Synopsis
""In adolescence 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,"" says James Howe in his introduction to this stunning collection of short stories in which some of today's most celebrated authors of fiction for young adults explore the many faces of loss - the common thread they share and the hope that is born through change."You're Not a Winner Unless Your Picture's in the Paper" - Avi"Red Seven" - C.b. Christiansen"Enchanted Night" - James Howe"Atomic Blue Pieces" - Angela Johnson"Summer of Love" - Annette Curtis Klause"The Tin Butterfly" - Norma Fox Mazer"Season's End" - Walter Dean Myers"Shoofly Pie" - Naomi Shihab Nye"The Fire Pond" - Michael J. rosen"What Are You Good At?" - Roderick Townley"Chair" - Virginia Euwer Wolff"The Rialto" - Jacqueline Woodson and Chris Lynch
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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
About the Author
James Howe lives in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, and is the author of over sixty books for young people. His first book, Bunnicula, published in 1979, was the recipient of numerous state and regional young readers' choice awards and was named by the Books for Kids Foundation as one of the Top 100 Children's Books of the 20th Century. In addition to Bunnicula and its five sequels, James Howe is most known for the Pinky and Rex beginning reader series, the Sebastian Barth mysteries, and his highly acclaimed young adult novel, The Watcher.
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