Rush Hour: Bad Boys

by Michael Cart (Editor)

BOLD, INNOVATIVE, AND eclectic—that’s Rush Hour, the place for thought-provoking stories, essays, art, and poems from today’s most distinguished voices, both established and new. “Bad Boys” is the hard-hitting theme of Volume Two. Here are drifters, pranksters, jocks, rebels, monsters, and heroes living life on the edge. In knockout stories by Jackie Woodson and E. R. Frank, artwork by John O’Brien and Chris Gall, essays by Robert Lypsite and Jack Gantos, and much more, bad boys sometimes play by the rules, often misbehave, but always grab our attention.

This second issue solidifies the reputation of this unprecedented, pulsating journal, published twice a year and focused on themes today’s readers care about most.

“Rush Hour is . . . a vehicle for sharp, challenging new writing that aims for a discerning and literate young adult audience the way the best literary magazines have long done for older readers.”—Chris Lynch

206 pages, Paperback

First published September 14, 2004

About the author

Former Director of the Beverly Hills (CA) Public Library and a Past President of the Young Adult Library Services Association, Michael Cart is a nationally recognized expert in children's and young adult literature. Now a columnist and reviewer for ALA's Booklist magazine, he is the author or editor of eight books, including From Romance to Realism, a critical history of YA literature; MY FATHER'S SCAR, a young adult novel that was an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, and the anthology LOVE AND SEX: Ten Stories of Truth, also a Best Book for Young Adults and a Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.

Michael teaches young adult literature at UCLA and is the recipient of the 2000 Grolier Foundation Award. He lives in northern California.

Reviews

[Hannah Goodman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I met Michael Cart years ago and he was so kind and knowledgeable about YA literature. I think he’s the grandfather of the genre. Maybe the inventor? I like his willingness to bring forth stories that are risky and different. This collection was just that, and Jacqueline Woodson’s piece Poe-Raven is the most brilliant short story I read this semester. Nothing happens yet everything happens–it’s a narrative of internal revelation and understanding.