From the author of the exemplary collection Black Juice (2005), ten more stories featuring teenagers (mostly) living in or encountering alternate realities. Some entries involve nonhumans, from an ant-like hive-soldier whose courage is rewarded by the pheromone-laced “Queen’s Notice” to a gang of tiny, quarrelsome elves on a “Midsummer Mission” to cement a budding romance. Others include a weary psychic who almost traps herself with “The Boy Who Didn’t Yearn”; a troubled youth harvesting flowers who meets space aliens in “Welcome Blue”; and a servant who is called away from his twin children’s “Dedication” to dress the corpse of a princess killed in battle. In the title story, a student assignment takes in-crowd wannabe Sheneel into a mind-destroying limbo to snag stranded time travelers. Ranging from shocking to poignant, arch to tragic, each compelling entry is rich in imaginative twists and details, and will engender strong, complex reactions from readers. (Short stories. YA)
