A cycle of stories about the difficult process of coming of age: young people who see themselves as outcasts, oddballs, and freaks, and who grow up through some experience of love and loss. These "Ugly Duckling"-type stories are timeless and the author has managed to make them new again.They are united by the one thousand-year-old city of Yaroslavl, Russia, and provide a host of exciting details which go unseen by tourists: the real adventure begins where the tourist trail ends.Winner of the Debut and other prizes, Anna Lavrinenko (b. 1984) lives in Yaroslavl, Russia, the vivid backdrop for all her stories.