Book Review: Advice to 9th Graders - Stories, Poetry, Art and other Wisdom (OT)(an anthology)

Advice to 9th Graders - Stories, Poetry, Art and other Wisdom, by 118 young people (Out of the Woods Press, 2024, $21.95, 241pp, 14-18 years old and up) Review by Skye Anderson

Wisdom

The first year of high school is a turning point for many. Some look forward to it while others, later, reminisce about being a 9th grader. What if there was a roadmap for newly minted 9th graders to follow or at least refer to when needed? Advice to 9th Graders fits that bill. Written in prose mixed with poetry, letters, and other* means, by dreamers and rememberers, this book is one that can be highlighted. Pages can be dog-eared and read over and over again. 

"Somewhere between then and now. . . . " (p. 12)

Chemistry. . . . (p.26)

I hope you find an umbrella of a person to support you. . . Just remember that it is not only your first day

But others' too. (p. 29)

Freewrite to My Sobriety - This is Our Goodbye (p. 59)

Themes

Recurring themes are grades, be yourself, forgive yourself, join clubs and sports. And each chapter is preceded by a quote from a sometimes famous person: Lady Gaga, C S Lewis, Malala Yousafzai, Oprah, followed by artwork.

So fast, friends, emotions in motion, family, travel, finding oneself: it's all here.

Advice

Advice is a book to keep by your bedside, reading a few of your favorite pages each night, dog-eared though they may be.  There is advice herein for you, no matter what your age.

*including the front cover art, by a sophomore in high school