Introduction: The Faces of Our Youth / Franklin Delano Roosevelt xvii -- Share with Us xix -- 1. Relationships -- Never Been Dissed--Until Now / Shad Powers 2 -- Loving Yourself First / Harlan Cohen 7 -- Dear Girl / Derek Whittier 9 -- Experience Is a Teacher / Julia Travis 11 -- Dear Boy / Sarah Bercot 15 -- A Crush / J. Leigh Turner 18 -- Sea Glass / Stacey Doerner 21 -- Kiss / Emily Crane 24 -- He Finally Said, "I Love You" / Jennifer Orendach 25 -- Why Girls Like Guys / Kimberly Kirberger 27 -- Funeral of My Rose / Derek Gamba 30 -- My Childhood Sweetheart / Leesa Dean 33 -- I Had to Let Him Go / Andrea Barkoukis 37 -- I Never Thought It Would End This Way / Jennifer Gearhart 40 -- Please Sign My Yearbook / Stacy Brakebush 44 -- My Knight on His White Horse / Rebecca Woolf 48 -- Fading Fast / Kendal Kelly 52 -- 2. Friendship -- Why Rion Should Live / Sarah Barnett 56 -- My Fairy Tale / Kathryn Vacca 60 -- Colorful Shades of Gray / Jennie Gratton 63 -- My Best Friend Mike / Brian Leykum 66 -- Kim / Lia Gay 68 -- When Forever Ends / Molly Karlin 71 -- Falling Out / Melissa Lew 75 -- My Best Friend / Lisa Rothbard 79 -- My Perfect Friend / Danielle Eberschlag 86 -- Sometimes Things Are Never the Same / Celine Geday 90 -- I Don't Talk to My Closest Friend / Melissa Cantor 93 -- Have a Seat upon a Cloud / Danielle Rosenblatt 96 -- 3. Power of Love -- Coffee-Shop Kindness / Christine Walsh 100 -- Mary Lou / Lynne Zielinski 103 -- Lessons of Life, from The Best College Admission Essays / Shari LaGrotte 105 -- Healing with Love / Cecile Wood 108 -- Forgive / Danielle Rosenblatt 112 -- Gift of Time / Zan Gaudioso 114 -- Someday When I'm Older / Andrea Gonsalves 119 -- Dear Child--A Sister's Message / Danette Julene Gomez 123 -- A Message for Ben / Tom Witte 126 -- Finger Paints and Crayons / Cheryl Costello-Forshey 128 -- 4. Family -- Best of Brothers From The Best College Admission Essays 134 -- Kicki / Brad Dixon 137 -- Relief / Kathryn Litzenberger 140 -- Don't Cry, Dad / Laura Loken 142 -- Ghost Mother / Michele Bender 145 -- Unspoken Years / Kristin Sester 150 -- Rikki's Hug / Kathryn Litzenberger 153 -- About Mom, from The Best College Admission Essays / Stacy Cowley 156 -- Dear Diary / Liz Correale 158 -- Turning Point / Dani Allred 161 -- A Birthday Gift / Thad Langenberg 163 -- Mother Who Matters / Kristy White 165 -- Never Enough / Laurie Kalb 167 -- Angel / Nathen Cantwell 170 -- 5. Lessons -- China's Story / Libby Barnes 174 -- Forever Changed / JoLynn Shopteese 179 -- Kissing the Bully / Lia Gay 182 -- A Difficult Lesson / Rick Reed 186 -- Terri Jackson / Sydney Fox 189 -- Children's Eyes / Tom Krause 193 -- Courage / Ruth Ann Supica 196 -- Accentuating Difference / Daphna Renan 199 -- 6. Tough Stuff -- Difficulty of These Times Excerpted from The Diary of Anne Frank 202 -- 11:21 A.M. / Joanna Gates 203 -- Tears / Jamie Rowen 207 -- Can That Be? / Kelly Ann Fleming 209 -- Fire and Rain / Anonymous 211 -- Minutes Like Hours / Vidhya Chandrasekaran 213 -- Life After Mom / Hope Edelman 216 -- Defining Myself / Morgan Mullens-Landis 224 -- A Name in the Sand / Elizabeth Stumbo 227 -- Train Tracks / Alison Hamby 231 -- Emergency 911 / Danni Villemez 234 -- Long Road Ahead / Maria Maisano 236 -- A Father's Ties / Bonnie Brightman 239 -- 7. Overcoming Obstacles -- Owning the World / Liz Alarie 246 -- Voices / Micah Twaddle 251 -- I Just Wanted to Be Skinny / Laura Bloor 253 -- Inner Sustenance / Michelle Wallace Campanelli 256 -- I Am Not Alone / Sara Strickland 262 -- Four Kisses / Kate Reder 265 -- Mark's Choice / Tom Krause 269 -- Ability / Selina E. Matis 272 -- Final Game / Kelly Harrington 274 -- Winner / Amy Huffman 277 -- 8. Self-Discovery -- An Ode to Shoes / Jessica Pinto 282 -- Happiness from Within / Dianna McGill 285 -- Out of Step / Tal Vigderson 289 -- She Stands Alone / Kelly Cook 295 -- Essence of Adolescence / Anne Gepford 298 -- Two Roads / Whitney Welch 300 -- Suspicion / Renee Gauvreau 303 -- Center Stage / Jane Denitz Smith 305 -- Teenagers Are Amazing / Jamie Haskins 311 -- So I Am Told / Alexei Perry 313 -- Automobile Ambivalence / Bob Schwartz 315 -- 9. Growing Up -- Minimaxims for My Godson / Arthur Gordon 322 -- No Longer a Child / Hilary E. Kisch 327 -- Finding a Vision / Talina Sessler-Barker 329 -- No More What Ifs / Chance Margheim 333 -- All the More Beautiful / Marc Gaudioso 336 -- Return to High School / Sierra Millman 339 -- Inspirations / Tom Krause 342.

880L Lexile