SHORT STUFF

Happiness and hope weave four stories into a feel-good collection.

These authors skip teen troubles and tropes and, instead of heartaches, deliver four tales of romance where flirtations go right. Only happy endings are found in this set of unrelated shorts. Mixed messages and miscommunications launch the first tale, “I Ate the Whole World To Find You,” by Tom Wilinsky and Jen Sternick, as two teen boys, an Olympic hopeful and an aspiring chef find stability with each other. Next, in “The August Sands” by Jude Sierra, two young men on the verge of college have life-defining beach encounters. Kate Fierro’s “Love in the Time of Coffee” involves two girls sipping their way toward intimacy in a series of coffee dates. The final story, Julia Ember’s fantasy “Gilded Scales,” has no distressed damsels but rather a defiant, would-be warrior who questions rigid gender roles and befriends a dragon girl. Light on complexity and barely addressing aspects of identity beyond sexual orientation, these optimistic stories center on finding love and awakening desire and on characters learning to follow and trust their hearts. While social differences are present, racial and other identity issues are not strong textual elements. Throughout, characters face coming-of-age challenges like worry about leaving home, risking friendships for love, and struggles to fit in. The collection goes well beyond LGBTQ problem stories and handily centers budding relationships.

Breezy tales of first crushes and kisses.