Includes bibliographical references and index.

Pt. 1, Do I fit in? : The first day / Edward P. Jones -- The secret lion / Alberto Alvaro Rios -- Eleven / Sandra Cisneros -- Raymond's run / Toni Cade Bambara -- Two kinds / Amy Tan -- Bad influence / Judith Ortiz Cofer -- Louisa, please come home / Shirley Jackson -- The man in the casket / Beth Cassavell.

Pt. 2, Families and friends : They are my friends / Margaret Atwood -- Sucker / Carson McCullers -- Guess what? I almost kissed my father goodnight / Robert Cormier -- Why can't they tell you why? / James Purdy -- Shaving / Leslie Norris -- My mother and father / Budge Wilson -- Asphalt / Frederick Pollack.

Pt. 3, Falling in love : Broken chain / Gary Soto -- The osage orange tree / William Stafford -- The bass, the river, and Sheila Mant / W.D. Wetherell -- I go along / Richard Peck -- The endless streetcar ride into the night, and the tinfoil noose / Jean Shepherd -- And Summer is gone / Susie Kretschmer -- Sophistication / Sherwood Anderson.

Pt. 4, Adjo means goodbye / Carrie A. Young -- A veil of water / Amy Boesky -- Marigolds / Eugenia Collier -- A visit of charity / Eudora Welty -- Initiation / Sylvia Plath -- Dawn / Tim Wynne-Jones -- On the late bus / Susan Engberg -- A walk to the jetty / Jamaica Kincaid.

A collection of short stories arranged thematically in four parts that represent youth as portrayed in fiction.

Professional Follett Library Resources.