Getting through life is hard, and high school can be an especially difficult part of it. Hear intensely powerful writings on topics like death and violence as well as uplifting stories of friendship, strength, and love. Read about karma, gossip, mead, and ocean poetry.

— Simon Traub-Epstein, International Library of Young Authors

From the publisher: “What are our beliefs about what is right and wrong? How do our decisions impact those around us? Are forgiveness and redemption truly possible? These are just a few of the questions explored in The Battle Within, a collection of writing from the students of Ida B. Wells High School in San Francisco. Inspired by the themes in Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, these young authors crafted powerful stories, poems, and letters that get to the heart of what it means to struggle, to regret, to overcome, to love. We invite you to take a moment to step inside each one of their boxes, to read their words, and to consider their hopes. Foreword by Khaled Hosseini.”