Rural Voices

The writers bring authentic voices to their work in addition to their biographies, shared at the back of the book. This collection will be a high-interest read for middle and high school students…This book is a must-purchase for libraries serving middle and high school readers.
—School Library Connection

The compilation successfully meets the challenge of serving as a cohesive whole while providing readers with enough variety of tone, pace, and voice to keep the reading experience interesting. A fresh and highly accessible contribution.
—Kirkus Reviews

From laughing out loud to holding back tears, readers who enjoy emotionally resonant books will not be disappointed. Those from similar geographic areas will be nodding their heads while every reader, regardless of location, will connect to the universal triumphs and tribulations of teen life. Fans of Rainbow Rowell will dive headfirst into this collection. A great addition that explores an often misrepresented portion of readers.
—School Library Journal

With carefully curated precision spanning poetry, comic, and prose, this anthology turns the spotlight on young adults living in rural areas of the United States…Themes including self-discovery, expression, and self-acceptance thread throughout. While some entries may hold less appeal than others, the wide range of representation ensures that readers will find an authentic voice to their liking.
—Publishers Weekly

A generous handful of the tales offer particularly rich storytelling—S. A. Cosby’s story of a fraught encounter between a wealthy Black entrepreneur and his blue collar Black employee over a missing watch; Ashley Hope Pérez’s poem in which stealthy references to sexual abuse are tucked among verses extolling the beauty and camaraderie of rural life; and stories by Rob Costello and Nasugraq Rainey Hopson in which teens in the Catskills and in Alaska confront specters from respective local lore.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Rural Voices is a must-read for all of us who call the country home and those who don’t but want a glimpse at the beautiful diversity of country life all the same.
—Country Living