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The Emotional Embodiment of Stars
Wonderfully wide-ranging, original, and enjoyable, The Emotional Embodiment of Stars contains twenty-seven award-winning short stories like Mortimer, in which an unwanted guest secretly follows a family through their heartbreaking sorrows and Crossroads, in which a budding writer is finally preparing to meet the man she happens to exchange greetings with every morning on the way to her office.
- GenresYoung AdultShort Stories
154 pages, Paperback
First published August 11, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
August 31, 2018
When was the last time you came across a book that you remembered for a long time? When was the last time you read a story that was fresh and relatable? When was the last time you witnessed an immensely talented young writer? When was the last time you read a book that took you on a journey spanning several beautiful places? When was the last time a book moved you so much that you told all your friends about it?
Whether it was long back or recently, I am sure it did not happen very often. This book is that kind of book.
Every story in this book is very engaging - you can't wait the story to finish - while thinking of the great job done by these young writers most of whom have been pursuing their passion of writing fiction since the age they learned to hold a pencil. The twenty-seven young writers have simply penned twenty-seven great promises about the future of literature. If you are serious about reading good stories, these twenty-seven stories are not to be missed.
Whether it was long back or recently, I am sure it did not happen very often. This book is that kind of book.
Every story in this book is very engaging - you can't wait the story to finish - while thinking of the great job done by these young writers most of whom have been pursuing their passion of writing fiction since the age they learned to hold a pencil. The twenty-seven young writers have simply penned twenty-seven great promises about the future of literature. If you are serious about reading good stories, these twenty-seven stories are not to be missed.
August 17, 2018
This book was like a fresh air. I loved all the stories and they were ordered perfectly. My favorite stories were Space Invaders (cute late of teenage boyfriend and girlfriend), The battle That Changed Us (unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union), Shadow Sister (an envious girl saves her sister's life). Very highly recommended for readers of young adult stories!
August 22, 2018
Great short stories by talented young writers! Also, the stories are really short - each running into 4-5 pages making it easy to read as much as I wanted in one sitting.
August 20, 2018
“Most of the basic material a writer works with is acquired before the age of fifteen.” - Willa Cather
Pawan Mishra presents the young winner of the Lune Spar Short Story Contest and shares this fine array of talent with us in this excellent introduction to budding talent. The stories are indeed short but powerful and cover the spectrum of themes that magnetize audiences. Their futures seem bright indeed.
The stories included are Crossroads by Laura Cao, Mortimer by Lucy Liversidge, Cossack Pride by Logan Egle, Space Invaders by Daphne Bargeman, The Emotional and Physical Embodiment of Stars by Maya Lewins, The Battle That Changed Us by Charlotte Menke, Of Memories and Feathers by Khloe Beutler, Monster by Rys Owen, Blu Birdie by Jordan Nelson, Unplayed Duet by Arunima Jaisal, Shadow Sister by Xuan Xuan (Angelina) Li, The Witching Hour by Sarah Miller, See You in Valhalla by Mason Xavier Surratt, Dagger Jensen Saves the World by Maggie Watson, The Expired by Dvanshi Bhargawa, Alone by Asha Patel, Wisps of Hope by Jacqueline Hunter, Lily Learns Love by Hilary Barkey, Red by Anuksha Ram Madhan, A Duel by Anna WestWig, Robbed with Nickels by Sherry Sun, The New Kid by Sequoia Ayers, My Journey to Freedom by Sienna Manning, Loss by Katherine Lindsey Smith T, Remember by Huda Haque, The Laptop by Arriyannah, and Restless Fingers by Rachel Zhang.
A sample of one story Loss by Katherine Lindsey Smith T
“It was unnatural.
My trembling hands were pressed against the shaded glass of the viewing section in the operational facility, and my eyes remained glued to the miniscule and deformed figure lying on the table with such a stillness that it seemed as though death had already claimed her.
She had escaped it countless times.
The sharpened blade of the Grim Reaper had hovered above my daughter for so long that I came to know him as an acquaintance, just another spectator to endure the slow death of my daughter, as painful as a heretic burning at the stake and as real as gunshot to the head.
I ached to touch her, to caress her misshapen head, bald from countless surgeries performed by stony medical professionals who had already prepared to grieve.
For many years we had escaped the end, but now the time had come. For her, but also for the part of me that was so hopelessly caught up within her. In an hour, a second, an instant, one strike would kill us both, and we would no longer be fugitives to the underworld.
There were no stages to the process. Instead it was a single prolonged “depression destined to end with death.
I used to be afraid.
I used to lie awake at night imagining the absence of life, to cry from eyes nearly swollen shut and let the tears carve their way “down my cheeks and collect into one looming puddle of salty water that I wanted to drown in.
Breathing in the almost sweet antiseptic of the white-washed hallway, I watched as the heartbeat of my daughter faded and the brain activity levels plummeted. I watched doctors and nurses turn to me with pity and remorse, and I felt her slip through my fingertips as easily as water.
A psychotic laugh bubbled up from some hidden place inside me; tucked beneath a rib, placed just below the cuticle of my right thumb, and woven into my spine, it burst forth, a giggle, a scream, but mostly a sob.
They say death is part of living, but to me, it was simply the end.”
Radiant works form a very fine collection of young writers. Recommended reading.
Pawan Mishra presents the young winner of the Lune Spar Short Story Contest and shares this fine array of talent with us in this excellent introduction to budding talent. The stories are indeed short but powerful and cover the spectrum of themes that magnetize audiences. Their futures seem bright indeed.
The stories included are Crossroads by Laura Cao, Mortimer by Lucy Liversidge, Cossack Pride by Logan Egle, Space Invaders by Daphne Bargeman, The Emotional and Physical Embodiment of Stars by Maya Lewins, The Battle That Changed Us by Charlotte Menke, Of Memories and Feathers by Khloe Beutler, Monster by Rys Owen, Blu Birdie by Jordan Nelson, Unplayed Duet by Arunima Jaisal, Shadow Sister by Xuan Xuan (Angelina) Li, The Witching Hour by Sarah Miller, See You in Valhalla by Mason Xavier Surratt, Dagger Jensen Saves the World by Maggie Watson, The Expired by Dvanshi Bhargawa, Alone by Asha Patel, Wisps of Hope by Jacqueline Hunter, Lily Learns Love by Hilary Barkey, Red by Anuksha Ram Madhan, A Duel by Anna WestWig, Robbed with Nickels by Sherry Sun, The New Kid by Sequoia Ayers, My Journey to Freedom by Sienna Manning, Loss by Katherine Lindsey Smith T, Remember by Huda Haque, The Laptop by Arriyannah, and Restless Fingers by Rachel Zhang.
A sample of one story Loss by Katherine Lindsey Smith T
“It was unnatural.
My trembling hands were pressed against the shaded glass of the viewing section in the operational facility, and my eyes remained glued to the miniscule and deformed figure lying on the table with such a stillness that it seemed as though death had already claimed her.
She had escaped it countless times.
The sharpened blade of the Grim Reaper had hovered above my daughter for so long that I came to know him as an acquaintance, just another spectator to endure the slow death of my daughter, as painful as a heretic burning at the stake and as real as gunshot to the head.
I ached to touch her, to caress her misshapen head, bald from countless surgeries performed by stony medical professionals who had already prepared to grieve.
For many years we had escaped the end, but now the time had come. For her, but also for the part of me that was so hopelessly caught up within her. In an hour, a second, an instant, one strike would kill us both, and we would no longer be fugitives to the underworld.
There were no stages to the process. Instead it was a single prolonged “depression destined to end with death.
I used to be afraid.
I used to lie awake at night imagining the absence of life, to cry from eyes nearly swollen shut and let the tears carve their way “down my cheeks and collect into one looming puddle of salty water that I wanted to drown in.
Breathing in the almost sweet antiseptic of the white-washed hallway, I watched as the heartbeat of my daughter faded and the brain activity levels plummeted. I watched doctors and nurses turn to me with pity and remorse, and I felt her slip through my fingertips as easily as water.
A psychotic laugh bubbled up from some hidden place inside me; tucked beneath a rib, placed just below the cuticle of my right thumb, and woven into my spine, it burst forth, a giggle, a scream, but mostly a sob.
They say death is part of living, but to me, it was simply the end.”
Radiant works form a very fine collection of young writers. Recommended reading.
September 2, 2018
Fabulous collection of short stories from budding talented authors. I raced through the stories in the book and amazed at the depth and variety of thought. My favorite is "Red" by Anuksha Ram Madhan, a story of a Rwandan girl and her journey to the border for safety during 1994 Rwandan Genocide is a spellbound firsthand description of atrocities she and her family faced. This soulful masterpiece reminded me Anne Franks rendition of Holocaust and infact I ended up with heavy heart and burst of tears - kudos to talented Anuksha Ram Madhan. Well done !!
Overall a great compilation of short stories and I highly recommend this book to others.
Anuksha Ram Madhan
Overall a great compilation of short stories and I highly recommend this book to others.
Anuksha Ram Madhan
August 18, 2018
Noble and Enriching!
A really well selected, nice collection of short stories by young and talented budding writers. Deeply emotional, psychological, heartfelt and thought-provoking. Overall, an enjoyable read, quite diverse and enriching. Highly recommended. A good cause involved as well.
A really well selected, nice collection of short stories by young and talented budding writers. Deeply emotional, psychological, heartfelt and thought-provoking. Overall, an enjoyable read, quite diverse and enriching. Highly recommended. A good cause involved as well.
August 30, 2018
An excellent collection of work by young writers! a wide range of stories that definitely aims to interest different genres of readers.
"Red" touches upon a deeply sensitive topic of genocide and its impact on millions of lives across the world. Anuksha Ram Madhan is a sensitive writer with a knack to trigger the reader's emotions to her story, [eg. For Death shall never touch them, For she told me no more would be taken from me"]. Well done and keep more coming Anuksha.
Other such interesting stories include Xuan Xuan Li's, Shadow Sister, Charlotte Menke's, The Battle That Changed Us.
"Red" touches upon a deeply sensitive topic of genocide and its impact on millions of lives across the world. Anuksha Ram Madhan is a sensitive writer with a knack to trigger the reader's emotions to her story, [eg. For Death shall never touch them, For she told me no more would be taken from me"]. Well done and keep more coming Anuksha.
Other such interesting stories include Xuan Xuan Li's, Shadow Sister, Charlotte Menke's, The Battle That Changed Us.
August 30, 2018
I raced through the pages of these twenty-seven award-winning short stories written by emerging young authors. I love the diversity in genre, ranging from contemporary to historical, and the emotional depth of the characters, particularly for writers of this age. It's simply spectacular. Well done! Keep following your dreams.
August 30, 2018
Anuksha Ram Madhan...you rock...thats an amazing piece of writing!!! Keep going
November 16, 2018
A Very high level short story collection
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews