Authors from diverse backgrounds contribute original fiction to a collection of short stories exhibiting an immense range of U.S. adolescent life according to race, region and economic class, and in juxtaposition to each other, addressing "what it means to be ethnic and American," according to African-American compiler/writer Joyce Carol Thomas. Other writers represented in this distinctive anthology include Ana Castillo, Gerald Haslam, Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Maxine Hong Kingston, Kevin Kyung, Lois Lowry, Gary Soto, Gerald Vizenor, Rick Wernli and Al Young. The fictions differ widely in themes, styles and tones, offering a variety of satisfying challenges for male and female readers. (Age 14 and older)