The Color of Absence by James Howe (ed)

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Howe, James (ed). 2001. THE COLOR OF ABSENCE: 12 STORIES ABOUT LOSS AND HOPE. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. ISBN 0689828624.


2. PLOT SUMMARY
Short fiction stories give the readers handfuls of sorrow. Individual authors lend their style to accounts that juxtapose a passing of sorts and the eventual anticipation of a new normal.

3. IMPRESSIONS

As will anything, individuals will react differently to various stories included here. Because I have lived a few more years than young adults, I have walked through or somehow experienced many of the situations presented here. My grandmothers have died, I've dealt with parishioners who have succumbed to dementia, I've lost pets, etc. Consequently, I was moved by these stories.

I was impressed with the scope of this book. Not only did it include various young adult authors who are noteworthy in their right, but the different ways in which they broached awkward and provoking situations really hit home to me. It's hard enough to come up with an idea and flesh it out enough to write a novel. It's another concept entirely to have someone else have an idea and expect you to flesh it out. I was impressed with how these authors really proved their mettle.

Adults and youth will be better served by reading this book and can show them that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, though hard to see at times. This would definitely be a book that would have to recommended or discussed during a book talk. The subject matter is for higher level kids and would not be something they would just pluck off a shelf.

4. REVIEW EXCERPTS from http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0689856679/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books

* Starred review in BOOKLIST: "The uneasy intersection of loss and hope provides the thematic setting for this collection of 11 original stories and one excerpt, "The Rialto," from a novel-in-progress coauthored by Jacqueline Woodson and Chris Lynch. Other contributors include such leading young adult authors as Walter Dean Myers, Annette Curtis Klause, Norma Fox Mazer, and Virginia Euwer Wolff. All of the stories are professionally executed but--perhaps because loss is inherently sad--too many strike the same note of melancholy and deal with the theme in ways that are often predictable. Happily there are notable exceptions. Klause reintroduces Simon the vampire in a story invested with emotional resonance; Naomi Shihab Nye feeds loss with metaphoric food; and Wolff demonstrates the spare power of understatement in her story-in-dialogue, "The Chair." What these and several other good stories in the book demonstrate is that loss can be redeemed not only by hope but also by art."

* Starred review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Howe invited 12 well-known YA authors to contribute pieces and added a story of his own to the mix, resulting in a finely crafted anthology. It starts out with a tremendously moving piece by Annette Curtis Klause, in which the vampire Simon (from her novel The Silver Kiss) braves entering a church in order to try to save his beloved cat during the Summer of Love. He realizes that loving Grimalkin and losing her was the most painful thing he could ever encounter, but that the experience has transformed him into a being with a sort of soul. Other stories vary widely and may serve to entice teens with different reading tastes-some may have a stronger emotional response to a story about the end of a relationship than to the loss of a grandparent, or vice versa. All of these selections share themes of hope, and show that what you endure makes you stronger, and that loss provides the opportunity to reassess and cherish personal relationships. A solid choice for all collections."

Amazon.com (2008). http://www.amazon.com/