Powerful, riveting, real. Sixteen celebrated authors bring us raw, insightful stories that explore guns and teens in a fiction collection that is thought provoking and emotionally gripping. For fans of Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock and Give a Boy a Gun, and with an array of YA talent like the late great Walter Dean Myers, the poetic Joyce Carol Oates, the prophetic Elizabeth Wein, and the gritty Chris Crutcher, these are evocative voices that each has a different perspective to give. Capturing the hurt and the healing, victims and perpetrators, these stories get to the heart of the matter. From a boy whose low self-esteem is impacted when a gun comes into his possession to a student recalling a senseless tragedy that befell a favorite teacher, from a realistic look at hunting to a provocative look at a family that defies stereotypes, each emotional story stirs the debate to new levels. The juxtaposition of guns and their consequences offers moving tales, each a reminder of how crucial the question of guns in our society is, and the impact they have on all of us. Other acclaimed contributors are Marc Aronson, Edward Averett, Francesca Lia Block, Alex Flinn, Gregory Galloway, Jenny Hubbard, Peter Johnson, Ron Koertge, Chris Lynch, Eric Shanower, Will Weaver, and Tim Wynne-Jones.

Seventeen year-old Ticker Naft can't read or write; his sister won't get out of bed; and his father has a worrisome health problem. Then there's that big mystery Grandma keeps hinting at about Grandpa and the long ago house fire next door. When Grandpa dies abruptly after a smelt-eating contest, Ticker is thrown into an adult world that is at once captivating and cruel. Far from the safe haven of his special classes at school, he enters an apprenticeship on the local railroad, where he changes rails, pounds spikes, throws switches, and tries to figure out the often confusing intentions of his co-workers. But Ticker's true test comes when he is accused of a shameful crime he didn't commit. While he negotiates this tricky course on Grandpa's three-wheeled bicycle, events seem determined to bring him down. Ticker must muster all his strength to keep his head above water while he tries to honor Grandpa's secret to life: Got to find a way.