{"product_id":"help-wanted-stories","title":"Help Wanted: Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003eWith real wit and heart, Gary Soto takes readers into the lives of young people in ten funny, heartbreaking tales.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMeet Carolina, who writes to Miss Manners for help not just with etiquette but with bigger messes in her life; Javier, who knows the stories his friend Veronica tells him are lies, but can't find a way to prove it--and many other kids, each caught up in the difficulties of figuring out what it means to be alive.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom a first kiss to a family crisis, these ten stories capture the awkward, funny, and heartbreaking moments that define teenage life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eComing-of-Age Stories:\u003c\/b\u003e Whether it’s a first kiss on the same night your grandmother gets arrested or navigating a friendship built on lies, these characters are figuring it all out one mistake at a time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFamily Relationships:\u003c\/b\u003e A quiet father who becomes an obsessive Raiders fan to connect with his son, a daughter who thinks she hears her mother’s ghost, and a girl who wishes she belonged to any family but her own.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSlice of Life Fiction:\u003c\/b\u003e From paintball battles and junior high dances to disastrous first jobs, Soto finds the extraordinary in the ordinary moments of teenage life in California’s Central Valley.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eFinding Your Place:\u003c\/b\u003e For two best friends who feel like teenage “chimps,” finding where you belong is the toughest, and most important, challenge of all.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Gary Soto","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":53154012365091,"sku":"9780152056636","price":7.19,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/2258\/5123\/files\/9780152056636.jpg?v=1741160516","url":"https:\/\/epicreads.com\/products\/help-wanted-stories","provider":"Epic Reads","version":"1.0","type":"link"}