library_brandy's review against another edition
4.0
Bit of a mixed bag, but overall a good anthology with an interesting theme.
jessicaz's review
I read this to see if I should by it for the library - I wanted to make sure it wasn't total smut...Some of it was fairly sexy, but it was more thoughtful than anything else.
nightshade_novels's review against another edition
3.0
Having read ‘Next’ another collection of short stories edited by Keith Gray I was intrigued to read this one. I was especially interested when I saw that Patrick Ness had written one of the stories, and also Anne Fine and Mary Hooper.
I enjoyed the first story ‘Scoring’ by Keith Gray, but really wanted to know what Jason decided to do, so was annoyed that it ended where it did.
Jenny Valentine’s story ‘The Age of Consent’ was really funny and enjoyable, but came with a good message to make sure your first is a nice person.
‘Chat-up Lines’ by Melvin Burgess was a bit weird and just annoying really. It tells of a boy that gets the best girl (and a pop star) in town by reciting poetry to her, but she ditches him the moment she discovers that he is three years younger than her.
Patrick Ness’ ‘Different For Boys’ looked at what counts as losing your virginity (particularly in the context of two gay boys). I quite liked this story as even though it was just as short as the others it somehow managed to involved more characters and build up a history for each one of them and more complex interrelationships.
‘Charlotte’ by Mary Hooper tells of a young girl in Victorian times who ends up selling herself to feed her brothers after her mother’s death. It is explained that there are three levels of society; the rich the poor and those that are outcast for spoiling themselves before marriage.
‘The Way It Is’ by Sophie McKenzie was interesting in that it showed the different ways in which boys and girls view losing their virginity and how this can make things confusing in relationships. It also showed how people view each other differently; Sam loves the way Katya looks and fell for her straight away, but Katya is very critical of her own appearance.
Bali Rai’s ‘The White Towel’ was easily the most emotional of the stories. It tells of the way that a young woman in Asia must be pure and innocent, saved for marriage. That she will be cast out if it is discovered that she has sullied herself. In this case it was not true and the girl was wrongly accused, tormented and left for dead.
I liked ‘Finding It’ by Anne Fine. It was told by a teacher who is teaching a class their sex education lesson. She reminisces about her teenage years and losing her virginity. Thinking about how ridiculous the sex ed. lessons are because the students already know far more about sex than she did at that age.
This was an interesting collection of stories; each made you think about the different situations in different cultures or time periods.
I enjoyed the first story ‘Scoring’ by Keith Gray, but really wanted to know what Jason decided to do, so was annoyed that it ended where it did.
Jenny Valentine’s story ‘The Age of Consent’ was really funny and enjoyable, but came with a good message to make sure your first is a nice person.
‘Chat-up Lines’ by Melvin Burgess was a bit weird and just annoying really. It tells of a boy that gets the best girl (and a pop star) in town by reciting poetry to her, but she ditches him the moment she discovers that he is three years younger than her.
Patrick Ness’ ‘Different For Boys’ looked at what counts as losing your virginity (particularly in the context of two gay boys). I quite liked this story as even though it was just as short as the others it somehow managed to involved more characters and build up a history for each one of them and more complex interrelationships.
‘Charlotte’ by Mary Hooper tells of a young girl in Victorian times who ends up selling herself to feed her brothers after her mother’s death. It is explained that there are three levels of society; the rich the poor and those that are outcast for spoiling themselves before marriage.
‘The Way It Is’ by Sophie McKenzie was interesting in that it showed the different ways in which boys and girls view losing their virginity and how this can make things confusing in relationships. It also showed how people view each other differently; Sam loves the way Katya looks and fell for her straight away, but Katya is very critical of her own appearance.
Bali Rai’s ‘The White Towel’ was easily the most emotional of the stories. It tells of the way that a young woman in Asia must be pure and innocent, saved for marriage. That she will be cast out if it is discovered that she has sullied herself. In this case it was not true and the girl was wrongly accused, tormented and left for dead.
I liked ‘Finding It’ by Anne Fine. It was told by a teacher who is teaching a class their sex education lesson. She reminisces about her teenage years and losing her virginity. Thinking about how ridiculous the sex ed. lessons are because the students already know far more about sex than she did at that age.
This was an interesting collection of stories; each made you think about the different situations in different cultures or time periods.
pauline's review against another edition
2.0
I don't really know how to rate this one? I started it yesterday and honestly don't remember what some of the short stories in it are about.
From those i do remember Patrick Ness, Bali Rai and Jenny Valentine's were my favorites, i think they really showed an interesting perspective on the subject of virginity and dating as a teen as a whole, especially Bali Rai's story.
Amongst the other stories, none of them were bad, i just didn't enjoy them as much and they didn't resonate with me the way the three mentioned before did. The last story was a good way to close the anthology, really rounding out every work and making a positive point about sex beyond the subject of virginity only.
From those i do remember Patrick Ness, Bali Rai and Jenny Valentine's were my favorites, i think they really showed an interesting perspective on the subject of virginity and dating as a teen as a whole, especially Bali Rai's story.
Amongst the other stories, none of them were bad, i just didn't enjoy them as much and they didn't resonate with me the way the three mentioned before did. The last story was a good way to close the anthology, really rounding out every work and making a positive point about sex beyond the subject of virginity only.
theaknitter's review
4.0
I really liked Different for Boys and The White Towel but really did not like the last story Finding It. I pretty much liked the rest of them equally.
herlifewithbooks's review against another edition
3.0
I haven't read a YA short story collection in years! What is wrong with me?
Also, I think this was my very first Patrick Ness story. Don't tell Elena.
Also, I think this was my very first Patrick Ness story. Don't tell Elena.
nalaban's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Favourite quotes:
“Take sorte zgodba je, nekatere besede so potrebne, ker gre za resnično življenje, ampak jih ne smeš pokazat, ker smo premladi, da bi brali o stvareh, ki jih dejansko počnemo, a štekaš?” (Patrick Ness)
“Ker poanta seksa in drog - se opravičujem, zdravstvene vzgoje - je to, da 1. b odvrnemo od obojega. Nočemo, da imajo spolne odnose. Nočemo, da se drogirajo. Hočemo jih obdržati tu, v razredu, kar se da neraztresene in prisebne. Hočemo, da naredijo izpite. Potem lahko odbluzijo vsak po svoje in izgubijo nedolžnost, kakorkoli hočejo in s komerkoli hočejo.” (Anne Fine)
“Take sorte zgodba je, nekatere besede so potrebne, ker gre za resnično življenje, ampak jih ne smeš pokazat, ker smo premladi, da bi brali o stvareh, ki jih dejansko počnemo, a štekaš?” (Patrick Ness)
“Ker poanta seksa in drog - se opravičujem, zdravstvene vzgoje - je to, da 1. b odvrnemo od obojega. Nočemo, da imajo spolne odnose. Nočemo, da se drogirajo. Hočemo jih obdržati tu, v razredu, kar se da neraztresene in prisebne. Hočemo, da naredijo izpite. Potem lahko odbluzijo vsak po svoje in izgubijo nedolžnost, kakorkoli hočejo in s komerkoli hočejo.” (Anne Fine)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
Minor: Rape
thehodgenator's review against another edition
4.0
When I requested this, I thought I was going to get a novel about awkward moments of losing virginity. I was not prepared for what was waiting for me. Not. At. All.
This collection contains ten short stories that bring readers into the lives of teens in a vulnerable time in their lives, dealing with sexuality.
And I do not mean that the characters are trying to figure out if they are gay. I mean they are trying to deal with life, and sex happens to be a part of that.
Each author deals with a different element of “losing it”—but all of their stories revolve around the emotion that surrounds it.
The strength in the storytelling lies in the heart and honesty of each one. From dealing with sexuality to an honor killing, these authors do not hold back. There is something here for every reader.
In some stories sex happens consensually. In one it does not. And in one, miscommunication leads to the loss of life.
Each story was memorable to me for numerous reasons, and I did not have a favorite. I felt that all of them carried equal weight, but some left me feeling sadness.
With that said, this was a powerful read. The pacing of the stories, their placement within the anthology, it was a whole package for me.
This is a great source of discussion when it comes to sexuality in the world—not in America—and how it is perceived differently, especially the honor killing.
I would recommend this for any teen who is looking for raw emotion when it comes to reading about sex, but I especially think it is a powerful read for parents of teens. It is a reminder that no matter how we feel about sex and teens decision to have it—and for those who have the decision taken from them—it is important to remember that this is an element of growing into adulthood, and that the doors of communication need to be open, no matter how uncomfortable it may make us. Our kids need to be able to communicate with us, with each other, and we need to be willing to listen.
This collection contains ten short stories that bring readers into the lives of teens in a vulnerable time in their lives, dealing with sexuality.
And I do not mean that the characters are trying to figure out if they are gay. I mean they are trying to deal with life, and sex happens to be a part of that.
Each author deals with a different element of “losing it”—but all of their stories revolve around the emotion that surrounds it.
The strength in the storytelling lies in the heart and honesty of each one. From dealing with sexuality to an honor killing, these authors do not hold back. There is something here for every reader.
In some stories sex happens consensually. In one it does not. And in one, miscommunication leads to the loss of life.
Each story was memorable to me for numerous reasons, and I did not have a favorite. I felt that all of them carried equal weight, but some left me feeling sadness.
With that said, this was a powerful read. The pacing of the stories, their placement within the anthology, it was a whole package for me.
This is a great source of discussion when it comes to sexuality in the world—not in America—and how it is perceived differently, especially the honor killing.
I would recommend this for any teen who is looking for raw emotion when it comes to reading about sex, but I especially think it is a powerful read for parents of teens. It is a reminder that no matter how we feel about sex and teens decision to have it—and for those who have the decision taken from them—it is important to remember that this is an element of growing into adulthood, and that the doors of communication need to be open, no matter how uncomfortable it may make us. Our kids need to be able to communicate with us, with each other, and we need to be willing to listen.