Full name: How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity

Author: Michael Cart Year: 2008 Rank: Rating: Original Rating: Pop Rating: Genres/categories: Short Stories, Young adult, Fiction, Gay & Lesbian Purchase/reserch links: LibraryThing Goodreads Amazon ISBNs: 9780061154980 0061154989

A girl thought to be a boy steals her sister's skirt, while a boy thought to be a girl refuses to wear a cornflower blue dress. One boy's love of a soldier leads to the death of a stranger. The present takes a bittersweet journey into the past when a man revisits the summer school where he had "an accidental romance." And a forgotten mother writes a poignant letter to the teenage daughter she hasn't seen for fourteen years. Poised between the past and the future are the stories of now. In nontraditional narratives, short stories, and brief graphics, tales of anticipation and regret, eagerness and confusion present distinctively modern views of love, sexuality, and gender identification. Together, they reflect the vibrant possibilities available for young people learning to love others--and themselves--in today's multifaceted and quickly changing world.