Red Dragonfly

This excerpt is a story about a boy who develops a love for his teacher. At the beginning of the short story he talks about how his teacher is like a shining dragonfly, basically saying that she is beautiful. Around the end he writes a haiku for her and wants to put it through her door gap. As he puts the poem in the door slip, he stays to see if she reads it and finds that another man is in her house reading it.
I personally don’t prefer this short story because it’s about love and I didn’t really understand the layout the author put it in. I like action and fighting, but this is a good coming of age story because the boy develops feels for his teacher that he never felt before.
The author is Katherine Paterson and she, in fact never thought of being a writer. When she was ten years old, she wanted to be either a movie star or missionary. She spent two years in graduate school in Richmond, Virginia, studying Bible and Christian education.

Driver’s Education

Driver’s Education is a coming of age story. Fourteen to sixteen year old girls, who don’t get offended easily, will enjoy this story the most. Some slightly graphic seens are described and strong language is used. The story is about a fifteen year old girl going to driving school in the basement of a department store. She dates a guy named Kevin Thorpe in the class, but runs into trouble along the way.
I didn’t enjoy Driver’s Education that much. I thought that some parts were too sexual and linguistic for me to appreciate and enjoy. The narrator also appears to be slightly immature for her age. She doesn’t have enough control of her imagination, and I think she lets it take over sometimes. The story does relate to me in a sense that the narrator is close in age to me. She is in driving school, and I will have my permit in a few months. Additionally, she runs into trouble with boys.
The author is trying to show the reader that other girls go through the same kind of trouble. Also in a scene with an older and disrespectful boy named Todd, I think the author might be trying to tell girls not to let boys take advantage of them. Driver’s Education is an award-winning story in the Hudson Review. Although I didn’t like it very much, I can understand why it is award-winning. The story is very well written, has a good message for teenage girls, and conveys different aspects of growing up.

Asphalt by Frederick Pollack

Asphalt by Frederick Pollack is a coming of age story about a teenage boy who goes to the underprivileged part of Chicago with his father. His father tells the narrator all about his life when he was a young boy living in that area with his family. This short story would be great for any type of teenage person.
I thought that the story Asphalt was a good story. The short story shows that when you get older you tend to have less interest in places you have been before. I can relate to this story because when I first went to my grandparent’s house in England I thought it was the greatest place in the world. Now that I am older I think that their house is extremely boring and really tiny and cramped.
I think the author, Frederick Pollack, is trying to tell the reader that it is best to try to pay attention and at least try to be interested in what a person is telling you since they are taking their time to tell you about their life history. Frederick Pollack won the Scholastic Writing Award first prize for his short story in 1963 when he was only a senior in high school.

Nobody in Hollywood, by Richard Bauch

Nobody in Hollywood, by Richard Bauch is a demented coming of age story. The main character, Ignatius, has a troubled life and doesn’t fit in. the genre has to be abstract because of the awkward story line. The only audience for this story would either be the mentally inept, someone that has no life, or has read every other piece of literature accessible.
Personally, I believe this story is not worthy to be read. I’m not sure how it even could be published. The author talks about a cross-dressing inter-continental criminal that steals people’s money. This baffled me and the closest story to this I would know is Kill Bill. Both plots confused me and scared me a little bit. I also felt bad for Ignatius because of the misfortunes he encountered.
The only conclusion I can come up with is the fact that Richard Bauch must have had a troubled life also. I think the only person that could write such an unfortunate story is one that may have been through similar situations. The purpose of telling this story is to maybe make one feel bad for the narrator. The poorly written and terrible story line that surround Ignatius makes this story an unfortunate narrative not worthy of being read.

Lie, No lie —— by Chris Lynch

The story is written in narrative form, it’s about two best friend named Chris and Pauly, they are all way up to junior year together. Chris is a guy which is timid, shyly, narrow- minded, a little bit haggle over everyone ounce. Oppositely, Pauly is a sunny, careless, broad –minded guy, he’s really kind to Chris. Because Chris was kissed by a gay guy, Pauly doesn’t helped him out makeshift Chris wants hurt him, and he really did that makes their friendship broken. If Chris can be more broad –minded and they care more about each other’s feeling ,their friendship won’t be broken. Friendship is really precious, once you lost it, it will never come back!
Chris and Pauly are two different types of people, it’s not easy to make this two kind of people stay together that long, but doesn’t means it impossible. If they can change themselves a little bit, more broad-minded, think more about each other, they could also stay together happily. There were many kind of student are opposite character to me, but we all nice to each other, care about each other‘s feeling, don’t do bad things to hurt others, we still can get along happily with each other.
In the story, Chris wants to show he‘s sorry to Pauly because his narrow- minded. The story use “lie, no lie “to throughout the full text, to show their purpose is to see are they honest to each other, after all they are best friend all way up to junior year. Friendship is too ordinary to us, but the suspicion between friends concluded, make few people can actually get it. However, nothing is difficult to the man who will try, use your true heart, to impress others; you will have a sincere friendship belongs to you!

Nobody in Hollywood, by Richard Bausch

Nobody in Hollywood, by Richard Bausch is a story pertaining to the mid-teen and above range of age. It is a story of a boy who moves to Montana to live with his brother and his brothers knew girlfriend and growing up from the experiences he encounters.
I found that it shows how many people’s opinions can vary such as some people might not agree with this review. It is a funny, practical story that has happened to me and many others.
This short story was written by Richard Bausch, who has written many novels such as something is out there, peace, wine & lovers, and someone to watch over me. He has won two national magazine awards, a Guggenheim fellowship, and American academy of arts and letters, and a couple others. If you have read any of his other novels or would like to read any of his novels I would highly recommend this book. I liked this book and would recommend it to anyone.

Flight By Raven Shadowinds

This story is about a parent that has a young kid. It’s good for a parent to let the kid learn by him or herself.
I think that this story related to everybody, because everybody will past this kind of age. It a very fascinating story, I really enjoy it!
Author want the parent to know that kid is always be like this when there were young. This book is easy reading book, it good for kid or a new parent that do not know what to do with their kid.

The Nothingness Forest By: Margareta Ekstrom

The Nothingness Forest is the tale of a young girl who finds maturity in her long journey though a forest. She begins the story as an innocent child and inevitable discovers that without companionship humans become lifeless things. This coming of age story would be most enjoyed by those who want to study the aspect of maturity. These people may include adolescents who have recently lost their innocence.
I truly enjoyed this story. The author did a wonderful job of displaying the different stages a child goes through when maturing. The sensory details in the story were also very vivid, making it easy to imagine the setting. She also added the interesting element of the character being stranded in a forest. This promotes rapid maturing and the learning of lessons that would have not been otherwise learned. This relates back to my life due to the fact I am too discovering that life is nothing if you have no one to share it with. I strongly belive the quote “the created can be lifeless, can be a thing, and that the joy of life needs both a striking surface and a match in order to glimmer” is true.
The author Margareta Ekstrom, lives in Sweden. She has published thirty wonderful works. She has been known to write with great wit and affection for life. In her work The Nothingness Forest she exposes wonders and hardships that can be experienced as you go through life.

“Tight Jeans”

Nicole Craer is a young girl in a small town. All that she wants, at the time, is to buy a pair of skinny jeans with pick ribbon on the back pocket. When Nicole obtains the jeans, she feels like a new person. However, she learns that the jeans aren’t as beneficial as she thought. This story would be most enjoyed by young adults, or teenagers in high school. This is definitely is a coming of age genre.
Personally, I really enjoyed this short story because the young child reminds me of myself. I used to be obsessed with the sneakers that would light up with every step I would take. When I wore them, I thought that I was unstoppable, powerful, and strong. I also truly enjoyed it because the author referred to women in history, seventeen magazine, and etc.
Lastly, the author for this short story, Nicole Craer, is clearly dedicated and hardworking. It is amazing how she can connect the story to so many other things, and make the story deeper than you think. Over all, She deserves millions of award for this short story.

The Conjurer made off with the Dish

The story is of a boy who is sent to the market to buy beans but can’t seem to get it right. The boy ends up losing the dish and his money. The story would best be read by ages nine and up.
I liked the plot of the story. The characters were not as defined as I would have liked. A good ending, though it could have been better. It relates to all of us in a way that we all get lost in our childhood.
Naguib Mahfouz is from Egypt, the story is also placed in Egypt. I think Mahfouz intended for the story to portray the image of being lost in a sea of people. Overall the story was fine and I think you should give it a try.

Northeast Philly Girls by Elise Juska

Northeast Philly Girls by Elise Juska is a coming of age short story about a girl who lives in the suburbs. She goes to Northeast Philly to visit her cousin, who she does not like very much. Here she sees the difference in city girls as well as becomes closer with her cousin.
This shirt story deals with a girl whose parents are going through rough times, possibly a divorce. I can very well relate to her in that sense because my parents just recently got a divorce. I can also connect to the girl living in the suburbs. She sees the difference in the city girls in Northeast Philly and I see that difference every day. I live in the country and go to school in the city. You could say they are two totally different worlds.
Elise got her BA at Bowdoin College and her MA at the University of New Hampshire. One of her novels was named “Critic’s Choice” by People magazine and optioned for feature film. She expertly showed the difference in adolescents in the suburbs and Northeast Philly, as well as familial tension. This short story is great for anyone who is going through family hardships or sees the difference in adolescents.

Orange’s 7 wishes

The name of my story is Orange’s 7 wishes .Orange is a girl lost her both legs in the Wenchuan earthquake 2008. She tried to get confidence again after she found out she cannot walking. Three years after the earthquake, she post her 7 wishes on her blog. This story is good for the people who felt depressed because of some troubles.
It’s a really sad situation at beginning of the story. However, as time goes by, Orange try to walk on the road of her life use her two metal legs. That really moved me .We always meet some trouble in our life, but we shouldn’t always feel depressed about it, and give up it. We have to have confidence all the way to the happy ending. When we win, we grow up.
The author wrote Orange’s 7 wishes on the news website. It’s a beautiful story. We need to learn from Orange. There are a lot of Chinese stories about get confidence from some severe situation. Reporters and writers always use these stories to encourage people feel we’re lucky ,so we shouldn’t give up for little problems, for growing up.

A Girl with a Monkey by Leonard Michaels

A Girl with a Monkey by Leonard Michaels is an adventurous book that keeps you wanting to know more. I would recommend this book for adults and teenagers only because in certain parts of the book the two main character’s, Inger and Beard, engage is sexual activities that younger kids shouldn’t know about.

The book A Girl with a Monkey relates to my life because in different situations we’ve all loved or cared for someone who hasn’t loved us back the way we have loved them. Sometimes we will try and do whatever we can to make them understand how we feel.

The point of the story A Girl with a Monkey is if something in your life isn’t going well; you shouldn’t give up, you should keep trying and in the end, something good is going to happen.

A Mother in Mannville By: Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings

In the compelling short story, A Mother in Mannville, by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, the plot involves a young boy, Jerry, who develops a close relationship with the narrator. The narrator finds out that Jerry who acted honest and trustworthy told her a lie about having a mother in Mannville. This short story with its surprise ending is a boy’s coming of age genre meaning it is about a boy learning to live in an adult world.
Throughout this short story, there is the theme of integrity and honesty. Remembering my trip to Cross Creek, Florida helped me visualize the narrator, Marjorie working at home with her typewriter. The rich use of adjectives about North Carolina and the orphanage helped me visualize where Jerry lived. I have never lived in an orphanage like Jerry did, but I can understand why he wanted to please Marjorie and why he was afraid of her knowing he didn’t have a mother. To me, Jerry lied because he was afraid the person he liked would leave him like his mother did. The irony is that by lying he lost his integrity which is what the narrator admired in him.
The message the author was trying to share with the readers is that being honest with yourself and others is not always easy especially, when you are afraid it will spoil a relationship. Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is best known as the author of The Yearling which is about another boy and his relationships. What I liked best about the story was the twist at the end. I really did not expect the narrator to be fooled by Jerry. So in conclusion, I feel this book is for anyone who likes reading stories about real life people and enjoys a twist at the end. I also recommend this story because it is one that will leave you thinking for a long time after you have read it.

Tight Jeans by Nicole Graev

We all try and act older than we appear. In Tight Jeans by Nicole Graev, a six year old wants a pair of tight jeans because she sees older girls with them. This book should mainly be for teens and parents to help realize what we all need to teach kids that everything has its time and not to go to fast in life.
I have always tended to not act my age because most of my cousins are older and act mature, and I catch myself being that way and try to fix it but I don’t act older such as make-up and be all dressy, I act mature. I like this passage because it gets someone’s attention that they are trying to grow up to fast.
The author probably intended to do this passage about growing up too fast because she’s maybe have had her own experience and wanted to give her own life story, there is no information about the award given for this passage, but I like it a lot. What I like the most is that the little girl noticed in the end that she was growing too fast and not that many children or teens do that.

“Willis Carr at Bleak House" by David Madden

The story, “Willis Carr at Bleak House,” was written by David Madden. The genre of this piece was War related, because it took place after the Civil War. The story is about a man, who, as a boy, joined the war with his dad, brothers, and grandfather. After their lead marksman is killed, he is up to bat. He looks down his sights on an enemy general, and fires. But he never saw if he killed him or not. The rest of the story is about him traveling around TN to find the answer of if he killed the general or not. An audience who would like this would be the ones who want to quit on something they have been trying a long time to get, find, or accomplish.
I liked this book because it had to do with the Civil War. It was somewhat confusing because it was written in the first person, and the narrator was telling his story as an old man in a bar called “Bleak House.” The narrator always jumped around to other stories about his life and rarely stayed on the real story. I cannot relate to this story in two ways: I have never joined a war, and I have never been so focused on trying to find an answer to something that could change my life.
Madden did a good job on writing this story. He really made it seem like the narrator was the author, even though it was hard to stay on subject. The story won two awards, the Rockefeller Grant of 1969, and the National Endowment for the Arts in 1970. The author wrote this story based off of a speech he heard from a Civil War veteran who was in a similar situation. The speech must have meant a lot to the author to write a story about it. Maybe the author can relate to the veteran.

Mrs. Turner’s Lawn Jockeys By Emily Raboteau

This is an excellent coming of age story, and can be enjoyed by people young and old. You would relate best to this if you had a troubled childhood, or if you are/were a parent who has had trouble with their children. Bernie, the main character, throughout the story, simply cannot please his father. As s result of this his father is very unhappy, and Bernie tries many times to change this. In the end, Bernie does something crazy, which his father finds hilarious.
I can personally relate to this story, because I, much like other teens feel that I simply cannot please my parents. Whether or not this is true, it seems that my parents look for reasons to be angry at me. I thought this story portrayed the feeling of futility a child feels when mom or dad is angry, it’s as if nothing can go right.
This is a great read for anyone facing challenges in their life; it can really put your problems in perspective, and show you that a little comic relief is sometimes all you need.

The Compostion by Antonio Skarmeta

This story is about a boy named Pedro who grows up in Chile and is a normal child. He is forced into a tough situation where he must not tell the whole truth so that his parents stay safe from the army. This story is a coming of age story and would be enjoyed by kids to young adults.
I enjoyed this story and the simplicity of it. It described scenes with much detail and was easy for a reader to digest. This is the reason why I think kids to young adults should read this story. It also addresses an issue that is tough for kids to deal with and that is that it is okay to lie if it is the noble thing to do in that situation. This is why I appreciated the story so much. Growing up I got into alot of situations where I hurt myself by telling the truth maybe when it did not even need to be said and I could of avoided it. If I could of been taught this point of view, which I believe is also Biblical, I would of avoided hurting others as well as myself.
Antonio Skarmeta does an excellent job of writing a story that is quick and to the point yet entertaining at the same time. I would of given this story an award especially since he was trying to steer it towards younger kids and he did a superb job of it. So if you are looking for a short entertaining book for kids then The Compostion would be a perfect match for you.

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