First-Year Orientation

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First-Year Orientation
Sixteen acclaimed authors—including a National Book Award nominee, a New York Times best-selling novelist, and a beloved actress—join forces for a cross-genre YA anthology of linked short stories about the first days of college.

Jilly cannot believe her parents keep showing up at all of her orientation events. (Except, yes, she can totally believe that.) Isaac wants to be known as someone other than the kid who does magic and has an emotional support bunny. Lilly is stuck working at the college bookstore during orientation (but maybe new friends are closer than they appear). Hira, meanwhile, just wants to retire from ghost hunting once and for all, but a spirit in the library’s romance section has other ideas. For their sophomore effort, the contributing editors behind the critically acclaimed Battle of the Bands admit us to opening day at a fictional college, with a collection that makes an ideal high school graduation gift or “summer-before” read. This colorful array of stories spans genres and moods—from humorous to heartfelt to ghostly—tackling with sensitivity, humor, and warmth what it feels like to take those first shaky steps into adulthood.

With stories by:
Adi Alsaid * Anna Birch * Bryan Bliss * Gloria Chao * Jennifer Chen * Olivia A. Cole * Dana L. Davis * Kristina Forest * Lauren Gibaldi * Kathleen Glasgow * Sam Maggs * Farah Naz Rishi * Lance Rubin * Aminah Mae Safi * Eric Smith * Phil Stamper

Editor review

1 review
College Connections
Overall rating
 
4.0
Plot
 
4.0
Characters
 
4.0
Writing Style
 
4.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
‘First-Year Orientation,’ edited by Lauren Gibaldi and Eric Smith, with additional stories by fourteen other, acclaimed authors, shares the stories of a variety of incoming college freshmen who are looking to find their way on campus without their pasts sneaking up behind them. While one girl is annoyed that her parents keep showing up wherever she goes, others just want to find a new version of themselves so they can fit in the mix. High school isn’t so far behind them, so they have not yet learned that fitting in and making strides often takes more time than one might hope for initially.

The stories run the gamut of emotions, from hopeful to humorous, all with candid understandings of what someone’s experience might actually be like in reality.

College is an exciting, sometimes difficult, always thought-provoking time in one’s life, and the authors of this compilation do a nice job connecting with young adult readers through short stories that are all linked together rather than their own distinct tales, allowing the essence of life away to be captured more thoroughly.
Good Points
College is an exciting, sometimes difficult, always thought-provoking time in one’s life, and the authors of this compilation do a nice job connecting with young adult readers through short stories that are all linked together rather than their own distinct tales, allowing the essence of life away to be captured more thoroughly.
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