Shining On: 11 Star Authors' Illuminating Stories (by Lois Lowry)

This collection was first published in the U.K., and most of the authors are British. Lois Lowry contributes an introduction that attempts to draw a common theme from these disparate stories, and, disappointingly, she includes only an excerpt from one of her novels rather than a new story. Many of the authors are first-rate -- Meg Cabot, Anne Fine, Melvin Burgess, Meg Rosoff, among others -- but the stories are just OK. None is really terrible, but none will knock your socks off, which, given the pedigree of the writers, is surprising.

Meg Cabot comes closest with a lighthearted take on an image-obsessed girl falling for a geek. Most of the rest are deadly serious, and sometimes preachy. These stories are reasonably enjoyable and pass the time pleasantly, for the most part. But these authors can do, and have done, better.