Backstories

Backstories might be called a short story collection in verse. These unforgettable poems pack the power of the best short fiction, and as a whole they tell the story of today’s American high school classrooms: the keen intelligence nestled in the most disadvantaged students, the circumstances that cause students to prefer detention so they might find a quiet place to do homework rather than the family motel room of 6 siblings. This is a book of courage.
—Trish Reeves