FACE RELATIONS

Stories by well-known authors take on highly charged issues of race. The perspectives and experiences portrayed range widely and, as to be expected in an anthology, so does the quality of the stories. While all of these writers are talented, some of the stories seem too blatantly purposeful, offering little beyond the message. Others are more provocative and engaging and will certainly stimulate fiery classroom discussion. Many stories stand out as don’t-miss reads for any occasion: Rene Saldaña Jr.’s riff on connecting through music; Kyoko Mori’s story of a girl in the rural Midwest caught between her Japanese mother’s well-earned bitterness and her white stepsister’s complete ease with the world; Marina Budhos’s multi-layered, multi-racial love story; or Rita Williams-Garcia’s offering—rich, yet light in tone—the only really funny story in the collection. These are the stories that will engage teens point blank, though all will be appreciated in a classroom setting for the intensely complex issues they approach. Great cover art should help sell this generally admirable collection, whose sales will benefit the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance project. (Fiction. 12+)