How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity
by Gregory Maguire and Francesca Lia Block and Eric Shanower and Jacqueline Woodson and Ron Koertge and Emma Donoghue and Ariel Schrag and David Levithan and Jennifer Finney Boylan and Julie Anne Peters and Margo Lanagan and William Sleater
A girl thought to be a boy steals her sister's skirt, while a boy thought to be a girl refuses to wear a cornflower blue dress. One boy's love of a soldier leads to the death of a stranger. The present takes a bittersweet journey into the past when a man revisits the summer school where he had "an accidental romance." And a forgotten mother writes a poignant letter to the teenage daughter she hasn't seen for fourteen years. Poised between the past and the future are the stories of now. In nontraditional narratives, short stories, and brief graphics, tales of anticipation and regret, eagerness and confusion present distinctively modern views of love, sexuality, and gender identification. Together, they reflect the vibrant possibilities available for young people learning to love others—and themselves—in today's multifaceted and quickly changing world.
Release Date:
October 5, 2009
