One way or another

About this book

This volume contains 14 stories about young adults with emotion-laden experiences -- a generation that has warily come of age -- precocious maturity has left them vulnerable, unprepared and unequipped for warding off the pains that seem to be their legacy. The safe havens they have learnt to rely on--families, homes, lovers, marriage--no longer offer shelter. "Memorial Day" is about a teenage boy who refuses to talk when his mother abandons her marriage to take up with a younger man. In "Homework," the death of a family dog leads a youngster to the equations of algebra to find the solutions for his unhappiness. In "Fast Forward," two friends pretend to be engaged to please a dying mother. Other protagonists are involved with lovers both straight and gay, with needy parents and grandparents, and work dilemmas. Cameron brings these characters to vivid life and portrays the decline and dissipation of families. ISBN 0-06-015569-8 : $15.95.