Dear reader, this book is not a novel. It is not a cohesive work; yes, it is fiction, but it is also true. This is an anthology. The stories and poems herein are a sampling of the works of Penned Club, a high school group devoted to literature. Don"t write it off so quickly, dear reader. Not one of these students is a legal adult, and yet they are the up-and-coming generation of the great novelists and poets. These students have slaved for hours, writing and editing and rewriting again their short stories, they have improvised slam poems, they have put meaning and eloquence into fifty-five words. They have agonized over turns of phrase, then been amazed as their words suddenly seem to write themselves. Dear reader, these students are exceptional. They are artists. I invite you now, dear reader, to put your mind in their hands for a moment. You will not be disappointed.