The Worst Years of Your Life: Stories for the Geeked-Out, Angst-Ridden, Lust-Addled, and Deeply Misunderstood Adolescent in All of Us [Paperback]

Mark Jude Poirier (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 21, 2007

A delightful and terrifying collection of twenty short stories, edited by critically acclaimed writer and novelist Mark Jude Poirier.

Adolescence. Fortunately it's over with early and once you've finished paying for therapy, there's still a chance to move on with your life.

The Worst Years of Your Life says it all: angst, depression, growing pains, puberty, nasty boys and nastier girls; these are stories of aaawkwardness and embarassment from a stellar list of contributors. Great postmodern classics like John Barth's "Lost in the Funhouse" are paired with newer selections, such as Stacey Richter's "The Beauty Treatment" and A.M. Homes's "A Real Doll," in this searing, unforgettable collection. A perfect book for revisiting old favorites and discovering new ones, and the opportunity to relive the worst years of your life -- without having to relive the worst years of your life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sometimes sad, often poignant and always painfully honest, the stories in this fiction anthology do away with the rose-colored glasses that grown-ups often employ to make memories of adolescence bearable, drawing them back into the bewildering fog of youth. Beyond a talented group of writers-including George Saunders, Jennifer Egan, Stacey Richter, A.M. Homes and Nathan Englander-author and editor Poirier has gathered a happily diverse set of sad-sack stories. Julie Orringer produces a "Note to Sixth-Grade Self," in which she advises an awkward 12-year-old how to get through excruciating dance classes ("Do not think about Zachary Booth's hand warts"); Mark Poirier contributes the story of an unhappy boy whose compulsive lies hide an unspeakable secret; and Amber Dermont posits a convincing tale of a teenage girl learning to understand her abhorrent mother. For adult readers, this rich, candid collection is bound to stir memories of their own growing pains, and more than a few words of thanks that they're in the past; for those in the thick of it, these stories will, if nothing else, take a little of the sting out of teenage loneliness and confusion.
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About the Author

Mark Jude Poirier is a novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of the novels Modern Ranch Living and Goats, and the story collections Unsung Heroes of American Industry and Naked Pueblo.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster; Original edition (August 21, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416549269
• ISBN-13: 978-1416549260
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,127,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining Anthology, February 3, 2010

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A. Oves (denver, co) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Worst Years of Your Life: Stories for the Geeked-Out, Angst-Ridden, Lust-Addled, and Deeply Misunderstood Adolescent in All of Us (Paperback)

This anthology isn't the book you pick up when you're attempting to be intellectual, but it does meaningfully prompt you to rethink how you behaved during those awkward years of middle school and early high school. The variety of authors bring up the angst, discomfort, shame, euphoria, and innocence through authentic story lines, some I suspect are borderline memoir and have no doubt happened to countless adolescents. Enjoy this book with your Care Bear pajamas and a heavy appreciation that you are past those "worst years of your life."

5.0 out of 5 stars Not for the actual 7th grader, August 12, 2011

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Geegee Five (Waretown, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Worst Years of Your Life: Stories for the Geeked-Out, Angst-Ridden, Lust-Addled, and Deeply Misunderstood Adolescent in All of Us (Paperback)

I bought this book, ignorantly thinking my 12 year granddaughter would enjoy same. NO WAY! This is a book for US, who remember being tortured into thinking pleasant thoughts about dissection, sharing those same stories while eating in the cafeteria. I laughed almost every page.
Enjoy being in Middle School once again!

2 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars *mark jude poirier is an awesome editor and writer!*, August 10, 2007

By 

Echolima "echolima" (philadelphia, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Worst Years of Your Life: Stories for the Geeked-Out, Angst-Ridden, Lust-Addled, and Deeply Misunderstood Adolescent in All of Us (Paperback)

This anthology is proof that Mark Poirier is an incredible, quirky and wonderful human being. I want to read everything he has written or edited. I will be the first in line when his new movie "Smart People," is released. I want to skateboard wth him...