DREAMS AND VISIONS

Every entry is strong in this gathering of new tales—no surprise, as the editors have tapped an all-star cast of contributors. In settings that range from the ’60s hippie scene of Charles de Lint’s “Dharma” and Patrice Kindl’s suddenly bewitched housing development, “Depressing Acres,” to more conventional fantasy realms in Michael Tunnell’s “Dry Spell” and others, young people face thought-provoking challenges to their courage, beliefs, gender roles and plans for the future. Angels—some of them not immediately recognizable as such—make appearances in stories from Mel Glenn, John Ritter and Neal Shusterman; David Lubar, Nancy Springer and (possibly) Rich Wallace tuck in more-or-less benevolent witches. So high is the general quality that even Tamora Pierce’s long, fine collection-capper “Hidden Girl” doesn’t really stand out. The flies in the ointment here are provided by the editors, whose introduction and prefaces are rife with spoilers or superfluous commentary. A first-rate anthology, otherwise. (capsule bios) (Short Stories. 10-14)