Anne Fine's older readers and young adult fans will enjoy Finding It, her contribution to Losing It, a wonderful collection of original stories by some of today's leading writers for teens. Some are funny, some moving, some haunting but all revolving around the same subject - having sex for the first time! You never forget your first time and you'll never forget this book!
"Top teenage authors tell a range of touching and thought provoking stories about both the real and the much-fantasised about moment of first sexual experiences. Funny, sad, crude, lyrical, Anne Fine, Patrick Ness, Bali Rai, Melvin Burgess, Jenny Valentine and Keith Gray himself are among the authors each of whose stories tell some of the picture of this all important moment."
Julia Eccleshare, Lovereading
Losing It was published by Andersen Press on July 8th 2010; order it now from Amazon, or ask your local bookshop or library to order it for you (tell them the ISBN is 978-1-84939-099-6).
Once a book's published and up on the shelf, the author's finished her job. Right?
"Not always," says Anne Fine. "Over a dozen of my own books for young children have just been reprinted in lovely bright new editions, and I've been astonished at the sorts of changes I suddenly decided I wanted to make." The Stone Menagerie is one of the books which she has revised for this new edition, and in an article intended for her child readers she explains why:
This is, for me, the most interesting of all because, although so many people tell me it's their favourite of all my novels for this age group, I know that's because they like Ally. They identify with his problem, and they find his growing relationship with the exotic Flora and her amiable if sarcastic companion Riley inspiring because it so feeds his confidence and makes him able to become more of the person he would like to be.
But all that stuff about the hospital, and the way in which Ally's poor sick Aunt Chloe responded so positively just to a bit of fresh air and two kind people worries me horribly now. I think I was too far under the influence of a few new (and now largely discredited) ideas about mental illness. I was simplistic. And I think I was a little too casual about one or two other things in that book. I look at a few passages and know that I quite sincerely wouldn't put something written in that form in front of my readers of that age now.
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Your bookshop or library can order any of these books for you. Ask your librarian for a 'request card'.
Anne Fine writes books for all ages: here's more about her books for younger children and middle children. She writes books for adults, too.
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