ON HER WAY

This collection, with writers famous and not, suffers from the usual: the material is very uneven; and most of it has a Message writ so large that the story gets lost. The poems are the best: Angela Johnson’s “A Girl Like Me”: “flying in / Supergirl / underwear”; Donna Jo Napoli’s “Twelve” says, “I am a little woman . . . full of grace”; Edwidge Danticat’s “un/titled” declares she’s come to the party, “an accident of literacy.” Linda Sue Park’s story, “The Apple” takes the struggle with art and makes it true and funny, with glitter. Valiska Gregory’s “Princess Isobel and the Pea” is a short narrative poem, the familiar fairy tale with a lovely, twisted denouement; Marthe Jocelyn’s “The Palazzo Funeral Parlor” talks wryly about death and music. Brief bios of the authors appear at the end, with pictures of them as they were when they were girls—a nice touch. (Essays/poetry. 10+)