to bullies; some are even brave enough to reveal their sensitive sides. With colourful characters and feel-good endings, these are stories with broad appeal for both girls and guys.

Tales of the unnatural

Creepy, yet oddly beautiful stories can be found in Cat in Glass and Other Tales of the Unnatural by Nancy Etchemendy.

Consider these intriguing plots: 

Two children are tempted by a man with a hot-air balloon, who shows them other worlds and helps them get rid of a despised aunt (Clotaire’s Balloon). A woman returns to Earth to reunite with the son that she left behind (Shore Leave Blacks). A woman is unaware she’s having lunch with corpses (Lunch at Etienne’s). And a patch of slime threatens a boy's family (The Tuckahoe).

Good for reading around the campfire at sunset.

SF for winter

Polaris: A Celebration of Polar Science

edited by Julie E. Czerneda

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live on another planet? Or to live on Earth during really dramatic climate changes? In this collection of stories, find out how to live during solar storms, polar shifts, alien discovery, and massive ice floods. The most intriguing story is Aptitude, in which a strange artifact exudes a powerful force on an unsuspecting  archeologist.

Transforming ourselves

Make Me Over

edited by Marilyn Singer

Hallowe'en is all about pretending to be someone or something else. In this collection of stories, teens try to fit in at school or find a date by not being wholly themselves. This is taken to extremes in The Plan, in which Victor's mother pretends to be his sister in order to stay young. For Jamillah in Lucky Six, a high schooler who works nights as a stripper, the plan is to save enough money to support her siblings. And in the best story, Butterflies, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, a young immigrant is given an American-style makeover by well-meaning, but ignorant aid workers. Anna's thoughts as she looks in the mirror reveals a past life that the butterfly women, as she calls them, cannot possibly fathom.

These stories, despite some unevenness, will nevertheless leave an impression on teens concerned about appearances and true selves.

Beauty - what does it mean?

Such a Pretty Face: Short Stories About Beauty

edited by Ann Angel

A prom queen with a chin-hair problem, a boy in love with a nurse he's never seen, a girl forced by her mother to become a model; these are teens who struggle against society's notions of beauty and attractiveness. Funny and sad, but always thought-provoking, each story shows characters who long for acceptance while striving to maintain their individuality. At the same time, they challenge our notions about physical and inner beauty.


A  good book for parent-daughter/son discussion.

The power of music

What a Song Can Do 

Music can bring people together, like being in a band (Variations on a Theme), help with one’s identity (A Warrior Song), be a source of comfort, solace, or strength (Tangled Notes in Watermelon, Piano Obsession, The Gypsy’s Vioin, The Song of Stones River ).

The best stories are What a Song Can Do, by David Levithan and Ballad of a Prodigy by Jude Mandell. Both are written in verse, and both deal with teens who are trying to make their own way.

From Prodigy:

     
     Though music sings inside of me,

     I wonder if your plans for me

    are who and what I really am,
    and who and what I’m meant to be. 

Face Relations

Face Relations

edited by Marilyn Singer

Eleven stories in which characters question prevailing attitudes about race and appearances. There's Noelle, who dares to expose the mistreatment of Haitian students at her school (Snow by Sherri Winston), Sami, a Palestinian struggling with guilt over 9/11 (Hum by Naomi Shihab Nye), DeMaris, who can't understand why a white girl can't sit at the black kids' table (Epiphany by Ellen Wittlinger), and Bianca, who, like Jemma, is in love with the wrong boy (Hearing Flower by M.E. Kerr and Gold by Marina Budhos).  

Their stories are troubled, funny, sad, or fierce, but all are very hopeful.