Twelve lively and beguiling stories explore coming-of-age in Ireland today. The perfect novel for teens who are eager to discover "How the Irish Saved Civilization" and who read or saw Angela's Ashes.

Twelve remarkable coming-of-age stories capture both the "old," beguiling Ireland and its new energy today. Stories tell of a love so strong it makes the stars shine in daylight; how Catholic and Protestant hostilities burn away a new romance; the hidden longing of a past summer; a waitressing job in Texas that offers a glimpse of the harsh "dream" of immigrant life. In Emma Donoghue's title story, Mammy's second wedding brings out the bloody truth between sisters. Maeve Binchy and Ita Daly tell of old secrets cast off at last, and Chris Lynch shows how a young couple's journey to an abortion clinic in Liverpool leads to a painful awakening of deepest feelings.

By turns hilarious, touching, and tragic, the wide range of subject and style will appeal to adults as well as young adults.

Contents:

• Watery Lanes by Shane Connaughton
• Dot on the i by Jenny Roche
• When Grania Grows Up by Maeve Binchy
• One Day When We Were Young by Vincent Banville
• Saying Goodbye by Tony Hickey
• On the Verge of Extinction by Peter Cunningham
• A Headstrong Girl by Ita Daly
• To Dream of White Horses by June Considine
• Good Girl by Marita Conlon-McKenna
• Landlocked by Helena Mulkerns
• Thicker Than Water by Emma Donoghue
• Off Ya Go, So by Chris Lynch