From the master storyteller, Aidan Chambers comes a collection of Stories of Defiance - moments in life, realisations, insights and sudden revelations - prepare to be amazed, enchanted and to gasp with shock.
United under the banner of flash fiction, this is a collection of stories, or little 'cells', complete in themselves but connected by the overarching themes of betrayal and revenge. All featuring teenagers and often with an unexpected twist, these frighteningly realistic stories will take you to the very edge and beyond.
Aidan Chambers was born in County Durham in 1934. After national service in the Royal Navy he became a teacher and then, for seven years, a monk. His young adult novels have been widely acclaimed, with POSTCARDS FROM NO-MAN'S LAND winning the prestigious Carnegie Medal and the US Michael L Printz Award. With his wife Nancy he ran Signal magazine and he has served as the president of the School Library Association. His devoted services to children's literature were recognised by his receipt of the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2002.
“Aidan Chambers offers thought-provoking short stories for older readers in The Kissing Game. Playful or intriguing, each provides food for thought as he explores the nature of betrayal and revenge - wonderful stuff.”
Marilyn Brocklehurst, The Bookseller
“Chambers leaves readers with much to contemplate.”
Publisher's Weekly, US
“Far from the romance suggested in the title, this short-fiction collection from the author of the Printz
Award-winning Postcards from No Man's Land (2002) explores dark, volatile territory in selections that
often lead to explosive, bomb-grade conclusions... the
variety of experimental formats, including scripts and letters, is refreshing, and teens will want to talk
about the recurring themes of betrayal, violence, and shifting identities, and the fleeting moments of
connection and mercy that can change a life's course.”
Gillian Engberg, Booklist, USA
“a provocative and varied collection of short stories for teenager... His sophisticated yet simple style is perfectly suited for an exploration of the new form of flash fictions... Thoughtful, challenging reading for teens on the cusp of adulthood.”
Kirkus Review, USA
“... each one will incite, surprise and stimulate... the prose is precise, witty and elegant... The Kissing Game is classy, thought-provoking, witty and always provocative.”
Jill Murphy, The Bookbag
“Witty dialogue and ordinary situations gone awry abound...The selections are perfectly readable by middle schoolers, but 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.”
Rhona Campbell, School Library Journal, USA
“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.”
The Overflowing Library
“Such self-awareness and the pain that goes with it recur in this collection... It is because Chambers has never lost that adolescent vulnerability and openness that, now in his seventies, he still writes stories in which reflective adolescents will surely discover themselves. He has always been concerned with outside-of-time matters; with tentative relationships, emerging sexuality, lack of confidence, trust and betrayal, violence and tenderness. Any of these might provoke sudden insights about the mess of living which disturb but move you on to somewhere else whether you like it or not. (Five Stars)”
Geoff Fox, Books For Keeps
“Short stories are the perfect vehicle to capture the intensity of emotion experienced by teenagers on the brink of adulthood and there couldn't be a more rewarding and contemporary volume than this... Provocative and beautifully written, this little book packs a hefty punch.”
Sally Morris, The Daily Mail
“This collection from Chambers could be widely used in classrooms and on writing courses, particularly to inspire flash fiction.”
