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

-- from "What's the Worst That Could Happen?" by Bruce Coville

No one will want to skip any of the twelve short stories and one poem that make up this collection by some of the most celebrated contemporary writers of teen fiction. The big bar mitzvah that goes suddenly, wildly, hilariously out of control. A first kiss -- and a realization about one's sexual orientation. A crush on a girl that ends up putting the boy who likes her in the hospital. A pair of sneakers a kid has to have. By turns funny and sad, wrenching and poignant, the moments large and small described in these stories capture perfectly the agony and ecstasy of being thirteen.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
4 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Great way to reach kids who aren't avid readers., 2006-09-18
My son is in 8th grade and never a big reader (which I am trying to change). This book appealled to him on two levels. First, the short story format was less "stressful" than having to commit to a full length book. Second, the variety of stories has something for everyone. Some stories he identified with personally and others he felt helped him understand someone his age with a different background. There was also a mix of humor and seriousness that he really enjoyed. We both reccommend this book heartily.


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

PRETTY DARN GOOD, 2006-01-09
13 is exactly what the subtitle says it is about. It capture the agony and ecstasy of being thirteen more than any other book i have read. But, then again, I havn't read any other books about being 13 years old. Anyways, 13 is a great book. It is a quick read but you will find yourself having problems putting it down. I recomended this book for anyone. If your past the age of 13 you can relate to it, if not, you can find out what 13 is all about. All in all, 13 is PRETTY DARN GOOD.


3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

A great read aloud to use in your class., 2005-10-20
I read some of the stories in this book in my classroom and my students loved it. I had kids lining up to check the book out from me after I read the first story, which incidently may be one of the funniest stories i have ever read aloud in class. A must have book for any middle school teacher.


0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Nice collection, 2005-08-28
I have used a few of the stories as reading material for my middle school literature class. My students enjoyed the short stories.


13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

It is a collection anyone can enjoy., 2004-07-26
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

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