Truth & Dare

Gr 10 Up—Like the game for which this anthology is named, these stories are exciting, a little risky, racy, and very revealing. Miles has assembled a collection by well-known names in teen fiction, such as Cecil Castellucci, Ellen Wittlinger, and Gary Soto, as well as some voices new to the field. Most selections contain some element of romance or attraction. In Sarah Rees Brennan's "The Young Stalker's Handbook," a teen follows a cute boy around a mall until she is forced to speak to him after an embarrassing event. Sara Wilkinson's "Pencils" is an odd story in which a young man finds the sight of his seven perfectly sharpened pencils just as compelling as the large (possibly uneven) breasts of his tormentor. Some selections are simply about the choices people make, such as Shelley Stoehr's "Somebody's Daughter," in which the actions of three friends at a party have disastrous consequences for one of the girls. Among the most creative of the stories is Emma Donoghue's "Team Men," a reimagining of the biblical story of David and Jonathan set against the backdrop of boys' soccer. But the most compelling stories are the ones in which the narrator questions what he or she knows, such A. M. Homes's "Yours Truly," in which a young woman feverishly writes words of self-examination in a linen closet, or Courtney Gillette's "Never Have I Ever," in which a teenage girl must choose between her beloved boyfriend or the girls to whom she's always been attracted. The tales range from humorous to heartbreaking to ridiculous to empowering, and most readers will be able to find at least one story that speaks specifically to them.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO