Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls [Hardcover]

Marilyn Singer (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1998

A collection of short stories by various authors, including Andrea Davis Pinkney, M.E. Kerr, and Anne Mazer, about adolescent girls coming of age.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Sometimes our inside-the-head world gets so crammed with what other people think that what we think gets squished out our ears or something." So laments the young protagonist Molly-Be-Gone in C. Drew Lamm's "Stay True," the title story in this impressive collection of short tales about teenage girls finding strength within themselves (and bringing it forth for the whole world to see). The contributing authors read like the women's wing of a young adult literature hall of fame: M.E. Kerr shows us a girl who rejects her parents' strait-laced culture and follows her true love; Rita Williams-Garcia tells the exuberant story of a young woman whose crazy dancing earns societal ostracism but brings her inner happiness; and Norma Fox Mazer offers a compelling tale about Grace, who learns to rise above the stigmatism she receives because of her size. Marian Flandrick Bray, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Peni R. Griffin are among the other writers who make an inspiring appearance. The particulars of family structure, ethnicity, and geography may vary widely, but the young women in these stories are all fighting the good fight toward becoming independent women. As Molly-Be-Gone remembers, "We were fighting the alien girls living inside our heads and racing around in our guts. But we made a pact that night to try. To stay true to ourselves and each other." (Ages 12 and older) --Brangien Davis

From Publishers Weekly

In her first short story anthology, Singer (All We Need to Say) brings together works by 11 distinguished authors, including M.E. Kerr, Rita Williams-Garcia, Norma Fox Mazer and Singer herself. Thematically related by their emphasis on learning to navigate life's tailspins through self-reliance and self-discovery, the stories are nevertheless widely diverse in style and subject. From the more predictable twist on the Cinderella story found in Anne Mazer's "The Transformations of Cindy R.," to C. Drew Lamm's eye-opening take on adolescent soul-searching in "Stay True," readers will find characters and situations, both comfortable and disturbing, that reflect their lives and concerns. More importantly, the stories depict thoughtful young women ably meeting their challenges with courage and wit. Amid a recent outpouring of volumesAfiction, nonfiction and biographyAaiming to encourage and inspire teen and preteen girls, Singer's collection stands out as proof of fiction's ability to create distance and to subtly alter readers' perceptions of the world. Thus, these stories will likely function for readers the way trees do for Lamm's protagonist: "I can feel them hard-stroking my brains, untangling and freeing my mind. And when I leave, I'm in place." Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 204 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Trade; 1st edition (May 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590360310
• ISBN-13: 978-0590360319
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,817,383 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I read Stay True and loved it!, April 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls (Apple Signature) (Paperback)

Though Stay True didn't give a confidence boost as promised, the stories were absolutely great and were very meaningful. Some were poignant and made you think, others were funny and suspenseful. I think that all teen girls should read this book. I read every story and loved them all.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars it was great for a teenage girl like me, August 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls (Hardcover)

i really liked it, it was something I could relate to, and really cherish. I was sad after it ended

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars some stories are wonderful and some are boring, October 5, 2000

By 

"saj888" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Stay True: Short Stories for Strong Girls (Apple Signature) (Paperback)

Some of the stories are beautifully written like The Transformations of Cindy R. and The Magic Bow. M. E. Kerr's story is also along the lines of the other two. All of them are very enjoyabel except for the one about the horse. This book can really help girls dealing with life's problems.