One In Every Crowd: Stories by Ivan E. Coyote

Description

Comprised of original stories and a hand-picked selection of Coyote's best work, this inspirational, uplifting collection is aimed at young adults by an internationally renowned storyteller, recognised for her honest, wry, plain-spoken tales of growing up. Included are stories from Ivan's own tomboy past, where playing hockey and wearing pants were the norm; and her adult life in the big city, where she encounters both cruelty and kindness in unexpected places. Funny, inspiring, and full of heart, a positive read about embracing difference.

Ivan E. Coyote: Ivan E. Coyote is the author of five previous story collections, the most recent of which is Missed Her. Ivan is also the co-editor (with Zena Sharman) of the anthology Persistence: All Ways Butch and Femme. One of her stories appears in the anthology It Gets Better, edited by Dan Savage and Terry Miller. Originally from the Yukon, she now lives in Vancouver.

Sophisticated, earnest, plainspoken and intimate, this collection will speak to LGBTQ youth as well as straight youth, teens and adults. --Kirkus Reviews A funny and empathetic collection of more than forty stories ... Teenagers confronting their sexuality, or who have otehrwise felt like outsiders, will feel as though they've gained an ally in Coyote ... These tales of compassionate relatives, finding love, and even the insecurities that stretch into adulthood should provide reassurance that there is indeed life after high school. --Publishers Weekly There are so many vital stories in here; stories about how scary high schools still are even when you're an adult; stories about the different ways in which we find love; stories about boys who likes to wear dresses; stories about the deep conundrum of what bathroom to walk into. Every story is full of honesty, joy, warmth, pain, anger, and hope. Every story is markedly real. I felt like I knew every character in every story, or at least wanted to; I longed to jump into Coyote's world and take trips to the Yukon and have long talks and hearty laughs over coffee or alcohol. To tell stories. Scratch that; this wasn't something I longed for, but something that I felt would be completely natural, something that was pretty much as good as real. And any book, any story, that makes you feel that level of comfort, that is something special. Those are the books you never throw away. And I'll never throw One In Every Crowd away -- except if I find a youth who needs it. Then I'll gladly hand it over, and buy a few additional copies for their friends. --AfterEllen.com Ivan E. Coyote knows the hearts of teenagers. One in Every Crowd is an homage to the outsider: to the young boy who steals his mother's lipstick, to the girl who slip-slides in and out of gender identifications, to the ones who can't put themselves in boxes. To the ones who cannot abide by the binary. It is a love-touched and memory-soaked ballad to queer youth ... One in Every Crowd is a book that belongs in the hands of queer youth and in the hands of their oppressors. It's a heartfelt and rich look at what it's like to be else, to be outside, to toe the lines and then step over them. It can teach, it can support. It's a book that will change readers, and leave them knowing that being changed by it is a privilege. --Lambda Literary Queer storyteller Ivan E. Coyote has created a diverse and charming array of vignettes for anyone who has ever fought to find who they really are. --The Advocate The stories in this collection are stunning in every way: unaffected, compassionate, inspirational, and, as if that wasn't enough, achingly funny ... Great writing has the power to enrich lives; not all writing has the power to save them. --Quill and Quire (STARRED REVIEW)