On the Fringe

by Various and Donald R. Gallo

Book Overview

Lacey is afraid to death that standing up for the school "freak" will destroy her popularity. Gene, mocked one time too many, heads for class with a loaded rifle. High school can be a war zone of... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0803726562
• ISBN13: 9780803726567
• Release Date: April 2001
• Publisher: Dial Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.6"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

A great read for open minds

I'm actually 18, I just didn't feel like signing in so I used the kid review. Anyways, I love this book. I bought it in junior high when I was a teased outcast and it helped me cope. But even without the personal attachement, On the Fringe is simply a good set of short stories. Most people would think the stories are the typical school shooter, wimpy-geek-with-glasses, anti-jock stories but there's a good amount of variety. Granted, it does have the stereotypes I described but it also has stories from people who are not necessarily considered to be on the fringe but do consider themselves to be out of the norm in some way. For example, the first story is about a popular young girl who thinks interviewing the outcasts for the school paper would do them a favor and show some compassion. The story travels with her to reveal some harsh truths and psychological growth. Another is about a young, average teen contemplating over the suicide of a friend. Yet another is about a girl who is somewhat popular and the kinds of insecurities that she deals with. Other stories deal with sexuality, being Christian, different cultural aspects, and just plain feeling left out and bullied. The subject matter is intriguing but the thing about On the Fringe is the set of authors. They did a magnificient job of creating psychological and observational insight and growth. These are not simply stories about events among outside kids, they go into the depths of feelings, thoughts, and progress of those involved in such situations; that's why it's a great book. We already know what's going on among these kids, what we need to open our eyes to are the why's, who's, and how's of these situations. And concerning another review, I would question the significance of an education major who can't spell "unnecessary", doesn't know the difference between "fowl" and "foul" and wants to shield teenage students from bad language. On the Fringe doesn't use any more foul language than any other book and certainly not anything young teens and kids haven't already heard, used, or been subjected to.

A Great Book for Sharing

I used selections from this collection as read-alouds for my 8th grade language arts class (I end class most days with a read-aloud, while students keep a response journal). Because of the subject matter, these stories definitely engage the students and keep their attention. Do they all "get" the message? No, but I guarantee that when you look around the room and see the eyes of those two or three students who are themselves on the fringe, you will know it was worth it.

Diversity Within Today's Schools

"On the Fringe" is a book of short stories compiled by different authors. The stories do contain one central topic, youth that are considered outsiders. These outsiders face many different problems. One story focuses on hygiene problems, one is about a boy that is short, thin, and is nervous around his peers, and yet another is about an outcast who took his aggression out with a gun at school. These stories did not all focus on one person; several had a cluster of individuals that were ins ome way or another ostricized by the seemingly perfect in-crowd.We all read this book with deep interest. We felt that it was easy to read due to the fact that they were short stories. We had a desire to find out what happened in each one. We felt like it was very informative. The stories definitely opened our eyes to a variety of issues that neither one of us had ever imagined existed. We, as a society, tend to close our eyes to so much that is unpleasant. This book brings out that side, the one that no one wants to realize exists.As for liking this book and recommending it, we thought that it was very enlightening and educational, but we would not recommend it for school-aged children to read. It touches on many topics that do happen in our schools, and we do not think that children should be given examples of how to humiliate other students. This is a book that we would recommend to adults. This book illustrates what is going in the heads of kids that do not fit the perfect student role model. These are everyday young adults with problems. This collaboration of stories opened our eyes, and hopefully helped us to know who we, as future teachers, are looking for that need extra love and attention. Maybe with our eyes open, we will be able to counteract some of the negativity that these future adults undergo and keep them from performing a drastic event that will seal their fate forever.

Notes from the Fringe

This fantastic collection of tales of teens on the fringes of high school society surpasses all YA (young adult) anthologies before. Comfort for fringe-dwellers, a wake-up call for those in the mainstream, and insight for teachers and other people who work with teens, all wrapped up in one. Wonderful, and a must for every YA library collection.

Touching, honest and engaging

As a middle school teacher I am constantly trying to help those who are on the fringe to feel more included and to understand that being on the fringe is not such a bad thing! This book does just that! It is an amazing book and I am using it to lead discussions in my reading class. I have kids fighting over it at the end of each class period. The stories are real and my middle school students are able to connect with them. I highly recommend it!