CAT IN GLASS

This rich collection of eight short stories takes the reader to the future and past, with elements from fantasy, science fiction, and ghost stories. Most of the protagonists are female and play a full range of roles. The first story, in fact, has a main character who plays two roles when a teenage girl meets her future self at a crucial moment. In another, a one-eyed weaver makes her own future by defying tradition and taking on male roles. Several draw from the tradition of ghost stories. A ship sunk 20 years earlier changes one girl’s life, while the only story about a boy creates a monster that kills his family members one by one, leaving him to face it alone. In two particularly creepy stories, grown women lose their sanity, unable to cope with dark powers from within or outside of themselves. The settings, drawn with succinct but effective detail, vary from Victorian country house, an isolated mountain home to futuristic city. Etchemendy (The Power of UN, 2000, etc.) knows just how to pace her stories for maximum suspense. All previously published in magazines and one anthology, these will satisfy teens looking to explore the mysterious. (Short stories. 13+)