Things I'll Never Say

January 19, 2015
In this thoughtful anthology of 15 original stories from Ron Koertge, Chris Lynch, Kekla Magoon, and more, readers receive intimate glimpses into the lives of teenagers carrying secrets about their families, friendships, or passions. With the exception of “Cupid’s Beaux,” Cynthia Leitich Smith’s lighthearted fantasy about a guardian angel, the selections have a generally sober tone, addressing serious issues. In two stories, Ellen Wittlinger’s “The We-Are-Like-Everybody-Else Game” and Erica L. Kaufman’s “Three-Four Time,” high-school girls are forced to play adult roles, caring for unstable parents while trying to maintain façades of normalcy. Other stories reveal the unexpected consequences of sexual exploits, like the baby, given up for adoption, who haunts the thoughts of his teen father in Mary Ann Rodman’s “Choices.” Then there’s Luke in editor Angel’s “We Were Together,” who gives his girlfriend herpes after cheating on her. Rather than providing tidy solutions to the characters’ dilemmas, the stories focus on the feelings of entrapment and anxiety that go along with living a lie. Ages 14–up. Agent: Tracey Adams, Adams Literary.

February 1, 2015

Gr 10 Up-In this collection of dramatic short stories by various authors, all of the protagonists have secrets, though some are more intense and life-altering than others. Other than fulfilling this unifying theme, the entries are quite diverse. They span across several genres, including realistic, paranormal, and historical fiction. Regardless of the setting, these tales tackle often taboo subjects, such as inappropriate relations with teachers, gender issues, and mental disorders. Inclusion of drugs, alcohol, swearing, and liaisons between teens and more mature adults make this work appropriate for older readers. As with any short story collection, the quality of writing varies from one story to another. Some are well written like Chris Lynch's atmospheric and well-paced "Lucky Buoy," while others are poorly executed, like Ron Koertge's "Call Me!" with its feeling of not-quite-coherent randomness. Overall, this collection will resonate with many young adults who have their own secrets as well as readers who vicariously live through the risque lifestyles of others. VERDICT A very discussible title for fans of Chris Lynch's and Ellen Hopkins's hard-hitting realistic fiction.-Carol Hirsche, Provo City Library, UT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2015
A collection of 15 short stories by different authors focuses on learning, keeping and telling secrets.The theme provides a common thread, but otherwise, the stories are diverse in both genre and content. Some stories are fantasy and others, realistic; some are lighthearted and others, heavier. Some follow a classic trajectory in which a secret is kept then climactically revealed, while others are more subversive. Quality varies. Kekla Magoon reveals a universe of detail when her character, the only black girl in her grade at boarding school, tells readers she didn't bring any of her eating-disorder-related paraphernalia with her when she left for school, "As if I already knew I wouldn't need it." In Louise Hawes' "When We Were Wild," the alcohol-soaked fairy tales told by the mother of the outcast girl the narrator refuses to admit to being friends with sparkle with twisted hopefulness. Other stories, however, are less memorable. Chris Lynch's "Lucky Buoy" never provides enough background to give the story its full impact, and Cynthia Leitich Smith's "Cupid's Beaux" will resonate most with readers already familiar with the paranormal universe in which the author's books are set. Though uneven, the collection offers many worthy entries. (Anthology. 14-18)

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February 15, 2015
Grades 9-12 This new collection of short stories about secrets is an ideal combination of form and subject. Edited by award-winning biographer Angel (Janis Joplin: Rise Up Singing, 2010), this brings together 15 acclaimed voices from across the YA publishing field, all of them offering distinct, powerful, and often unexpected stories of teens who discover unexpected truths, reveal hidden secrets, and keep other things safely hidden as they continue on their journeys. It's an impressively unusual spread of authors, including Ron Koertge, Chris Lynch, Katy Moran, and Cynthia Leitich Smith. Many of the stories speak to the contemporary lives of today's teens, while some, such as Zoe Marriott's lovely Storm Clouds Fleeing from the Wind, evoke other times and places. The balance and diversity that Angel has achieved here is lovely, and teens who pick this up will likely find a bit of herself or himselfor at least a friendinside these pages. A collection to share widely.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

March 1, 2015
Editor Angel gathered the short stories for this collection by asking potential contributors to write "about the topic of our secret selves," and the results reveal a wide range of interpretations of that theme. In "The We-Are-Like-Everybody-Else Game" by Ellen Wittlinger, Lucy hides her mom's hoarding addiction from all but her manipulative best friend Claire, but learns what a real friend is when the secret finally comes out. Cynthia Leitich Smith takes a characteristically paranormal approach in "Cupid's Beaux": "slipped" angel Joshua must decide whether it's ethical to conceal his celestial identity and woo human Jamal. Sally in Kekla Magoon's "For a Moment, Underground" comes home from boarding school for a visit with her father, but hasn't told him about her eating disorder or the insecurities connected with it. The stories are varied in genre and don't reach for obvious responses to the "secret selves" prompt. Some, like Magoon's, withhold their secrets from the reader until the end. Others reveal early on what their characters aren't telling the world. E. M. Kokie's "Quick Change," for instance, explains fairly quickly that its protagonist and her family are con artists who regularly assume new identities; the story's development focuses on the girl's plan to run away. The assortment of approaches offers plenty of surprises, and the collection can be read in one sitting without becoming repetitive. shoshana flax

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)