21 Proms
edited by David Levithan
& Daniel Ehrenhaft

    21 PROMS edited by David Levithan and Daniel Ehrenhaft
    Category:  Anthology
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  3/1/07
    Publisher:  Scholastic
    Reviewed by:  Jocelyn Pearce
    Rating:  5 Stars


    21 PROMS tells the stories of, well, twenty-one proms. Twenty-one fantastic authors contributed to this collection,
    and each and every one of the stories is fabulous and enjoyable. A few, however, really stick out in my mind after
    finishing this book.

    Holly Black's IN VODKA VERITAS is a creepy story about an evil Latin club. "MOM CALLED, SHE SAID YOU
    HAVE TO GO TO PROM" is Adrienne Maria Vrettos' contribution to the book. It's a great story that manages, in
    just a few pages, to create wonderfully three-dimensional characters that I'd love to read more about. BETTER BE
    GOOD TO ME by Daniel Ehrenhaft is a brilliantly written and romantic story. Aimee Friedman's THREE FATES is a
    hilarious story about what happens when Abby ends up with three dates instead of going dateless the way she thought
    she would. THE QUESTION is Brent Hartinger's one-act play that would be wonderful to see performed.
    PRIMATE THE PROM is Libba Bray's very interesting, original, and unusual story of a boy going to prom with his
    boyfriend -- who just happens to be a gorilla. THE BACKUP DATE, by Leslie Margolis, is a fabulously well-written
    story about Jasmine, a whiny but completely believable character, going to prom with her boyfriend and brother's best
    friend.

    As you can see, there are quite a few fabulous stories in this collection. The two that I loved the most, however, were
    these: Melissa de la Cruz told the absolutely true and absolutely hilarious story of her prom in A SIX-PACK OF
    BUD, A FIFTH OF WHISKEY, AND ME. THE GREAT AMERICAN MORP is John Green's absolutely brilliant
    story and one of my two favorites about a couple of girls having a "morp," a party that is a backwards prom. In this
    funny and fantastic story, he introduces characters that I'd absolutely love to see again.

    I did notice one thing that is interesting, and I want to know why this is: people seem much more likely to write about
    two gay guys than two lesbians. Quite a few of the stories had gay guys in them, but I can't think of any about two
    girls who wanted to go to prom together; I don't know why. In fact, I can only think of one book that I've read where
    the main character is a lesbian: KEEPING YOU A SECRET, by Julie Anne Peters.

    A good short story, one that has good characters or a hold-your-breath-suspenseful plot or something, has to do it in
    just a few pages. These were some of the best short stories I can ever remember reading!