Library401: Book Review - Short Stories

BOOK REVIEW – SHORT STORIES

21 Proms

Levithan, David & Ehrenhaft, Daniel, Eds. 21 Proms. New York: Scholastic, 2007.

ISBN: 978-0439890298. 298 pages. Reading Level: 5.1 Interest Level: 9-12

“Some proms go well. Some don’t.”

(taken from front cover of book, right under title)

The phrase written above “just about” sums up the content of this off-beat, quirky collection of short stories. Twenty-one different authors have added their short stories revolving around the issue of “The Prom”. The authors are:

Cecilia von Ziegesar Daniel Ehrenhaft

Libba Bray David Levithan

Holly Black Jodi Lynn Anderson

John Green Leslie Margolis

Jacqueline Woodson Brent Hartinger

Rachel Cohn Lisa Ann Sandell

Melissa de la Cruz Will Leitch

E. Lockhart Adrienne Maria Vrettos

Elizabeth Craft Ned Vizzini

Sarah Mlynowski Billy Merrell

Aimee Friedman

All of the above contributors bring to this short story collection their own style of writing and personality. Some stories are rather cynical about the subject matter, some humorous, some sad, one is reminiscent of another prom in the past, but they all discuss the

event known as “The Prom. For some students, this event is magical while for others it is rather painful, and still others, it becomes a non-event. Whatever the case, the prom has become a “rite of passage” for many high school students.

In one story, “Mom called, she says you have to go to prom” by Adrienne Maria Vrettos, a young woman is delivered that very message by her brother on the night of the prom. She knows she cannot go against her mother’s wishes, so she raids her mother’s closet and wearing a much too large dress heads off to the prom with her brother as chauffeur. In another story, “Off Like a Prom Dress”, Billy Merrell tells his story in a 3 page poetry format. In “Better Be Good to Me” by Daniel Ehrenhaft, a father reminisces about going to the prom with his then girlfriend and now – wife. Their 17 year old daughter is about to attend her prom. Another short story is titled “Prom for Fat Girls” by Rachel Cohn. The title gives the subject matter away. In “The Great American Morp” by John Green, we have the backlash against the traditional prom, where students crate their own event called the Morp (prom spelled backwards). Each of these stories stands alone and provides its own unique look at the institution known as the high school prom.

This book is very popular among students at my school. It is in constant circulation, so much so that I have three copies of it on the shelves (or off the shelves as it spends little time where its’ home is).

Many students enjoy the short story format. I would recommend the following titles to them as good reads. Most are in the traditional short story format, but one Twice Told: Original Stories Inspired by Original Artwork is unusual in that it combines original artwork with a story written around the piece of art.