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wishfulfillment's review
4.0
Why I recommend bumping this up on your TBR: This is my favorite short story collection so far. It tackles topics of diversity such as race, sexual orientation, class, age, culture, etc. Each story is completely different than the one before it, and each offers something to the reader. It's quick, fun, and enlightening, not to mention all #ownvoices.
rainbowbookworm's review
5.0
Collections of any kind are bound to have hits and misses, but Ellen Oh has managed to compile a great collection of short stories. I had heard of most of the authors before and was not surprised by the quality of their work and the diversity of characters found amongst its pages.
drbatfcc's review
5.0
GREAT anthology of short stories by diverse writers - edited by co-founder of We Need Diverse Books
christiana's review
3.0
Pretty solid offering from WNDB. Some stories are better than others, but that's just anthologies in general, I think.
bickie's review
4.0
Great compilation of short stories from a diverse group of authors. Many address important issues such as racism from the perspective of children beginning to understand complexities of adult behavior. Others contain references to cultural heritage stories. Some address early attractions to others and learning about how one wants to be in the world. Best for ages 10-15.
andreareyes's review
5.0
I like books like this.
The initiative called We Need Diverse Books unites authors of color, ability, backgrounds and languages and creates stories aimed towards adolescents (like middle school). It is refreshing to hear these stories. I loved the lesson at the end. I love that the stories are evenly spaced. I love that I see myself and those I love represented in the stories. I love the narrators!! All the stories are good, too, each special in their own way
The initiative called We Need Diverse Books unites authors of color, ability, backgrounds and languages and creates stories aimed towards adolescents (like middle school). It is refreshing to hear these stories. I loved the lesson at the end. I love that the stories are evenly spaced. I love that I see myself and those I love represented in the stories. I love the narrators!! All the stories are good, too, each special in their own way
megpancoast's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
allysonbogie's review
5.0
I was so excited to read this collection of short stories because it includes work from some of my favorite YA authors...and it didn't disappoint! We Need Diverse Books is an incredibly important movement and I love that they put out this collection. I recommend it highly and plan to purchase it for my middle school library.
emily_m_green's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Flying Lessons & Other Stories is an anthology of short stories edited by Ellen Oh as part of We Need Diverse Books. The stories have characters and authors from a range of backgrounds and about a range of topics but all have adolescent main characters.
The opening story, for instance, by Matt de la Peña, is about a boy who is Mexican American and who wants to spend his summer working on his basketball game. He spends every day at a gym where the best players, adult players, play. The story is told in second person and has an honest tone that students appreciate. It is also used in Units of Study for Reading: Investigating Character as a tool to think about characterization, which is where I discovered the book.
In Meg Medina’s story, “Sol Painting, Inc,” a girl plans to make her father’s one man, one truck painting enterprise into a multimillion dollar chain. The last job of the summer turns out to be painting the exclusive private school where she will start in the fall. This was not her decision, and she learns some big lessons working under her father and alongside her brother. .
It is not easy to find good short stories for young readers. A few years back when I was teaching a creative writing class to elementary students, I found very few options. The works in Flying Lessons are a bit above most elementary school students and perhaps still a challenge for many middle school students. Not out of their reach, but they do need scaffolding. The stories are also good, well-written, and don/t talk down to their young target audience. In addition, they offer a diversity of characters that was also quite difficult to find a few years ago.
Would I teach this book? Emphatically, yes. There are no clunkers in this anthology and there is so much for students to think about. We did some writing that involved modeling sentence structure after the sentences in stories and writing scenes from a different character’s perspective. I am so glad to have found this book.