Make Me Over: Eleven Stories of Transformation [Hardcover]

Marilyn Singer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 22, 2005

Do we need cosmetic surgery, dental implants, and a new wardrobe to improve our lives? Or can transformation happen in other ways? What kind of a makeover has the power to change a person, inside and out? These stories, specially written for this collection, delve into our culture’s fascination with beauty and present different views about all kinds of makeovers. Sometimes funny, sometimes serious, and always thoughtprovoking, this anthology will open eyes and minds. Authors include Joseph Bruchac, Marina Budhos, Evelyn Coleman, Peni R. Griffin, Margaret Peterson Haddix, Norma Howe, Jess Mowry, René Saldaña, Jr., Marilyn Singer, Joyce Sweeney, and Terry Trueman.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up–These short stories by notable YA authors are not the typical Hollywood makeover magic to entrance and captivate the girl, or boy, next door. There are a few Cinderella-type stories, but just enough to keep teens turning the pages. Mostly, though, the selections reflect the vulnerability of teen relationships with family, friends, and strangers. In René Saldaña, Jr.s Not Much to It, Becky spent her high school years on the fringes of the popular group. Encouraged by one of the in girls to go to beautician school and capitalize on her hairstyling gifts, she claims her vocation, but when the fickle girl reappears, the tension builds as Becky faces resurgent feelings of mockery and degradation. Marilyn Singers Bedhead Red, Peekaboo Pink is about the budding romance between a boy who thinks hes ugly and a beautiful blind girl who doesnt want pity. Marina Budhoss The Plan is a complex story of a teen living the life of a chameleon, yo-yoing between lifestyles, names, and towns at the whim of his superficial mother obsessed with looking forever-young. In Evelyn Colemans Lucky Six, a teen assumes the role of surrogate mother to her siblings, living in a shelter, going to high school by day, and working as an exotic dancer by night. She hides her earnings from her drug-addict mother and plots her getaway from this scene. Sweet and spicy, tough and raw, these well-written stories will make a lasting impression on readers.–Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY
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From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. The teen years are rife with change, making transformation a perfect theme for a short-story collection. An experienced anthologist, Singer assembles another diverse, solid group of stories--from Joyce Sweeney's humorous look at a boy whose self-esteem gets a boost from his posing as a French exchange student to Margaret Peterson Haddix's sobering peek at an immigrant's Ellis Island makeover at the hands of the Ladies' Aid Society. Some of the conversions are more literal, as in Bruchac's first-person account of an Abenaki folk hero, Wabi, an owl that becomes a person. Several are prompted by romantic involvement, such as Norma Howe's story in which a character changes his chaotic lifestyle and cleans his room because of a girl. And a few of the changes are life-saving: Evelyn Coleman's teen exotic dancer, for example, uses her earnings to escape a drug-addicted mother. Readers tired of reality-TV makeovers will rejoice in the characters that use transformation to find their true selves. Cindy Dobrez
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (September 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525474803
• ISBN-13: 978-0525474807
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,165,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ordered wrong book but still great., March 8, 2009

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Daniel Magnuson - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Make Me Over: Eleven Stories of Transformation (Hardcover)

I ordered this book thinking I need it for a class but when it came, very quickly I might add, I realized it was not what I needed. Great service and product besides that.