The Color of Absence : 12 Stories About Loss and Hope [Hardcover]

James Howe (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 12, 2001

In this stunning collection of short fiction, thirteen of the most accomplished writers for young people today turn their considerable talents to a theme that resonates in the hearts and minds of adolescents -- loss. As James Howe suggests in his introduction to the collection, it is in adolescence that we feel our losses as if for the first time "...with a greater depth of pain and drama than we are aware of having experienced ever before." And those losses may take many forms -- the death of a parent or grandparent or pet; the departure or disappearance of a true and trusted friend or sibling; the end of a relationship; or even the end of a defining chapter in one's life. But with loss comes the opportunity for reevaluation and change and growth, which is what often allows these stories to be as funny as they are touching, and as uplifting as they might be sorrowful. Whatever their emotional responses, young adult readers will be challenged to think about their own lives in new ways, to consider what has gone by, and, more important, what is yet to come.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com 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

From Publishers Weekly

Two short story collections address the emotional life of adolescents. The author of the Bunnicula books, James Howe, collects a dozen works (one of which he penned himself) in The Color of Absence: 12 Stories About Loss and Hope. Walter Dean Myers's "Season's End" covers much more than the close of baseball season; in "Shoofly Pie," Naomi Shihab Nye explores the way humor and sadness live side by side; and Jacqueline Woodson and Chris Lynch collaborate on "The Rialto," excerpted from a forthcoming novel.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (June 12, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689828624
• ISBN-13: 978-0689828621
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,228,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Color Of Absence, July 30, 2001

By 

Carol Arce - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Color of Absence : 12 Stories About Loss and Hope (Hardcover)

This book is so moving, especially if you are somone who has just lost someone you love, like a parent or grandparent or even a pet.In a way the book lets you know that it happens to everyone and it shows it from several differnt points of view. which lets you see how other people deal with some of the same losses teens go through today. I loved this book,I hope more people enjoy this as much as i did.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Color of Absence shows loss in many ways, July 6, 2006

By 

Robert M. Foote "BOB BOOK" (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Color of Absence : 12 Stories About Loss and Hope (Paperback)

I absolutely solidly recommend this anthology of short stories.All of the stories deal with loss, but different types of loss and the stories are as varied as the writers who have written them. Walter Dean Myers uses baseball for his setting, Annette Curtis Klause writes about a vampire, and "Shoofly Pie" by Naomi Shihab Nye is set in A DINER!! All of the stories are brilliantly written and selected. Anyone who has experienced loss will love these stories, but anyone who enjoys great writing will also love these stories.Avi's story about a bicycle theft is wonderful and "The Rialto" is great as well. "The Rialto" was supposed to be made into a novel, but no news yet. UNTIL THEN, Read the short story. It is fabulous. I can't believe in a collection of short stories, there is not a one that I did not care for.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GOOD BOOK, April 7, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Color of Absence : 12 Stories About Loss and Hope (Hardcover)

This book makes for a good read. it has theraupitc ways of dealing with death, loss, and ways of finding hope.