Every Man For Himself ed. by Nancy Mercado

Every Man for Himself: Ten Short Stories About Being a Guy ed. by Nancy Mercado 154 Pages 2005 4.25/5 As I was strolling around in the Young Adult section of the library the other day, I came across this book and though "that sounds cool" so I picked it up. It's a thin book, but packed with huge awesomeness. Nancy Mercado gathered together 10 male authors and asked them to each write a short story about...being a guy. The result is fantastic! All of these stories feature guys in their adolescence during that age where we start shifting from a boy to a man. And we discover all of life's amazing gifts and all of it's cruel tricks. In this short collection, the authors give us glimpses of first love, having to be the man of the house at too young an age, getting bullied, questioning and learning our own sexuality, and pig rearing. Yes pig rearing, but it's tied to first love...not that way! Get your head out of the gutter people! The stories are all presented through various points of view and through various genres. All hold a young adult feel to them, but there are those stories that are realistic, one that's sort of sci-fi feeling, and one that's told through a graphic novel form. The list of contributing authors is fantastic! The ten authors are: Paul Acapora, Edward Averett, Ron Koertge, David Levithan, David Lubar, Walter Dean Myers, Rene Saldana Jr., Craig Thompson, Terry Trueman, and Mo Willems. So go ahead and pick this one up if you happen upon it. It's a nice little read that speaks to everyone in my opinion, not just guys.