Small Avalanches and Other Stories

by Joyce Carol Oates

When The Sky Blue Ball comes soaring over the fence, a high-school girl is confronted with the haunting memory of childhood. A jealous teen lets her cousin go off alone with a dangerous Capricorn, aware of the terrifying possibilities. A vulnerable young girl cunningly outwits a menacing stranger and exults in her newfound power, surviving the first of many Small Avalanches. In these twelve riveting tales, master storyteller Joyce Carol Oates visits the dark, enigmatic psyche of the teenage years. Intense and unnerving, uplifting and triumphant, the stories in this collection explore the fateful consequences of the choices we make in our everyday lives.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Young Adult, Short Story Collection, Literary Fiction

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 18, 2003

About the author

Joyce Carol Oates is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), and Blonde (2000), and her short story collections The Wheel of Love (1970) and Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories (2014) were each finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. She has won many awards for her writing, including the National Book Award, for her novel Them (1969), two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize (2019).
Oates taught at Princeton University from 1978 to 2014, and is the Roger S. Berlind '52 Professor Emerita in the Humanities with the Program in Creative Writing. From 2016 to 2020, she was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught short fiction in the spring semesters. She now teaches at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Oates was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2016.
Pseudonyms: Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly.

Reviews

[Traci · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every time I read Joyce Carol Oates, I hope sheepishly for a happy ending. I've not found one yet. But I keep trying.

[StarMan · Rating 4 out of 5]

VERDICT: Actual rating 3.7 stars. Rounded up to 4 because... I don't know, feels like it deserved it. My first J.C. Oates book.

Similar-ish to: The Language of Sharks by Pat MacEnulty (4+ stars)

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review: https://hiplibrariansbookblog.com/200...

[Graham Wilhauk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guys, I think it is safe to say that Joyce Carol Oates is one of my favorite authors. There's still a small chance that may change, but these stories and her MASTERFUL novel "We Were the Mulvaneys" are just such joys that I don't care anymore. This was just a splendid collection. This collection, however, is really the equivalent of a greatest hits album. These stories have been published before, they just never were compiled into this way. There is nothing much to say. Some of the stories were just ok, but the majority of them were BRILLIANT. This collection also contains the masterful and terrifying "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?". In short, that short story may be my favorite short story of all time. I can read it over and over again and still have goosebumps going down my arms and legs. Simply put, Joyce Carol Oates is BRILLIANT. I think I am about to go on a Oates-fest. I cannot recommend this collection enough!

I am giving this one a 4 out of 5 stars.

[Raul Flores Zambrano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ranking de relatos:

- Balín 3/5
- Por qué no vienes a vivir conmigo ya es hora 2.5/5
- La vida después del colegio 5/5
- Capricornio 5/5
- La visita 4/5
- La modelo 5/5

Puntaje total: 4/5*

[Cheryl · Rating 1 out of 5]

When starting this book, I thought of it as a collection of short stories by an award winning writer. By the time I had struggled my way through to the last page, it had become (in my mind) a misery of a book. Yes, Joyce Carol Oates is a good writer. Her characters are believable and real and her writing style is descriptive without being overdone. It's the subjects and story lines that drag the fiction down with their darkness. Murder, rape, suicide, dementia...a seemingly never-ending parade of unhappiness. The book depressed me. The last story's ending in particular made me feel cheated-- like someone dropped the curtain before the play was over. All in all, too dark for me.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spooky. Bad idea, but I was reading some of these stories before bed; weird & sometimes bad dreams/nightmares "haunted" me on several occasions. I can remember reading the first of these short stories in high school but don't remember feeling threatened by it. Now that I'm a mom and have "lived" a little more, my false sense of indestructibility replaced now by a somewhat over exaggerated worry and want to stay alive changed and enhanced this read for me. Like with most anything, a review depends on one's present station in life. This novel might make you feel all the more alive.

[Valissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Opening my eyes wide and looking puzzled, worried. Girls are prone to such trickery, it's a form of camouflage, when every other thought you think is a forbidden thought that leaves your skin and your heart pounding -- dreams that don't seem to belong to you that must have come from somewhere else from someone you don't know who knows you.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I enjoyed some of the stories in this collection (such as "Small Avalanches," "'Shot'," "Bad Girls," and "Capricorn") a few others left me bewildered or deeply disturbed. While I think Joyce Carol Oates is an amazing writer, I'm not necessarily sure I'd just jump again at the chance to read her work. But that's just me!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful, haunting short stories. Very few do it better than Oates.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely amazing author.

[fátima marchán · Rating 3 out of 5]

dos palabras: plan lector

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

In dieser Sammlung an Geschichten erzählt die Autorin von zehn verschiedenen Mädchen/jungen Frauen an der Schwelle zum Erwachsenwerden.

Gleich die erste Geschichte hat mich gepackt. Wo willst du hin? Wo bist du gewesen? ist unter dem Titel Bedrohliches Geflüster verfilmt worden. Auch wenn es schon lange her ist, dass ich den Film gesehen habe, kann ich mich erinnern, dass er bei mir einen starken Eindruck hinterlassen hat. Denn es wird nur angedeutet. Vieles könnte passiert sein, muss aber nicht. Sicher ist nur, dass etwas passiert ist, das die Protagonisten auf bestimmte Art verändert hat. Wie viel entspricht der jugendlichen Fantasie und wie viel der Realität?

So ist es mit allen Geschichten. Die jungen Mädchen stehen quasi zwischen zwei Welten und spielen mit beiden. Dass ihre Gegenüber nicht immer verstehen, in welcher Welt sie sich gerade befinden, macht das Spiel so reizvoll, birgt aber auch Gefahren. Auch wenn sie alle das gleiche Motiv haben, sind doch alle Geschichten anders. Eine schöne Sammlung.

[Daniel Cabarcas · Rating 1 out of 5]

El libro cumple lo mínimo para poder terminarlo. A veces atrapa a veces le suelta a uno una retahíla de historias tan aburridas que dan ganas de dejar la lectura y tirarse a las garras del consumo mediático. En el 90%, de hecho, sucede lo segundo.

Soso, lento. Bostezar no es algo propio de la lectura, mas este libro es el propio somnífero repartido en un puñado de cuentos iguales entre sí, con personajes adolescentes similares y con el mismo conflicto de una adolescencia en la pobreza. Lo que podría ser una premisa atractiva termina liquidando esta maraña de historias tediosas de leer.

El uno, ciertamente, no acompaña mi opinión sosegada de la obra, pero por su capacidad para mandarme directito a otra cosa se merece la peor nota. Pocas veces me he aburrido tanto con un libro... ¿He dicho ya que es aburrido? ES ABURRIDO.

[Kev Willoughby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short stories are not usually my forte but I wanted to try something different. My biggest takeaway are more tools for my writing arsenal. I liked the style of Oates to tell you almost every thought of each protagonist. Though it initially seemed like rambling, I grew to appreciate the sense of character development, which is especially important in a short story. Some of the stories were reminiscent of old Twilight Zone episodes and I always enjoyed those. I plan to read more short stories as a result of this book.

[paolette · Rating 3 out of 5]

“comprendió que nunca más podría volver a confiar en nadie, cabalmente. Comprendió que quienes nos aman no sólo pueden mentirnos, sino que en efecto lo hacen; quizá lo hagan con la convicción moral de que la mentira es necesaria y quizá esto sea cierto, pero igual, mienten.

Aunque nos miren directo a los ojos e insistan en que dicen la verdad” está parte marco mi ser desde secundaria, jamás lo olvido

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book to have on hand and read a story at a sitting. Didn’t realize it was classified as young adult till I was about halfway through. ‘…the stories in this collection explore the fateful consequences of the choices we make in our everyday lives.” An apt statement not only for young adults.

[Timothy]

12 stories:

(4/12 read#)

The Visit
Capricorn
The Sky-Blue Ball
Bad Girls
# The Model
Life After High School
Why Don't You Come Live With Me It's Time
Shot
# Haunted
Small Avalanches
# How I Contemplated the World from the Detroit House of Correction and Began My Life over Again
# Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

[Nelson Rafael · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

I had to read this short stories book and then choose one to do an oral presentation for an english class in uni, i must say, i DNF two stories, but the one i choosed was good, this author stories are so creepy, like, sister, chill.
Nevertheless, wish me luck for my presentation

[Pyrate Queen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Twelve short stories about teenage girls growing up. Most are set during the 1950s or 1960s, with little for modern girls to relate to. Adult fans of Oates may enjoy the path she creates to look back on growing up but most of today's teens will find this boring.

[vivi · Rating 3 out of 5]

tale after tale, i was desperately looking for a happy ending. i sighed in relief few times but 99% of the time i was panicking and fearing the characters' lives.

[Aidan · Rating 5 out of 5]

there's a lot of oates out there, good oates and bad oates, but this was some ace oates. and all oates is sad oates!!

[Pink Iguana · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favourite short story was "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

read

[George Murray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid collection of JCO, not all heaters but the ones that are good are really good. ‘Where are you going…’ obvi a classic but besides that ‘Bad Girls’ and ‘the Model’ were the top picks

[Dafefevi · Rating 5 out of 5]

No importa cuántas veces lo lea, es simplemente maravilloso

[Alicia Dolce · Rating 5 out of 5]

The funny thing about this book is that I picked it up in the Young Adult section of our local independent bookstore to give to my middle-school age daughter in her Xmas stocking years ago.

And then I thought, maybe I should read this first. I had read and enjoyed other works by Oates so I was naturally curious. And, my daughter and I were going to a mother/daughter book group at the library back then so I was used to "reading what she reads" to discuss.

In any case, I found myself both surprised and drawn-in by the dark themes of disenfranchisement and marginalization among the collection of young girls in these stories. I don't recall the specific story lines anymore but what I do recall is the emotions that Oates stirred with these haunting characters and the image that the characters were like fragile balloons yearning to be tethered to something, anything.

I held my breath as my daughter picked her way through the book, wondering if I had mistakenly given her a book that was too advanced, too heavy. But, she survived the reading, and it too, made an impact on her. So much so, that I later learned she drew on the themes as fodder for several essays she had to compose during her high school years.

So, maybe it wasn't a mistake that this book was shelved in the YA section after all. For myself, this is a book that I read about 15 years ago and it is one that I have never forgotten.

[Reba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading the selection Haunted called to mind the writing style of Gillian Flynn. I wonder how much, if any, Flynn was inspired by Oates.

Oates is not an author you read to feel comfortable and reassured. Her scenes, characters and word choice leaves you unsettled and edgy. You can feel the undercurrent of danger and uncertainty in every story. These are girls you may identify with, but you don't necessarily like them. This book could be a primer for A Hell of a Woman: An Anthology of Female Noir.

While these stories aren't easy or pretty to read, they do make an impact and you can't deny Oates skill as a writer.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates has always been a favorite of mine. Finally got around to reading this collection of short stories for teens, and I was not disappointed. I had used "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" in my high school English class years ago. I was struck then by how intelligently Oates wrote for youth. She was not afraid to visit dark spaces. Similarly, several stories in this collection revisited the scary places that teens so often frequent in their journeys to adulthood. I absolutely loved the "The Visit" for its sweetness in depicting the love of a grandchild for her grandmother. This is a quick but wonderful read.

[Sonja · Rating 3 out of 5]

The word I would use to describe these stories is "tense." Most of the narrators are young girls (tweens or teenagers) who are being stalked or pursued in some manner by older, mysterious men -- most of the time with unscrupulous, but sometimes with unclear, motives. These are not feel-good stories. The family situations that often lead these girls into the positions they find themselves provide some context.