On Her Way: Stories and Poems About Growing Up Girl

by Sandy Asher (Compiler)

Growing up has never been easy, but the girls in this inspiring collection of twenty-one stories and poems for �tweens tackle it with gusto. Edwidge Danticat exhorts girls to �come to this party� even if they�re not invited; Donna Jo Napoli captures the mixture of pride and insecurity in trying to assert independence; Sheila Solomon Klass shares the story of how Annie Oakley learns to shoot a gun despite her mother�s disapproval; and Linda Sue Park writes about one girl�s struggle in art class as she wavers between wanting acceptance and wanting to express herself. This remarkable, diverse anthology celebrates the energy, imagination, inventiveness, compassion, and strength of young American women.

Genres: Short Stories, Poetry

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 19, 2004

About the author

Sandy Asher, a playwright and children's author, is probably best known for her young-adult novels and other prose works for young readers. Drawing many of the ideas and characters for her writings from her childhood memories, Asher has earned critical praise and numerous awards for novels such as Just like Jenny, Things Are Seldom What They Seem, and Everything Is Not Enough. In addition to fiction, Asher has also edited the story collections On Her Way: Stories and Poems about Growing up Girl and the award-winning With All My Heart, with All My Mind: Thirteen Stories about Growing up Jewish, which collect works that address many of the same adolescent concerns Asher confronts in her fiction.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories and poems includes a variety of settings, characters, and writing styles; reflecting a wide assortment of girls' personalities and interests. While readers will of course have their favorites, all of the contributing authors are accomplished and add to the collection in a positive way. With tween girls as its target audience, the book covers some difficult subject matter with an aim to empower girls at a time in their lives when self-confidence is most at risk of crumbling.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

An above average collection of short stories in that there were so many good ones and not a real clinker in the bunch. I made note of several of the authors to take a peek at some of their other work. I especially liked the stories by June Rae Wood and Patricia Calvert.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice collection of poems and short stories about young girls. I liked the variety, from historical to modern settings, and humorous to poignant. Definitely would recommend it to my twelve year old reader, if I could get her to read something besides The Clique and Pretty Little Liars!

[sarafem · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 3.5 book; a good collection of poems and short stories about the trials and tribs of growing up girl.

[Brianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is uust a few different stories of girls