Remember what it was like to be sixteen? Whether it was the year your teeth were finally free of braces or the year you were discovered by the opposite sex, that magical, mystical age is something you will never forget. Edited by Megan McCafferty, Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday is a compilation of short stories inspired by all the angst, melodrama, and wonderment of being sixteen.

Sarah Dessen's "Infinity" is about a girl confronting two major milestones: getting her driver's license and losing her virginity. The Dead Girls in Jacqueline Woodson's "Nebraska 99" have already decided to "do it" and must now cope with being teenage mothers. And Carolyn Mackler's "Mona Lisa, Jesus, Chad, and Me" explores whether friendship can survive when partying and prayer clash. Also included is a new Jessica Darling story by Megan McCafferty about the last fifteen minutes Jessica spends—or rather, doesn't spend—with her best friend, Hope, who is leaving Pineville.

Contents:

• Infinity by Sarah Dessen
• Relent/Persist by Zoe Trope
• The Future Lives of Emily Milty by Julianna Baggott
• Rutford Becomes a Man by Ned Vizzini
• The Grief Diet by Emma Forrest
• Mona Lisa, Jesus, Chad, and Me by Carolyn Mackler
• The Alumni Interview by David Levithan
• Cat Got Your Tongue? by Sonya Sones
• The Day I Turned Chicken-Hearted by Steve Almond
• Venetian Fan by Cat Bauer
• Kissing Lessons by Joseph Weisberg
• Nebraska 99 by Jacqueline Woodson
• The Perfect Kiss by Sarah Mlynowski
• Cowgirls and Indie Boys by Tanuja Desai Hidier
• The Mud and Fever Dialogues by M. T. Anderson
• Fifteen Going On... by Megan McCafferty