Metamorphosis

Coauthored by Blaylock and a trio of his high school students, these three reflective short-short stories employing Blaylock's signature nostalgic prose are individually strong in technique, but weakened by thematic similarities. The eccentric hero of Adriana Campoy's lighthearted “Stone Eggs” uncovers an entryway into a fantastic world while house-sitting for his uncle. In Brittany Cox's well-written but unexciting “P-38,” Anderson revisits his imperfect childhood by assembling a model airplane from his father's former shop. Alex Haniford's “Houses” hurtles toward darkness when Michael returns home for his mother's funeral and accidentally unearths the chilling secret behind his father's spiraling dementia. While Tim Powers offers a short foreword and William Ashbless (Powers and Blaylock's joint nom de plume) provides a whimsical afterword, readers will recognize both as padding and be left wanting more real content. (Apr.)