The Kissing Game: Short Stories

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