13 : Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen

Rating:
Summary: The agony, the ecstasy, and everything in between
Review: "13: Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen" is an engrossing, and often quite accurate, collection of short stories centering on different thirteen-year-olds. Although some stories focus less on actually being thirteen than they do on simply revolving around a 13-year-old character, it doesn't matter - it's still a wholly entertaining read. A few stories of note:

"What's The Worst That Could Happen" by Bruce Coville - a funny but mostly painful tale of embarrassment that is bound to make the reader squirm at least once or twice.

"Squid Girl" by Todd Strasser - a fascinating (and very funny) story about a girl who meets a boy while on vacation, told from an idiosyncratic second-person point of view.

"Noodle Soup for Nincompoops" by Ellen Wittlinger - the story of a shy sideline-sitter who is able to express herself for the first time in the kooky guise of an anonymous advice columnist for her school paper.

Other popular authors whose pieces are included in this compendium include Meg Cabot ("The Princess Diaries," "All-American Girl," etc.), Ann M. Martin ("The Baby-Sitters Club" series, etc.), and James Howe ("Bunnicula," etc.) who also served as editor for this collection. I personally think this book will be enjoyed by readers of all ages - those who have already been thirteen, those who are not thirteen yet, and those who are thirteen right now.

Rating:
Summary: The agony, the ecstasy, and everything in between
Review: "13: Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen" is an engrossing, and often quite accurate, collection of short stories centering on different thirteen-year-olds. Although some stories focus less on actually being thirteen than they do on simply revolving around a 13-year-old character, it doesn't matter - it's still a wholly entertaining read. A few stories of note:

"What's The Worst That Could Happen" by Bruce Coville - a funny but mostly painful tale of embarrassment that is bound to make the reader squirm at least once or twice.

"Squid Girl" by Todd Strasser - a fascinating (and very funny) story about a girl who meets a boy while on vacation, told from an idiosyncratic second-person point of view.

"Noodle Soup for Nincompoops" by Ellen Wittlinger - the story of a shy sideline-sitter who is able to express herself for the first time in the kooky guise of an anonymous advice columnist for her school paper.

Other popular authors whose pieces are included in this compendium include Meg Cabot ("The Princess Diaries," "All-American Girl," etc.), Ann M. Martin ("The Baby-Sitters Club" series, etc.), and James Howe ("Bunnicula," etc.) who also served as editor for this collection. I personally think this book will be enjoyed by readers of all ages - those who have already been thirteen, those who are not thirteen yet, and those who are thirteen right now.

Rating:
Summary: It is a collection anyone can enjoy.
Review: Author Sandra Cisneros expressed in her story "Eleven" that when you are eleven years old, you are also ten, nine and eight, and so forth. Thirteen is no different. When you're thirteen, you're also twelve, eleven and ten, yet you're expected --- and even want --- to be fourteen, fifteen and sixteen. Being thirteen is a time of confusion and sometimes anger, but it's also a time of hope and wonder, and a chance to start exploring who you are and what you want to become.

Twelve authors and one poet, including teen fiction luminaries like Ron Koertge and Ellen Wittlinger, share thirteen stories that range from humorous to heartbreaking, all about the joy --- or the lack thereof --- of being thirteen years old. In Ann Martin and Laura Godwin's "Tina the Teen Fairy," a fairy visits Maia, who wants nothing more in life than not to turn thirteen, on the evening before her birthday. James Howe explores what a bar mitzvah means to one boy in "Jeremy Goldblatt is So Not Moses." As these authors show, it doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor, male or female, urban or rural --- there are some things about being thirteen that no one can escape.

13 is not a survival guide to anyone's thirteenth year; rather, it is a compilation of thoughts, memories and feelings that each author contributes to the reader. Instead of trying to guide the reader, these stories serve as sympathy and example. It is a collection anyone can enjoy, whether he/she is 13, 23 or 53.

--- Reviewed by Carlie Kraft Webber


Rating:
Summary: Being 13 aint no fun!
Review: Being 13 aint no fun no one thinks your growed up yet. No one treats you like a teen. You might as well still be 12 leastwise thats how it is for me. I thought this book told it like it is. I liked it.

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Middle-School kids (and those who know them)
Review: This is a fine collection of stories that most 13 year olds would find enjoyable. All are contemporary realistic fiction, save the last (see below), and there is one poem. The first story, Bruce Coville's "What's the Worst that Could Happen" is very funny and worth the purchase price alone. That the protagonists are all teens fits the reading proclivities of many adolescents.

There are several stories that deal with teen romance/crushes, but always in appropriate and respectfull ways, and there is usually some other theme going on (friendship can be difficult, family isn't always what you want, etc.) A couple of the pieces have Gay-possitive elements.

The final story, Ann M. Martin and Laura Goodwin's "Tina the Teen Fairy" would be an excellent read-aloud for the first week of middle school, as it follows a fairy who must convince a girl that turning 13 is important. As a 7/8 grade teacher, I've already used a few of these pieces in class.

Rating:
Summary: A Must for Middle-School kids (and those who know them)
Review: This is a fine collection of stories that most 13 year olds would find enjoyable. All are contemporary realistic fiction, save the last (see below), and there is one poem. The first story, Bruce Coville's "What's the Worst that Could Happen" is very funny and worth the purchase price alone. That the protagonists are all teens fits the reading proclivities of many adolescents.

There are several stories that deal with teen romance/crushes, but always in appropriate and respectfull ways, and there is usually some other theme going on (friendship can be difficult, family isn't always what you want, etc.) A couple of the pieces have Gay-possitive elements.

The final story, Ann M. Martin and Laura Goodwin's "Tina the Teen Fairy" would be an excellent read-aloud for the first week of middle school, as it follows a fairy who must convince a girl that turning 13 is important. As a 7/8 grade teacher, I've already used a few of these pieces in class.

Rating:
Summary: Why Thirteen is Great!!
Review: This is an awesome book that describes exquisitly what it is like to be thirteen. Every thirteen year old can probably relate to some small part of one of the stories (at least). When I read it, I knew some of the authors who had collaborated to write the short stories in this neat book, but I also did not know a few of the other authors. It was nice to read the works of familiar authors and at the same time be introduced to a variety of new ones!
Another wonderful aspect of this book are the essays at the end of each story that explain how the fictional tale is based on an experiance the author had at the age of thirteen!
"Thirteen" has a great store of emotion, too. Not just sad, happy, angry, but utterly miserable, ecstatic, irrate, hilarious. All the emotions that you experiance as a teen.
The writing styles are also great! Many stories are written in the first person, some are written in the third person, and one story is even written in the second person!
"Thirteen" is a totaly great book to read!