The Kissing Game

January 24, 2011
In 16 short stories—three previously published, one written when the author was a teenager—Chambers (the Dance Sequence) takes an almost microscopically close view of teenagers' thoughts and interactions, with characters grappling with issues of faith, authority, relationships, and identity. Several stories are extremely short—in an afterword, Chambers places them in the "flash fiction" genre. "They are like a flash of light, a spark, which allows one quick view of a whole scene or person or event," he writes, noting they "are suited to writing and reading on the small screens of computers, iPhones, and eReaders." The briefest stories consist solely of dialogue, yet those written in prose can also have the feel of a script. Chambers often employs 11th-hour twists: the titular story veers into horror, "The Tower" into the paranormal. Vladimir Nabokov's description of the Russian word "toskà," included in a story of the same name, perhaps best captures the spirit of the collection, which is permeated with "a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning." Chambers leaves readers with much to contemplate. Ages 14–up.

March 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-These 16 stories focus mostly on dangerous or awkward difficulties that can underpin a burgeoning relationship. Half of the selections are "flash fiction"-a punch to readers, delivered in less than 1000 words. (The author points out these are ideal for reading on small screens such as e-readers and smart phones.) Five are short plays that could be useful exercises for theater classes. Witty dialogue and ordinary situations gone awry abound. Impetus for reading through the collection as a whole comes from recognizing the pattern; there will be a twist, and readers may have to look again for the true "ah-hah!" As individual tales, three stand out: "Cindy's Day Out" gives a modern, self-aware Cinderella her due; "The Kissing Game" lets its isolated characters ride a current of all-too-real emotional pain to a horror-story climax; and "Sanctuary" draws readers into the sordid world of immigrant sex slavery. A few stories are very funny in a dry, British way; but most are simply intended to make readers think-about trust, religion, moral duty, and most of all about the give-and-take between people that we call "relationships." The selections are perfectly readable by middle schoolers, but more meaningful discussion and deeper understanding will only come from teens with more life experience, and there's real potential for possible use in high school English classes.-Rhona Campbell, formerly at Washington, DC Public Library

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2011
Grades 9-12 Far from the romance suggested in the title, this short-fiction collection from the author of the Printz Awardwinning Postcards from No Mans Land (2002) explores dark, volatile territory in selections that often lead to explosive, bomb-grade conclusions. Avid readers may notice a few reprints here, including The Kissing Game, but most of the entries are new, and in an authors note, Chambers discusses his interest in the flash-fiction form of writing, which he employs in several stories. There are a few twists of magic realism; in The Tower, for example, a teen boy tries to save a girl from a fire that occurred a century earlier. Most stories, though, are realistic glimpses of young adults grappling with mistreatment and brutality in a contemporary world. As in most collections, not every story is equally strong, but the variety of experimental formats, including scripts and letters, is refreshing, and teens will want to talk about the recurring themes of betrayal, violence, and shifting identities, and the fleeting moments of connection and mercy that can change a lifes course.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)