Abstract
Reviewed by: Up All Night: A Short Story Collection Karen Coats Abrahams, Peter Up All Night: A Short Story Collection; by Peter Abrahams, Libba Bray, David Levithan, et al. Geringer/HarperCollins, 2008 228p Library ed. ISBN 978-0-06-137077-9 $17.89 Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-137076-2 $16.99 R Gr. 7–10 Six long short stories, one of them in a graphic format, explore the way the world changes in the middle of the night. Emotions become raw, honesty breaks through carefully tended façades, grief is magnified, and secrets are exposed. Subjects include the loss of a father in Iraq, an out-all-night concert excursion, a breaking down of polite barriers between strangers, a girl escaping potential abuse at the hands of her stepfather, the death of a beloved pet and with it the loss of something more poignant, and a monkey trying to discover the mysterious secrets of his origin. It won’t be hard for avid YA readers to link up most of the stories with their authors, as the topics are well-traveled ground for Libba Bray, David Levithan, and Patricia McCormick; relative newcomers Peter Abrahams, Sarah Weeks, and Gene Luen Yang begin to etch out a recognizable textual identity here as well. While none of the stories stands out as exceptional, they are all conceptually solid and well-crafted as they touch on recognizable emotional quandaries for the somniatically challenged. Author’s notes with pictures are a nicely intimate touch, and Laura Geringer’s introduction provides context, citing classic stories that have provided creepy nocturnal reading through the years. Copyright © 2008 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
Published Version
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