An avocado, a spoon, soccer cleats, a microphone, pacemaker, and a brick. What do all of these seemingly random objects have in common? These objects hold special meaning for the students who chose to write about them, reminding them of their homes, families, pasts, and futures.

— Simon Traub-Epstein, International Library of Young Authors

From the foreword by Julia Alvarez: “Lucky readers, you are about to unpack an anthology filled with the most special objects these young writers brought with them: the stories they wrote down for us all.”