One Death, Nine Stories

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: December 9, 2014

Review

This is a bittersweet little book created by nine of today's best YA authors -- Rita Williams-Garcia, Ellen Hopkins, A.S. King, Torrey Maldonado, Charles R. Smith, Jr., Nora Raleigh Baskin, Chris Barton, Will Weaver, and Marina Budhos. The book was built on a simple premise: the back cover shows a brief obituary of Kevin Nicholas. Kevin was 19, ran cross-country in high school, attended community college, was survived by his mother and sister, and predeceased by his father. With these few facts, the authors fleshed out the life of Kevin. The editor's afterword discusses the writing process: the first author kicked off the book and each subsequent author then wrote a story. The authors shared their stories and went through revisions that made this more than a collection of stories. The stories all tie together to form a cohesive novelette.

Overall Book Score: excellent