Big City Cool: Short Stories About Urban Youth

by M. Jerry Weiss (Editor), Helen S. Weiss (Editor), Amy Tan (Contributor)

Fourteen short stories about what it's like to grow up in the city―the glamour, the mean streets, and the neighborhood.

In these fourteen authentic short stories, young people growing up in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, New York, and elsewhere contend with city a former child-star must resist her mother's dreams of Hollywood to pursue her own interest in archaeology; in a Baltimore courtroom, a boy testifies against a drug dealer who, if freed, will surely want revenge; a block party in Harlem is the setting first for a family argument and then for an act of neighborly kindness....

These stories of young people of all backgrounds―from the privileged to the poor, from immigrant to native-born―beat with the pulse of city life. They neither extol nor condemn but frankly reflect the city's real excitements and perils. For urban teens, these are pages out of daily life. For those who live elsewhere, here is a glimpse into a world so often imagined. Among the authors are Judith Ortiz Cofer, Eugenia Collier, Ann Hood, Cherylene Lee, Paul Many, Walter Dean Myers, Michael Rosovsky, Neal Shusterman, Amy Tan, Elennora Tate, and Kurt Vonnegut.

Genres: Short Stories, Young Adult

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

M. Jerry Weiss is Distinguished Service Professor of Communications Emeritus, New Jersey City University. A teacher, writer, and lecturer, he has won numerous awards and honors, including the 1997 International Reading Association Special Service Award and the National Council of Teachers of English Distinguished Service Award. He lives in Montclair, New Jersey.

Reviews

[Donna Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the stories in this book. They were of cause all about city kids and the issues they face. The book is a compilation of an electic group of children who experience city life. Some issues that the teenagers face are covering for one another when they are breaking the rules. Another boy has been thrown out of his apartment and is living on the roof of the building with his sick mother. Another teenager is a book worm and meets a failing student in the library and they become freinds. The book iseasy to read and enjoysble.

[Emma Geng · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Big City Cool" by Jerry Weiss enters the minds of urban kids and talks about the opportunities and struggles of life in a Big City. "Rules of the Game" was my favorite story. It talks about a young Chinese girl who lives in San Fransisco and how she rose to success and became an amazing competitive chess player. "Alone and Altogether" was a very interesting story that took place during nine-eleven. This story talks about two Arbab sisters, one who lives in Chicago and the other who lives in Brooklyn. After the nine-eleven "attack" both sisters get experience cruelty and prejudice because of their Arab heritage.

"Big City Cool" is composed of fourteen short stories with an average of eleven pages each. I would recommend this book to people 10 years old and above. I really enjoyed this book, but if I'm being honest some of the content was a bit boring for me. So I would give this book an overall rating of four stars.

[Anne Holm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Læste ca. halvdelen af novellerne til en opgave i skolen. Har dog ikke tænkt mig at læse resten :)
Novellerne var dog virkelig gode, især hvis man interesserer sig for kulturen i Amerika. Novellerne finder sted i forskellige storbyer såsom New York, Washington D.C osv. Der bliver skildret forskellige samfundsproblemer set fra et ungt individs perspektiv, f.eks. racisme, fattigdom og terrorangreb.
Ud fra de noveller jeg har læst, vurderer jeg bogen til 3/5 stjerner

[Kassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

An uneven collection. My favorite stories were those by Michael Rosovsky, Joseph Geha, Cherylene Lee, and especially Amy Tan.

[Jillian Dugas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked reading the short stories in this book. I really enjoyed reading about how kids grow up differently in cities than in more rural areas which is where I grew up.

[Andrew Chalfen]

When a book contains multiple short stories there must be a very clear theme. Big City Cool, edited by M. Jerry Weiss and Helen Weiss, definitely has a clear theme. The theme can best be described as urban youths’ struggle to be heard and accepted in society. Each story is different from the last but relates to the overall theme just the same. The book consists of fourteen different short stories, from fourteen different cities, in ten different states across America. Racism, classism, socialism, and stereotypical generalization are all parts of society that are examined through the first hand experience in this book. Almost all of the protagonists of this story are a minority, lower class, and from broken up families. A common attribute that these protagonists share is the preservation of hope for a better tomorrow. The book also shows contrast between protagonists and the antagonists they face. The antagonists range from racist communities and bosses, to hoodlums and gang members, to unsafe parents and family members. This book doesn’t give an opinion or any sort of personal connection between the author and the protagonists, it simply tells their stories with the most candid descriptions. The environments are real true stories that were written and described by each protagonist. In one story called “White Real Estate” by Sharon Dennis Wyeth, in Washington, DC, Sharon shares her experiences of growing up. Sharon starts in a beaten down mortgaged apartment with a deadbeat father, a strong mother, and three younger siblings. Sharon’s mother leaves her father and moves out of the beaten down apartment with Sharon and her siblings. Sharon story continues over a span of ten years where Sharon watches her mother do everything in her power to find a perfect home for Sharon. They begin with a small home in a lower class community but throughout the years work their way up the real estate ladder. Sharon’s mom is met with challenges of racism at every step of the ladder. It is clear that at the time it was unusual for a white family to sell a house to a black family, however Sharon’s mother perseveres keeping only in mind her four children Sharon included. These are the type of obstacles presented in each story and not all end with a happy ending. That’s because this book isn’t about happy endings. This book is about the truth of the real world, and the real world doesn’t always have happy endings. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a very interesting read about class and the obstacles people face everyday all around America.

[Troy Fanton]

7 Copies

[Roger]

14 realistic Urban youth stories fused in a great compilation from great authors. Authors such as Judith Ortiz Cofer, Eugenia Collier, Ann Hood, Cherylene Lee, Paul Many, Walter Dean Myers, Michael Rosovsky, Neal Shusterman, Amy Tan, Elennora Tate, and Kurt Vonnegut. Their stories, are relatable and connecting to the inner city teen. As each story can be broken down to see the spirit of living in an urban environment.

The authors passages combine to create a new world for some and a connecting one to others. Throughout the book, issues and conflicts rise between racial, economical, and cultural differences for the fictional urban youths. There are also powerful scenes in this book, so much detail put into such a short passage. For instance, in the passage "Dead Man Running," "At the first gunshot the children drop their toys and dashed toward the house. (p.80)" This scenery is used constantly throughout the book to hold the reader's attention and keep them interested in the thrill of these moments.

Over all the collaborated stories give off the true struggles, happiness and rush it is to live in these urban areas. I recommend this book to inner city youth and teach among them, to express connections and further opening to their realities.

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great collection of short stories. At times I felt that there were too many that dealt with music, but I got over that quickly. I am definitely going to share these with some of my classes. Most are high-interest for reluctant readers.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, and it enabled me to see the lives of city kids through different eyes.