grl2grl: Short fictions by Julie Anne Peters

• ISBN: 978-0316013437
• Plot summary: This book for short stories by Julie Anne Peters explores various relationships among women, mostly of the romantic kind. In one, we meet a transgender "boi" who works at the local Italian fast food joint, only to be humiliated by a coworker's brother after work. Two young girls who ride the train to school together finally get to know one another after one can't take the silence any longer. Another teen is crushed when the girl she loves leaves her for someone else. In all these stories, we come to know the characters and the ways they deal with attraction and love. Some of the stories offer hope while others leave you feeling helpless.
• Critical evaluation: Julie Anne Peters is successful again in showing what it means to be a young person questioning your identity in a world less accepting of same sex relationships than opposite sex relationships. It seems as if each of these young people must work harder to communicate their needs, to do so discretely, and to embrace the small communities they find among each other (that is, if they have one). When thinking about young adults, this book really informs me as an adult what it would be like to be a teenager going through these emotions and having a limited number of outlets to explore them. While each story is brief, they speak volumes of the struggle to be a LGBT youth in today's society.
• Reader's annotation: You can try to keep it quiet, but you can't help who you love.
• About the author: Julie Anne Peters has written numerous young adult books and currently lives in Colorado.
• Genre: Fiction/short stories
• Curriculum ties, if any: None
• Booktalking ideas:
• What would you do if someone exposed something about you without your permission?
• How do you feel about homosexuality?
• Reading level/interest age: 15+
• Challenge issues: Sexuality
• Why was this item included? I really enjoyed reading Luna and wanted to see what the author would do with short stories.