Young Adult Story by Lesléa Newman. A high-schooler thinks there might be something wrong with her. She “doesn’t like” boys, but found a kissing and petting ‘practice session’ with her best friend (who demonstrated what her boyfriend does) sexually stimulating. Sadly, she doesn’t have anyone to talk to about it.
Quick Read by Luisa Valenzuela. A man in a country where all communications are screened for anti-government content is worried something he may have written in a letter could be interpreted the wrong way. Getting a job at the censorship office to try to intercept it leads to his downfall.
Grade 7-8 Story by Richard Peck. A fourteen-year-old girl accompanies her mother and aunt to visit their “three-century” great-grandmother on her 102nd birthday. Her nursing home room is surrounded by press. Anticipating this, the normally sleepy and forgetful old woman has prepared an elaborate prank to play on them.
Short Story by H. G. Wells. A precocious five-year old from a loveless household is permitted to walk the streets of London alone. One day he is drawn to a door that opens to an enchanted garden with tame animals, friendly children and a beautiful, loving woman.
Short Story by Charles Dickens. Part of the attraction here is that, although generally considered a ghost story, there is no hard evidence of one. Dickens masterfully uses setting to create a forbidding, unearthly atmosphere, and then leaves the question of the ghost to the reader.