Starting With "I" : Personal Essays by Teenagers
Grade 9 Up.  These essays are impressive in their candor and poignancy. Sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, often brutally honest, the teens write about their lives and their surroundings in a series of short pieces covering family, race and culture, sexuality, violence, and basic soul searching. These selections originally appeared in a magazine called New Youth Connections?a marvelous empowering tool for young people to explore their feelings through writing?published by Youth Communication, a New York City nonprofit organization. Estepa and Kay seem to have a particular affinity toward the writings of young people and, through Youth Communication, have guided these gifted youngsters to experiment with and fine tune their skills. The result is a rich and varied collection with themes to which teens from all kinds of backgrounds will be able to relate. An inspiration to aspiring young authors and a great addition to any YA collection.?Helen Rosenberg, St. Scholastica High School, Chicago, ILCopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.