Short Stories for Teens
On the Fringe (pictured), is one of several young adult, theme-based anthologies that contain shorter works by Weaver. In list form, here are some more:
“Training the Bear.” Guys Write for Guys Read. Viking Juvenile. New York (April 2005)
“Marked for Death.” Unexpected: 11 Mysterious Stories. Ed. By Laura E. Williams (Scholastic Books 2005)
“Bad Blood.” Destination Unexpected. Ed. By Don Gallo (Candlewick Press 2003).
“WWJD.” On The Fringe: Short Stories about Conflict and Alienation. Ed by Don Gallo (Dial Press 2001)
“Bootleg Summer.” Time Capsule: Short Stories about Teenagers Throughout the 20th Century. Ed. By Don Gallo (Delacorte Press 1999)
“The Photograph.” No Easy Answers: Short Stories about Teenagers Making Tough Choices. Ed by Don Gallo (Bantam Doubleday 1997)
“Stealing for Girls.” Ultimate Sports: Short Stories for Young Adults. Ed. By Don Gallo. (Delacorte Press 1995)
“Weird Suzy, Weird Suzy,” the other students begin to chant.
Sticks and stones. Their name-calling does not bother me. After all, my real name is Suzanne, as in the Leonard Cohen song by the same name. I am a sixteen-year-old sophomore at River Forks High School in central Wisconsin. But I don’t feel like this is my school, Wisconsin my state, or these times my times. I mentioned these feelings to the school counselor–hey, she asked me how things were going. “Transfer students often feel a sense of alienation,” she said, “and in any case, high school here in Wisconsin must be very different than in California.”
“Not really,” I said.
Author Commentary
Sometimes it’s good to have an “assignment.” An editor will get in touch, for example, after the Columbine High School shootings, with a goal of getting several authors together to address an issue such as school violence through the lens of fiction. Of my individual stories, I think “WWJD” is the strongest.
