Golden Girl and Other Stories

Lorraine Douglas is the youth services co-ordinator at the Winnipeg
Public Library.

Each of Gillian Chan’s five stories is told in the first person by a
high-school student in Elmwood, a small Ontario town. This linkage of
the stories and the differing perspectives sets up a dynamic and
interest in reading this unusual collection for young adults. Michael in
“The Buddy System” is an astute and detached observer of the power
of bullying. “The Golden Girl,” Anna Murphy, makes a fool of herself
over a student teacher. Donna, Anna’s “friend,” tells Anna’s
boyfriend about the continuing foolishness, but is rebuffed. The cover
illustration of the vampish Anna, unfortunately, will give readers the
(false) impression that the stories are geared only toward young women.
Although the endings are bleak and the viewpoints are often pessimistic,
the characterizations and tensions within the stories reveal sharp
observations of human nature. Recommended.