Short Stories

Mason and Carrie Marie can't summon up the courage to ask each other to dance. Lindy knows her best friend Clara is making a huge mistake with her boyfriend, but doesn't know if she can tell her. Cub is struggling with the feelings he has for his friend Trent. Russ's beloved girlfriend has died, and now he's just trying to live without her. Peggy Lee has grown up with Tennessee, but can she ever think of him as more than a friend?

In her first book for older readers, award-wining writer Kathi Appelt tells eight magical, heartbreaking, and moving stories set at the Dogwood Junior High graduation Stardust Dance.

This critically acclaimed, first-ever collection of original stories devoted to the topic of growing up gay or lesbian, or with gay or lesbian parents or friends, features works by Marion Dane Bauer, Lois Lowry, Francesca Lia Block, Bruce Coville, James Cross Giblin, M.E. Kerr, William Sleaton, Jane Yolen, and eight others.

Twelve honored contemporary writers for young adults -- all of whom have been censored in their careers -- contribute an original never-before-published short story for this powerful collection edited by Judy Blume.

Five bestselling authors offer five stories on prom nights gone terribly wrong in one out-of-this-world collection. They take bad prom nights to a whole new level--a paranormally bad level.

These are stories of today's families--fractured, blended, at risk, non-traditional, and some that are even still nuclear. Renowned author and noted anthologist Cart asked the most celebrated young adult authors the question "What does 'family' mean today?"

Here are stories of students from one end of the social spectrum to the other. Jock to loner, academic snob to outcast, Carter explores and shatters the stereotypes behind the relationships, friends, rumors, peer pressure, sports, bullies, and other assorted forms of mental anguish that come with high school.

This chilling collection brings together fifteen spine tingling tales written by some of Canada's leading writers for teens-and also a number of talented emerging writers. Each of these stories illuminates a distinct path through fearful territory-for readers fourteen to forty and beyond who thrive on the stimulation of a chilling tale. Enjoy them if you can. Enjoy them if you must. Contributors include Don Aker, Diana Aspin, Karleen Bradford, Brian Doyle, Kristyn Dunnion, Sylvo Fran, Barbara Haworth-Attard, Martine Leavitt, R.P. MacIntyre, Rob Morphy, Kathy Stinson, W.D. Valgardson, Bill Valgardson, Alice Walsh, and Anne Wessels.

This fiendishly clever collection introduces teenagers to the adult short stories of Roald Dahl, one of the greatest storytellers who ever lived.

Taking readers through the minds of girls trying to define themselves while struggling to remain relevant to the boys in their lives, a Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author offers a complex, always on-point exposition of black youth resolving to find self-worth. Young Adult.

Acclaimed authors illuminate the world's seven major religions--Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism--as well as alternative beliefs in this collection of 13 short stories.

CCBC Choices - 2002
Thirteen well-known authors turn their skills to an important theme for young adults: absence. Contributors include Avi, James Howe, Naomi Shihab Nye, Walter Dean Myers, and many others.

Written by some of today's finest writers for young adults, including Meg Cabot, Bruce Colville, and James Howe, this collection of stories truly captures the experience of being 13 years old.

Previously available only in Australia, this haunting short story collection by an acclaimed author contains ten wholly realized fantasy worlds that exist just beyond the realm of everyday life--so familiar and so surreal, they will not be forgotten.

These three well-known Greek myths are love stories told from the woman's point of view of how Aphrodite, the goddess of love, intervenes in their lives. Includes the stories of athlete Atalanta, who must marry the one man who can beat her in a race; Andromeda, whose true love comes to rescue her from a sea monster; and Psyche, whose curiosity gets the best of her.

From Walter Dean Myers to Mo Willems to Terry Trueman, some of today's most exciting writers offer teen readers a great selection of honest and real stories about everyday guys who get pummeled by some life lessons and still manage to come out on top.

CCBC Choices - 2001
Big Joe's Funeral

The Baddest Dog in Harlem

The Fighter

Angela's Eyes

The Streak

Monkeyman

Kitty and Mack: A Love Story

A Christmas Story

A Story in Three Parts

Block Party -- 145th Street Style

Myers returns to the world of 145th Street to show how love can be found, and thrives, in the most unlikely places. Curtis finds love in Iraq as he struggles to stay alive, and Letha discovers her own beauty in the love of her child. Other stories center on the daily drama of the Curl-E-Que beauty shop, or capture the slapstick side of passion.

Drawing on dark fantasy as well as horror and wild humor, ten contemporary authors--including Neil Gaiman, Garth Nix, and Barry Yourgrau--pay homage to the gothic tale in original stories of the supernatural and the surreal.

This fantastical collection of strange, haunting tales about transforming experiences, and magic realities, is not what it seems--and yet it is. With magical realism at its best, these stories are reminiscent of half forgotten fairy tales but with surprising new twists.

In this groundbreaking collection of original stories, outstanding authors tackle issues of diversity and race relations. Includes works by Joseph Bruchac, M.E. Kerr, Sherri Winston, and Ellen Wittlinger.

Girls need strong role models, and this outstanding collection of stories with compelling heroines includes new works by Norma Fox Mazer, Rita Williams-Garcia, M.E. Kerr, and eight others.

2007 Teens’ Top Ten Winner
A BookPage Notable Title
A boy is trapped in a possessed car that has stalled in the path of an oncoming train. A girl is dragged into a crypt during a field trip to an eighteenth-century cemetery. A group of friends meet their fate after an unsettling visit with a backwoods psychic. And that's just the beginning.

Now in paperback: Velde's ALA Best Book for Young Adults featuring a collection of unnerving tales that explores the world of the dead--and the undead.

Eleven acclaimed writers for young people capture the various expressions of desire--from first crushes to first times, and all of the charged emotions in between--in this powerful collection of original stories dealing with teens' emerging sexuality.