What Are You Afraid Of?: Stories about Phobias

by Donald R. Gallo (Editor)

Renowned anthologist Donald R. Gallo calls on eleven top authors to explore what happens when fear takes on a mind of its own.

Everyone is afraid of something. But for those who have phobias, that fear is exaggerated and their reactions are the heart races, sweat beads up on skin, the eyes narrow, and the throat tightens. The ten stories in this fascinating anthology all present people with debilitating
anxiety — from Alex Flinn's gripping psychological portrait of a teen with agoraphobia to David Lubar's humorous tale of a boy faced with dread incarnate in the form of his girlfriend's cat. Whether the trigger is clowns, knives, string, or crossing the street, the characters in these riveting stories confront, are confronted by, and, in some cases, ultimately succeed in overcoming their worst fears.

Genres: Short Stories, Young Adult, Psychology, Mental Health, Anthologies, Teen

208 pages, Hardcover

First published July 11, 2006

About the author

Donald R. Gallo, often called the godfather of YA short stories, is the editor of more than a dozen acclaimed anthologies, including Sixteen, Destination Unexpected, First Crossing, and What Are You Afraid Of?. A former English teacher and professor, he began championing short stories written specifically for teens in 1980, addressing a gap in school curricula. His groundbreaking work has earned numerous accolades, including the ALAN Award for Outstanding Contributions to Young Adult Literature. Gallo now writes, edits, and presents workshops, while also enjoying photography, cooking, and travel from his home in Solon, Ohio.

Reviews

[Melissa Dwyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Originally rated G by Marta Wilkin
I found this book to be an interesting mix of short stories, all with teenagers as the main character, and all characters having a phobia. As stated in the book, none are the usual fear of spiders and snakes. Most of the authors are well known YA authors. I wish I could recommend this book for middle as well as high schools, however, because of one story, “No Clown Zone,” by Gail Giles (pp 124-142); my recommendation will be only for high school students. The story contains a number of sexual references, as well as mild language (shit, damn, slut). It’s too bad…

Children's Literature
We are all afraid of something, and most of us learn how to deal with that fear when confronted by it. However, what about those people who cannot? This compilation of phobia short stories created by some of the most famous names in young adult literature and put together by the king of young adult literature, short story collections, allows readers to read about some of the phobias they too may have experienced. Alex Flinn tackles agoraphobia and presents a boy too fearful to leave his home. Joan Bauer delves into the nightmare of a girl who fears gaining weight. David Lubar provides a story based on a boy’s fear of cats and the negative impact it has on his love life. Gail Giles takes on the fear of clowns. Angela Johnson focuses on a boy who is afraid of string. The short stories are all unique in plot, although many share a similar type of ending; for that reason, I do not recommend reading the whole collection at one setting. But this book would be a wonderful way to get students thinking about what people are nervous about in life and why, and this might create empathy for others with whom they come into contact. The individual short stories could also be used to assign research topics on any number of phobias. There are simply myriad uses for this book, and it is a fun and interesting read on top of it! Reviewer: Jean Boreen, Ph.D.

[Jennifer Reves · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book of short, creepy, phobia-related stories! When I saw that Jane Yolen was one of the authors, I had to pick it up. She does incredible work, as well as the rest of the authors here. Her story with Stemple, didn't disappoint. "Bang, Bang, You're Dead" sucked me in from the very first line. At one point, I was so emotionally tied to the main character, I cried at his loss. Truly fantastic!

My second favorite story ended up being the first in the collection. Alex Finn's short story "The Door" put me directly in the shoes of an agoraphobic and it was fascinating! My brother struggles with Agoraphobia and this story allowed me to see it from his perspective. I never understood how he could go from being an outgoing and outdoorsy person, to vomiting if he left his room, until now. What makes many of these stories creepy, is that you can see how easy it would be to develop a phobia.

This book is great for kids because, a lot of kids think they are invincible or they have trouble relating to people with different fears. I think this book would allow kids to be able to see things from a different perspective and help open their minds. Also, the writing of these stories is simple and easy to read. The stories are entertaining, while not overly graphic or scary, making this book perfect for the 5th-8th grade levels.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

What I expected from this book before I read it:
A therapist's discussion of various phobias and client's experiences with them throughout therapy. I was hoping to gain some insight about my own phobia (swimming in deep water) and gain a better understanding about the roots of phobias (and how to potentially treat them).

What I actually got from this book:
An anthology of stories by teen fiction writers, each story was narrated from the perspective of the person with the phobia. Out of the 10, about 3 were actually pretty good. The rest were pretty mediocre, to be honest. However, each one was really descriptive about the phobias, leaving me with a clearer sense of what someone might experience when faced with their ultimate fear (not like that needed too much description, the panic I feel when I don't feel a pool's floor is all that I need to remember). Hands down, I'd choose "Bang, Bang You're Dead" as my favorite in the collection.

[Esmeralda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I have cynophobia that is the fear of dogs. Or maybe I have zoophobia because I am afraid of most animals but not as much as dogs. I really enjoyed this book the whole way through. It gave you the personal view of the character who had a fear. I can relate to the one when the guy was scared of cats and the guy who was afraid of public speaking. This book is amazing! It's good to know that their is other people out their just like you. I actually picked this book up second hand and of course judged it by the title and cover. Glad I chose this book.

[Margaret Palladino · Rating 3 out of 5]

so far weird book.... but strangly good... i think??
well the first story was about a kid who was afraid of doors.... and the 2nd kid was afraid of streets and couldn't step off the sidewalk...
i'm only on the 2nd story but so far they really hold my interest



* update*
ok so some of these stories were odd but did you know there is such thing as being scared of being scared??? who knew????
if i could i would give it 3 and 1/2

[Tara Mickela · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This book exists because another one doesn't."
Love that they saved the best story for last...a boy who has no fear sent to a school filled with children suffering from every phobia imaginable. When he touches them, they relinquish their phobias to him and they are free. So fascinating! Definitely the one story in the book I would love to see expanded into a novel. Couldn't help picturing Hogwarts in my mind with the headmistress being a wicked form of McGonagle.

[Rdpoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually a fan of short stories, but I enjoyed this book very much and read it in just a couple of hours. The last story- Fear for All- was very enjoyable. It was like getting a preview of various writers, which just leads to more books to explore.

[Kemanne Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it was a interesting book, I learned about a lot of different kind of phobias that I did not know people would even have. I think I would recommend this book to people who have phobias of there own and can learn about others

[Betsy Jibson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good collection of short stories from noted authors.

[Alysha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last story, Fear-for-All by Neal Shusterman was by far my favorite. I would give that one 5 stars. The collection overall though was interesting, but just not as memorable as the last story.

[Mariah Pampeno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Phobias. Straight up fears that turn you skin clammy, your knees weak, and your head to mush. This is a short story collection put together by different authors that focus on phobias in teens. I loved it. The Door chapter captured exactly how I feel about new situations and people. The chapter Bang Bang You’re Dead pulled so hard at my heartstrings I almost cried. And Fear-for-All was a great way to end that had a bit of a supernatural twist. This was such a cool short story collection and it’s less than 160 pages so it’s a fast read. Obviously this entire book is a trigger so if you’re not in a good headspace mentally DO NOT read this book. I encourage everyone to pick up this book, it’s not really scary (if none of your phobias are written about) and I bet you learn about a couple phobias that you never knew existed.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a great book and has been the closest thing I’ve ever encountered to understanding phobias. I personally enjoyed Bang, Bang, You’re Dead and Fear for All. The book contains different povs either from people who have phobias themselves and denying it, people who have phobias and trying their hardest to overcome it and lastly to people who are fearless. In hindsight, numerous povs allowed me to view phobias from different perspectives. I am also trying to overcome my fear of writing by writing this review. Maybe it’s not a phobia but it definitely freaks me out sometimes. It sucks and I want to overcome it.

[Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting and I learned a lot about different fears people can have. It is basically a bunch of short stories about different kinds of phobias people have. I feel the theme is everyone is scared of something no matter how tough or brave you seem there is always the one thing. I definitely would recommend this book to my friends because it was very interesting and informing.

[Emily Brasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a mix of short stories entailing about how everyone has a phobia. This is focused mainly on young adults

[SHR · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like any group of short stories this had some duds and some standouts. My favourite was Neal Shusterman's "Fear-for-all." It was a great concept and would easily make a compelling series of novels.

[Kate Nelson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read these stories out loud to my middle school students. They all really seemed to enjoy it. I liked how the stories put you into the mind of the person affected by the phobia, so you can see the thought process behind their phobia. I'd recommend it if you're interested in psychology, or just want a different spooky read during Halloween time.

[Alice Zhou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty interesting read. I would recommend it to anyone who's ever found psychological disorders/phobias interesting. I like that it was a nice mix of stories (the short story format is new to me). The last story had a really cool idea, would have liked to see it expanded further (maybe even into a full book? :P), but I guess that's just the nature of good short stories! Leaves you wanting more.

[Stephanie Sesic · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories about phobias, edited by Ohio native and current resident Don Gallo, who I just met at Kent State University's Reading & Writing Festival for area 7th & 8th graders. Nice guy.

[Tor · Rating 3 out of 5]

From reading this book I have decided that I don't like short stories very much.
And I can't relate very much because I don't think I have a phobia.
I enjoyed the story at the end(Best for last) because, until its end, I could relate.

[Sofia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow that last story... I really enjoyed this collection of short stories. Each was unique and gave different perspectives towards phobias and the impacts upon an individual. Really helpful for my research and an overall really interesting read.

[Cody Whittington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Since I have no known phobias, the authors did a good job at giving insight to the feelings of someone experiencing a phobia attack. It also sheds light onto some of the lesser known phobias that do exist. Great read.

[Partridge Public]

Gallo, Donald R.

[Moses · Rating 2 out of 5]

Half of the book is mediocre, but at least there are some decent stories mixed in. I still forgot about reading the book after three days, so it couldn't have been very good.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

really great stories for people with phobias

[TheLibraryOfSarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection!

[Edy Gies · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting group of stories.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

The last story was the best, some of the others were okay.

[Ari]

Intriguing stories

[Carol Allen]

Meh, no one story struck me as wonderful.