THE SECRET BOX

A handful of consistently extraordinary stories about secrets, ethics, and bewildering affections, featuring characters from Pearson's One Potato, Tu (1992). The first tale concerns 12-year-old Taylor Finch's crush on her brother Toby's friend and her disappointment when a dreamy outing with the two boys is revealed to be a shoplifting trip. The story also reflects her writer's sensibility—she thrills to have a wooden box that locks so she can hide her writings. The second story features Lindsay, whose stream-of-consciousness narration as she does her homework discloses a decidedly different kind of mind. In the story, involving her presence at a dog's funeral, her brother Eric comes through for her, in contrast to Taylor's experience with Toby. There is a believable story of Eric's first love; another shows him at his first job, in the uncomfortable position of witnessing a beloved teacher shoplifting. The situation is punctuated by aspects of Eric's real life as he comes to a momentous decision that will determine the kind of person he is going to be. A powerful and sad tale ends the book, when sensitive Taylor must face that her brother has grown into a brute. The sum of the five interrelated stories- -of the five interrelated lives—is so much greater than the parts; the billowing emotions within contained situations are authentic and painful. Pearson hasn't forgotten the difficulty of puzzling things out, and the shock and sweetness of seminal experiences. (Short stories. 8-12)