The Color of Absence: 12 Stories About Loss and Hope

by James Howe

"In adolescence we feel our losses as if for the first time, with a greater depth of pain and drama than we are aware of having experienced ever before," says James Howe in his introduction to this stunning collection of short stories in which some of today's most celebrated authors of fiction for young adults explore the many faces of loss - the common thread they share and the hope that is born through change.

You're Not a Winner Unless Your Picture's in the Paper • Avi
Red Seven • C.b. Christiansen
Enchanted Night • James Howe
Atomic Blue Pieces • Angela Johnson
Summer of Love • Annette Curtis Klause
The Tin Butterfly • Norma Fox Mazer
Season's End • Walter Dean Myers
Shoofly Pie • Naomi Shihab Nye
The Fire Pond • Michael J. rosen
What Are You Good At? • Roderick Townley
Chair • Virginia Euwer Wolff
The Rialto • Jacqueline Woodson and Chris Lynch

Genres: Short Stories, Young Adult, Anthologies, Realistic Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

James Howe has written more than eighty books in the thirty-plus years he's been writing for young readers. It sometimes confuses people that the author of the humorous Bunnicula series also wrote the dark young adult novel, The Watcher, or such beginning reader series as Pinky and Rex and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award-winning Houndsley and Catina and its sequels. But from the beginning of his career (which came about somewhat by accident after asking himself what kind of vampire a rabbit might make), he has been most interested in letting his imagination take him in whatever direction it cared to. So far, his imagination has led him to picture books, such as I Wish I Were a Butterfly and Brontorina (about a dinosaur who dreams of being a ballerina), mysteries, poetry (in the upcoming Addie on the Inside), and fiction that deals with issues that matter deeply to him. He is especially proud of The Misfits, which inspired national No Name-Calling Week (www.nonamecallingweek.org) and its sequel Totally Joe. He does not know where his imagination will take him in the next thirty-plus years, but he is looking forward to finding out.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Ally · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

A collection of short stories addressing the issue of loss --- sometimes a loss of life, an ability, a feeling --- sometimes experienced first hand or by observing the experience of another --- most times, sharing it. I found myself loving 10 of the 12 included stories --- that is quite the score. The characters ranged in ethnicity, age, cultural background, and each had a different perspective of loss. All felt very sincere, even the one about a vampire and a stray cat --- easy to read, with a variety of different styles that are interesting to navigate, I recommend this book for kids and adults alike.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of stories about loss and the many different forms that it can take. Some of the stories were very sad and actually made me cry when I read them, but all of the stories rang true to the different losses that people go through and how they feel. At the end of each story, there is a small explanation by the author about how they came up with the idea for the story or what it means to them. This would be a great book for young adults to really illustrate this aspect of human existence.

[jia · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is only one story in this book that I like. And I mean just like. Not even love. *sigh*

Oh well, I kind of find it hard to connect with the characters and the stories. I kind of need the stories' narration to be stronger. To make me really feel their loss. And their hope. But I didn't feel that.

The only story that I liked, is the only story that I feel at least a little connection.

Oh well.

[Mavee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't really write book reviews, but I feel like I owe it to myself to at least write something down for this.

I've had this book for a long time, but I've never gotten around to reading it. Mostly because I've just been consumed by other things, but also because the title is so daunting.

The Colors of Absence. Was I really ready to break my own heart over and over again with not just one, two, or even three stories? Could I handle 12 stories about /loss/?

As I finished the book, I realized I forgot to consider the other part of the title. "12 Stories about Loss and Hope."

Hope. I was so focused on the loss aspect that I forgot all about it. The book delivered both aspects, though.

For every story where something was lost, there was always this flicker of something more. Some stories felt more heartbreaking, while some were more optimistic.

With the way I'm writing this review, I feel like I'm setting up expectations of this book being perfect. It's not, though. I can admit there were stories I didn't particularly enjoy, or didn't really understand. It's okay though, because each story had a part in conveying the essence of this anthology.

Stories aside, I appreicated how there was a brief author's note at the end of each story. Getting a glimpse into the real experiences that inspired the stories made them more relatable.

Honestly, I don't know if I'm making much sense but here's the thing. I've always felt lost to some degree. I guess what this anthology provided me was something where I could project my own feelings into others' stories. I needed that, so thank you to everyone who contributed to this anthology. Hope you all know you made me cry (both internally and outwardly) a lot.



(for my own sake, my favs:
☆Red Seven by C.B. Christiansen
☆Enchanted Night by James Howe
☆Summer of Love by Annette Curtis Smith
☆The Tin Butterfly by Norma Fox Mazer
☆Shoofly Pie by Naomi Shihab Nye)

[Jada Smith-Lopez]

This book to me was weirdly interesting because of how it was written.It had 12 different stories that all had a meaning to them and one that really got to me was the story where the protagonist is talking about lost and grieve because the character was almost always out of his fathers life and then when he found out that his father was dying it really hit me.I do believe that if people really sat down and read the book they would like it too.I do recommend this book because feel like it could relate to so many people.

[addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this during school, and forgot to mark read. It was truly an amazing collection full of these sad stories about loss, among other things. It’s not my usual genre.

[Monica Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book I found to be bland. It was a composition of 12 stories of loss and hope and each one was very depressing. I guess I didn’t like the book itself that much because I’m a happy person and books like that don’t interest me much. The content of the stories though weren’t half bad, just not to my liking. It had one or two stories that I liked but I they didn’t really appeal to me. For some reason I’ve read this book twice, I don’t know why, but I’m not reading it again.

[Gineiris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very touching and it is interesting to see the wide variety of writing in one book (ecause it is a collection of different authors). It is also very interesting to see what the authors had to say about their stories. The stories themselves were very moving and dealt with many different kinds of losses.

[yagaira · Rating 5 out of 5]

By far it is my favorite book very emotional and grimalkin teaches us all a very good lesson omg that cat made me cry!! by the way its composed of many stories the first is my favorite one.

[Rivkah]

Oh, such sad stories, I cried over one! But extra sad, I could even relate to the vampire!

[Luis · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good book not my favorite one but is a nice book.

[Haley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed some of the stories but others were repetitive

[Sophia Barsuhn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow! A YA anthology where everyone actually tried! This was genuinely good.

[Athirah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost every single story was great! I especially loved the dialogue between the great-grandfather and great-grandson... TEARS. For lack of a better review. TEARS.

[behsforensics]

Cutting is for Atomic Blue Pieces
By Angela Johnson

[Carol Rizzardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Marketed as a young adult collection, this brief anthology of short stories has the depth to make it intriguing for readers of all ages. Each story deals with a loss -- the death of a loved one, the death of innocence, etc. Each of the authors is renowned. The individual author's personal notes at the end of each story give further meaning to each story from the author's point-of-view.

Personally, I find it a bit difficult to teach because of that depth -- I see so much more than my 9th graders do. And because of their ages and life experiences to date, I'm not sure they're ready to see what I see. So it's frustrating for me to see them see only the top layer of meaning and not the treasures that lie below the surface. But that is what great literature does -- it allows us to each experience it in a personal way.

[Kelly Moore]

Atomic Blue Pieces by Angela Johnson - This is a good one about a boy who's missing his brother.

Enchanted Night by James Howe - In this story a teenage girl is dumped by her boyfriend, and she think this is the worst thing that's happened to her until her father is suddenly killed a week later. The story is about her dealing with the aftermath, told partially through flashbacks and dreams. I didn't completely sink into the world of the story, but I liked it.

[Tara Mickela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loss comes in so many different shapes and sizes. I love that this book shows a variety of them. I am also glad it didn't leave me sad and unhappy. It really is more about the hope after the loss which is foggy at first, but you know it is there. Teens feel loss more sharply than most and this book/these authors respond to that beautifully.

[Shelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book of short stories focuses on characters dealing with loss. Stories by some of my favorite authors, Avi, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Walter Dean Myers compelled me to buy this one. I'm enjoying them (12 in all), however, I'm not being carried away as I often am when reading a novel.

[Kyla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Uneven, of course, but I was thrown off by the pretty terrible leading story and almost put it down but would have missed the good stuff like Avi, Virginia Euwer Wolff and Walter Dean Myers. Wish some new writers that stood up would have been in there.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Loss" what can I do?
What can I say?
What can I learn from it?
All what I liked from it was the notes from the writers, and a couple of stories.

[Charity J · Rating 3 out of 5]

had a nice quote:
"Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle
Everything I do is stithed with it's color"
-W.S. Merwin

[Elizabeth]

Again, no memory of reading this one, but I appear to have gone through a phase of YA short story collections in 2001 while working at Wonderland.

[Pema,lhamo · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a really sad book. IN each story someone the main characters loved so much dies and in other stories one of his brother run away from home.

[Wan Ling · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Tin Butterfly is the one I love most. Oh, and Chair: A Story For Voices.