13: Thirteen Stories That Capture the Agony and Ecstasy of Being Thirteen

My son is in 8th grade and never a big reader (which I am trying to change). This book appealled to him on two levels. First, the short story format was less "stressful" than having to commit to a full length book. Second, the variety of stories has something for everyone. Some stories he identified with personally and others he felt helped him understand someone his age with a different background. There was also a mix of humor and seriousness that he really enjoyed. We both reccommend this book heartily.

I read some of the stories in this book in my classroom and my students loved it. I had kids lining up to check the book out from me after I read the first story, which incidently may be one of the funniest stories i have ever read aloud in class. A must have book for any middle school teacher.

Author Sandra Cisneros expressed in her story "Eleven" that when you are eleven years old, you are also ten, nine and eight, and so forth. Thirteen is no different. When you're thirteen, you're also twelve, eleven and ten, yet you're expected --- and even want --- to be fourteen, fifteen and sixteen. Being thirteen is a time of confusion and sometimes anger, but it's also a time of hope and wonder, and a chance to start exploring who you are and what you want to become. Twelve authors and one poet, including teen fiction luminaries like Ron Koertge and Ellen Wittlinger, share thirteen stories that range from humorous to heartbreaking, all about the joy --- or the lack thereof --- of being thirteen years old. In Ann Martin and Laura Godwin's "Tina the Teen Fairy," a fairy visits Maia, who wants nothing more in life than not to turn thirteen, on the evening before her birthday. James Howe explores what a bar mitzvah means to one boy in "Jeremy Goldblatt is So Not Moses." As these authors show, it doesn't matter whether you're rich or poor, male or female, urban or rural --- there are some things about being thirteen that no one can escape. 13 is not a survival guide to anyone's thirteenth year; rather, it is a compilation of thoughts, memories and feelings that each author contributes to the reader. Instead of trying to guide the reader, these stories serve as sympathy and example. It is a collection anyone can enjoy, whether he/she is 13, 23 or 53. --- Reviewed by Carlie Kraft Webber

This is an awesome book that describes exquisitly what it is like to be thirteen. Every thirteen year old can probably relate to some small part of one of the stories (at least). When I read it, I knew some of the authors who had collaborated to write the short stories in this neat book, but I also did not know a few of the other authors. It was nice to read the works of familiar authors and at the same time be introduced to a variety of new ones! Another wonderful aspect of this book are the essays at the end of each story that explain how the fictional tale is based on an experiance the author had at the age of thirteen! "Thirteen" has a great store of emotion, too. Not just sad, happy, angry, but utterly miserable, ecstatic, irrate, hilarious. All the emotions that you experiance as a teen. The writing styles are also great! Many stories are written in the first person, some are written in the third person, and one story is even written in the second person! "Thirteen" is a totaly great book to read!

This is a fine collection of stories that most 13 year olds would find enjoyable. All are contemporary realistic fiction, save the last (see below), and there is one poem. The first story, Bruce Coville's "What's the Worst that Could Happen" is very funny and worth the purchase price alone. That the protagonists are all teens fits the reading proclivities of many adolescents. There are several stories that deal with teen romance/crushes, but always in appropriate and respectfull ways, and there is usually some other theme going on (friendship can be difficult, family isn't always what you want, etc.) A couple of the pieces have Gay-possitive elements. The final story, Ann M. Martin and Laura Goodwin's "Tina the Teen Fairy" would be an excellent read-aloud for the first week of middle school, as it follows a fairy who must convince a girl that turning 13 is important. As a 7/8 grade teacher, I've already used a few of these pieces in class.