On the Fringe - Donald R Gallo (ed)

Inspired by the aftermath of the Columbine shootings, this 2001 collection of young adult stories focuses on the disenfranchised teen - those who look, act or think differently than the 'norm'. Gallo has selected some outstanding authors to contribute, and the result is an above-average anthology, with protagonists who range from the sexually unusure, poor and disadvantaged, the religious and those randomly cut adrift from the formerly friendly popular crowd. The outcomes also vary, from tragedy to triumph. There is, as one would expect, a strong US flavour - my high school experience was considerably less cliquey than that usually portrayed in US popular culture, an image so ubiquitous one suspects it's probably (to varying degrees) representative of real life. Although I'm not the target audience, I think the collection is equally effective for both the disenfranchised and those who haven't given outsiders much consideration. Of particular note is the Chris Crutcher contribution - he once again manages to incorporate constant archetypes while bringing something new. Not bad at all - Alex