One Hot Second

From Barnes & Noble

Funny how life can change in a flash, especially in the romance department. In this powerful collection of "stories about desire," 11 award-winning authors write about crushes, dates, first kisses, and first times. Insightful and honest, the book includes works such as Sarah Dessen's "Someone Bold," about a teen who finds her inner strength against her cheating boyfriend, and Rachel Vail's story "One Hot Second," which tells the hard truths behind a girl's first kiss. With other stories by Jacqueline Woodson, Victor Martinez, Norma Fox Mazer, and Angela Johnson, to name just a few, One Hot Second breathes refreshing air into the often taboo fires of teen passion.

Publishers Weekly

"The authors approach the topic of desire from a variety of angles in these 11 sometimes humorous, sometimes haunting short stories," wrote PW. Ages 12-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

VOYA

Teenagers who look at the title of this book and read it hoping for steamy sex stories might be disappointed. The eleven stories in this anthology were interesting but not particularly thrilling. I did admire their open-mindedness, though—the crushes and loves and kisses did not focus entirely on heterosexual couples. A few of the stories stand out, such as Driving Her Wild by Jennifer Armstrong, with a surprise ending that made me laugh out loud. Who Hears the Fish Cry by Norma Fox Mazer was unusual, but it seemed as if it would have been more successful as a novel. Overall, this book was good. The stories were well written, but in most cases, they were too short for me to really have time to invest my feelings in what happened to the characters. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P S (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Senior High, defined as grades 10 to 12). 2002, Knopf, 239p,
— Deana Rutherford, Teen Reviewer

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-This anthology carries the look of teen soaps, but between the covers, the selections are powerful and rewarding. Rich Wallace, a master in understated nuance, delivers a coming-of-age experience where one suddenly weighs and assesses one's place in the teen social sphere. The setting is a weekend seminar, when bright kids from various backgrounds are lumped together for their intellectual well-being. The main character is stung by his narrow-minded assumptions, and therefore ruins the potential of his own fantasy. Victor Martinez's intriguing work is rich in setting. The author matches a country boy's earnestness against the poise and sophistication of the high school heartthrob. Using a summer date at a fair, he throws in a tag-along little sister and draws characters that are singularly identifiable while collectively at odds. A leveling ingredient for even the most ardent teen is humor. Rachel Vail's One Hot Second is a tongue-in-cheek story that swells with all the laugh-out-loud highs, and lows, of first kisses. Nancy Garden and Jacqueline Woodson explore first gay/lesbian relationships. While Garden's is predictable and mushy, Woodson's is subtle and stylish, exposing a painful shard of what it's like to be young, bright, and different. The strength of this collection is in its broad literary expanse and the inclusion of so many notable YA authors. It's not a title that will keep hearts racing, but it will keep pages turning. Readers will feel an affinity with real teens discovering their self-worth within the sphere of the high school dating scene.-Alison Follos, North Country School, Lake Placid, NY Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Twelve incandescent short stories work as guaranteed attention-getters for older adolescents. Featuring some of the best YA writers in the business, this collection concentrates on the fleeting moments of first love. Some protagonists win and some lose, but all learn new lessons about life. Most of the stories deal with sex, although readers will find nothing pornographic here. Ellen Wittlinger begins with an insightful portrayal of an innocent girl confronting the death of a boy she loved from afar, leading her to understand the difference between real love and adolescent fantasies. Nancy Garden, Jacqueline Woodson, and Emma Donoghue supply gay and lesbian entries, all sensitively done. The rest, by such luminaries as Norma Fox Mazer and Victor Martinez, explore the often-fumbling attempts at heterosexual love of boys and girls trying to be men and women. Among the subjects are a young poet who loses his first real chance for sex, a fat girl who loses weight and finally confronts the years of insecurity it has caused her, and a girl who escapes her awful home life with a boy who matches her love of offbeat music. Simply put, these stories are stunners. Deep, bold, and tender, they touch the reality of adolescence. Young readers will find subject matter they crave, and more. (Fiction. YA)