From Amazon
"Sometimes our inside-the-head world gets so crammed with what other people think that what we think gets squished out our ears or something." So laments the young protagonist Molly-Be-Gone in C. Drew Lamm's "Stay True," the title story in this impressive collection of short tales about teenage girls finding strength within themselves (and bringing it forth for the whole world to see). The contributing authors read like the women's wing of a young adult literature hall of fame: M.E. Kerr shows us a girl who rejects her parents' strait-laced culture and follows her true love; Rita Williams-Garcia tells the exuberant story of a young woman whose crazy dancing earns societal ostracism but brings her inner happiness; and Norma Fox Mazer offers a compelling tale about Grace, who learns to rise above the stigmatism she receives because of her size. Marian Flandrick Bray, Andrea Davis Pinkney, and Peni R. Griffin are among the other writers who make an inspiring appearance. The particulars of family structure, ethnicity, and geography may vary widely, but the young women in these stories are all fighting the good fight toward becoming independent women. As Molly-Be-Gone remembers, "We were fighting the alien girls living inside our heads and racing around in our guts. But we made a pact that night to try. To stay true to ourselves and each other." (Ages 12 and older) --Brangien Davis
