The Kissing Game Short Stories

This collection of short stories by acclaimed author Aidan Chambers is designed for mature teen readers, despite an incorrect publisher age range. Each story explores a "moment of truth" where characters, often on the verge of adulthood, confront profound revelations about themselves or the world. Themes include identity, morality, the consequences of actions, and the nature of humanity, as seen in tales of a girl losing herself in a theme park job or an innocent game turning fatal. The prose is intelligent and finely crafted, making these stories ideal for deep discussion in high school English classes or for thoughtful personal reading. Parents should be aware of mature themes, including death and psychological intensity.

In this brand-new collection of short stories, Aidan Chambers explores moments of truth, when a character or an event suddenly reveals an often-surprising meaning: A girl loses her humanity when she takes a summer job as a theme-park character; a boy tries to save a girl from a fiery death, only to discover the same event happened one hundred years before. And the titular story, in which an innocent game takes a fatal turn, will haunt the reader for a long time. These provocative stories beautifully lend themselves to discussion, and once again Chambers treats us to his fiercely intelligent, finely crafted prose and his incisive understanding of the wonderings of young people on the verge of adulthood. Awards and praise for the work of Aidan Chambers Michael L. Printz Award Carnegie Medal Hans Christian Andersen Award “Beautifully written, emotionally touching, and intellectually challenging.” —VOYA “Jam-packed with ideas and passionate characters.” —Publishers Weekly “A marvelous wordsmith and magical storyteller.” —ALAN Review “Disturbing, groundbreaking . . . original.” —Books for Keeps Praise for The Kissing Game “His [Chambers] sophisticated yet simple style is perfectly suited for an exploration of the new form of flash fictions—multi-genre drabbles that top out at 1,000 words—as well as standard short-story form. Thoughtful, challenging reading for teens on the cusp of adulthood.” –Kirkus Reviews “more meaningful discussion and deeper understanding will only come from teens with more life experience, and there’s real potential for possible use in high school English classes.” –School Library Journal “Models for flash fiction and the short-story form as well as points of departure for challenging open-ended discussion, the stories in this collection lend themselves to multiple curricular uses as well as thoughtful personal reading.” –Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books