Seventeen writers in the 9th and 12th grades worked all year to create this collection of their stories, reflections, and wisdom. Authors in How To Grow Up Like Me write about their pasts, definitions of success, long-distance moms, and on the importance of staying true to themselves and never giving up.

— Simon Traub-Epstein, International Library of Young Authors

From the publisher: “‘Your Story Is Your Strength.’ This is the mantra that emerged from a six-month writing project at Ballou High School in Washington, DC, in which eleven dedicated freshmen and six determined seniors told their stories of ambition and struggle in what came to be known as The Ballou Story Project. Together their poignant, powerful voices come together to tell a collective story of How To Grow Up Like Me, a kind of instruction manual for determination, grit, and daily acts of hope and courage.”