I See Reality: Twelve Short Stories About Real Life

Gr 10 Up—Tackling feelings—from grief to joy, from sorrow to hope, and from loss to love—this short story collection portrays real emotions of teenagers in real-life situations. Included in this volume are the conversation a girl has with herself while preparing to break up with an emotionally manipulative boyfriend, the story of a survivor of a high school shooting, an illustrated vignette told from the perspective of a family's cat about a creeper at a Halloween party, and a short work in comic book format about the surprising secret of a high school's golden couple. Some of the standouts include "Coffee Chameleon" by Jay Clark, about an Adderall addict and his ex-girlfriend; "Hush" by Marcella Pixley, the story of the daughter of one of America's earliest AIDS victims who lives with her mentally fragile mother in a falling-down house; and "The Good Brother" by Patrick Flores-Scott, which contains the line that provides this volume's title. With authors as diverse as Heather Demetrios, Trisha Leaver, Kekla Magoon, and Jordan Sonnenblick, this collection unflinchingly addresses subjects such as sexuality, abortion, addiction, school shootings, and abuse.