Although one of the main characters is a ghost, this story by Manoj Das is not a horror story. An unfortunate ghost in a deserted villa has become an integral part of life in an Indian village. The government plans to demolish the villa to pay its taxes, and the villagers must try to relocate the ghost so that it doesn’t try to resettle in someone’s house. Themes include coming of age, the important role of superstition in traditional village culture, and the impact of modern ideas in changing traditional values and beliefs. More…
The First Law
In this story by Isaac Asimov, a scientist tells astounded colleagues a “tall tale” about how a new model robot broke the first and most fundamental of the Three Laws of Robotics: a robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm. The malfunctioning robot had escaped from its base and, upon encountering the man in a deadly zero-visibility storm, left him to die. Although the robot had a legitimate reason for its actions, the model was discontinued immediately. Themes include disobedience, protectiveness and “motherly” love. More…
The Moustache
In this coming of age story by Robert Cormier, seventeen-year-old Mike grew a moustache to prove he could. He likes the look, and wants to keep it. When he visits his grandmother, who lives in a nursing home and is losing her memory, he is worried she won’t recognize him. However, when she sees him she smiles and calls him by name. Later, he realizes she has mistaken him for his late grandfather who he was named after and also wore a moustache. She then tells him a secret that affects him greatly. Themes: identity, family, aging, guilt, forgiveness, communication. More…
Customs
In this story from Julia Alvarez, a Dominican American college student makes her annual trip home to reconnect with her wealthy extended family. Set shortly after the 1965 Dominican Civil War, the story contrasts 1960s Western youth counterculture with her country’s traditional social, economic and political values. Although most Dominican youth cling to the old ways, she finds a kindred anti-establishment spirit in her father’s young chauffeur. It takes a disastrous (sabotaged) camping trip to teach her that she still retains some of her family’s outdated ways of thinking. Themes: culture/tradition, misogyny, class, deception, teen rebellion. More…
Greyling
This story from Jane Yolen is about a baby ‘selchie’ (human/seal shapeshifter) that is washed up on a beach and raised by a childless fisherman and his wife. Their lives change fifteen years later when a huge storm destroys their hut and threatens to drown the fisherman at sea. The main theme of the story is selfishness. By ‘imprisoning’ the boy on land in the name of love, the fisherman’s wife prevents him from fulfilling his destiny. Other themes: the power of nature, freedom, the supernatural. The story’s message: true love involves letting go and empowering children to be themselves. More…