Posts Tagged ‘teen protagonist’

abstract art of a pale woman hiding her mouth behind an oversized knitted sweater

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Cast of Wonders 602: All-Consuming

Cast of Wonders 602: All-Consuming is a Cast of Wonders original.

Portrayal of an eating disorder; surrealistic cannibalism; body horror

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 12:57 — 17.8MB)

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Show Notes

A broad list of international eating disorder support resources: https://www.worldeatingdisordersday.org/home/find-help/

 

All-Consuming

by Taryn Rose Frazier

My sister walks in on me as I contort myself in bed, trying to take a bite of my inner thigh—the fleshy part that’s rubbed against the other thigh ever since I got curves. I sit up so fast my head hits the underside of the upper bunk.

Avery’s eyes are wide. “Rowan, what are you doing?” she hisses. Avery gets angry when she’s scared, because she hates being scared.

“Nothing,” I say. I tug my jeans up over the offending thighs and fumble with the zipper. Avery’s only two years younger, but I’ve always felt motherly toward her. Mom always lies to me when she doesn’t want me to worry—Dad and I are just having a loud discussion, or of course Grandpa is going to get better, or you’ll be fine—so I do the same for Avery.

Avery crosses her arms and waits. After fourteen years of sharing a room, she knows me well enough to tell when I’m lying. She also knows me well enough to tell when I’m not going to talk, so when an awkward minute passes and I’m still picking lint off my comforter, she throws up her hands and leaves.

That’s where it starts. (Continue Reading…)

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Cast of Wonders 598: The Middle Rages (Encore!)

Originally published as Cast of Wonders 144, 2 November 2014

Image by Peter Schmidt from Pixabay

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The Middle Rages

by Joseph L. Kellogg

Cale twirled his drumstick morosely as the last of the reverb from the guitars died out.

“We vent,” he finally declared, tossing the sticks down onto the snare with a clatter. He leaned against the back of the couch and crossed his arms over his ample stomach.

“No, come on,” Bendrick replied, turning toward the drums as he brushed the hair from his eyes. “That was good, we’re definitely getting better. We’ve just gotta-” He stumbled as he stepped on the cord and pulled the plug sharply from his guitar. “We’ve gotta keep practicing.”

“What for, Benny?” asked Jillan, plopping down on an amp and resting her head in her hands. “It’s not like we can ever sign a big record contract, or go on a world tour. There aren’t any opportunities on the ship, no matter how good we are.”

“Don’t you see?” Bendrick said, pulling the guitar strap over his head and setting it down. He pointed at the crude letters formed from strips of electrical tape on the base drum. “We’re The Middle Rages! It’s not about the money or the fame, it’s about the rage, the emotion. It’s about the art.”
(Continue Reading…)

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Cast of Wonders 597: Happy Go Lucky

Copyright (c) 2014 by Garth Nix. First published in Kaleidoscope (Twelfth Planet Press, 2014). Reprinted with permission of the Author. All rights reserved.

Episode image by Manny Moreno from Pixabay

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 50:04 — 68.8MB)

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Happy Go Lucky

by Garth Nix

Jean was seventeen so her Luck was the average of her two parents, a very healthy four point five. When she graduated from school in a little less than three month’s time, she would test her own Luck, but everyone knew that it would not be less than Dad, the surgeon’s, four point nine or Pop, the mathematician’s, four point one. Privately, Jean thought it would be at least a five, almost as high as you could get. After all, she was young and pretty and very smart. Surely her Luck must be even better than her parents?

But she did not think about her Luck as she strolled down the street towards her home, the last sunshine of the afternoon lighting her way as if she trod upon a golden road. She didn’t pay any attention to the street sweepers, who had just begun to come out as the day faded, ready to work through the night. They wore shabby reflective vests over many-times patched clothes, and each wore an ironic crown of twisted black wire upon their heads, the mark of the Unlucky. The crowns were attached to anyone whose Luck tested below one point two, and could not be removed. No one was ever lucky enough to recover from below one point two. (Continue Reading…)

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Cast of Wonders 592: Flawless

First published in 2013 in the short story collection Twisted Winter, edited by Catherine Butler

Image by Leonhard Niederwimmer from Pixabay

 neglect and dysfunctional relationships

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:11 — 47.0MB)

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Flawless

by Frances Hardinge

When people stay in hotel rooms, they suddenly turn into toddlers. Weird, creative, screwed-up toddlers.

Let’s smear jam on the wall! Let’s leave apple cores in the drawers! Let’s hide used nappies behind the radiator, so that they fill the whole room with the smell of cooked poo! Hello, whoever cleans this room! I’ve left you a surprise!

Maybe they think there’s some hidden handle we pull to flush the room clean. But there isn’t. The only ‘handles’ are Mum, ‘occasional Kev’ from the village, and me. Kev’s just Occasional and Mum has everything else to do, so cleaning is mostly my job, particularly during the school holidays. (Continue Reading…)

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Cast of Wonders 588: In a town like this

This story was first published on Maria Haskins’ Patreon.
Episode image by Brigitte Werner from Pixabay.

underage drinking

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 14:03 — 21.6MB)

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In a Town Like This

by Maria Haskins

It’s the first weekend of summer holidays and we’re piling into the backseat of Annette’s dinky old Honda headed to some house party at the far edge of town, passing a bottle of rum and coke between us. It’s one of those two-liter plastic coke bottles and the label is slipping off and the contents are lukewarm by now, but we don’t care. We kiss that bottle and in the passenger seat, Patrik cranks the radio and we’re dancing to Bon Jovi on sweaty vinyl seats. (Continue Reading…)

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Cast of Wonders 585: Haint Blue Sky

Cast of Wonders 585: Haint Blue Sky is a Cast of Wonders original.

Self harm; some scenes tangential to suicidal ideation.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:53 — 45.7MB)

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Haint Blue Sky

by Stephen Granade

Laurel hadn’t had time lately to listen to the stars sing. Sophomore classes had kicked her butt up one side of the holler and back down the other. She’d been okay missing the stars until the school’s combo football coach and part-time counselor had called her in right before Christmas break to talk about what she’d do after graduation. His tests claimed she should be an astronomer. Like Laurel’s mom had money for her to skip off to college or anything.

Starting the break like that put Laurel in a mood, so soon as it got dark, she bundled up and headed out back of the house. At the train tracks she laid down flat on the rough, sloped gravel, feet pointed at the ground, head pointed at the sky.

At least she could listen to the stars for free.

Their songs flickered like their light. Tonight, Sirius sang melody. Castor and Pollux added harmonies. Aldebaran’s deep bass rumbled underneath. And over it all, the Milky Way trilled a faint blue shimmer of high notes, hard to catch. (Continue Reading…)

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Cast of Wonders 584: Robot Girl

Cast of Wonders 584: Robot Girl is a Cast of Wonders original.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:06 — 42.7MB)

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Robot Girl

by Grace Griego

At age nineteen, Robot Girl had dropped out of the most prestigious university in the country, had no objectives in life, and was now stuck pet sitting for the lovely lesbian couple at her old church. Everything she was programmed not to be and do, Robot Girl had now become.

1 Extra Large Pepperoni Pizza

Robot girl tightened her faded, pink Hello Kitty Hair band then typed her order through a delivery service, rather than actually talk to anyone on the phone. Something deep in her wiring went off at this idea, but she didn’t know why. Robot Girl much preferred not to bother anyone if she could help it. And really, she couldn’t help it, it was in her programming. “Remember, Robot Girl! Be nice and polite!” her mother had always told her before she went to school. “Got it! Polite and nice!” Robot Girl never failed to reply, the words coming out stiff and wrong.

Nice. Robot Girl had grown to hate that word. It was the kind of word a fellow classmate would use to describe you because they didn’t know what else to say. (Continue Reading…)

Image of a rural village behind old foliage

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Cast of Wonders 581: Never Thought He’d Go

First published in the 2016 Bristol Short Story Prize anthology, and Best British Short Stories 2017 from Salt Publishing.

Death of children; one instance of the f-word.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:06 — 37.8MB)

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Never Thought He’d Go

by Francoise Harvey

‘Fell off the church spire,’ said Davy.

‘Gravestone landed on him,’ said Davytoo.

‘Trampled t’death by cows when he cut through the wrong field home,’ said Saz.

‘Not to death,’ said Davy. ‘To death means actually dead. He’s just a bit bashed up, like.’ (Continue Reading…)

sand trickling out of a hand against a dark brown backdrop

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Cast of Wonders 580: Bodies of Sand and Blood

Cast of Wonders 580: Bodies of Sand and Blood is a Cast of Wonders original.

Transphobia, abusive parents

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:01 — 42.9MB)

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Bodies of Sand and Blood

by Plangdi Neple

Sneaking into your father’s shrine is one of the most stupid things you have ever done, yet you feel entirely at home among the hanging masks and horsetails. Lanterns beside the doorway and at the opposite end of the shrine cast the faces of the other boys around you in an orange glow. The excitement on their dark, ruddy faces can’t match yours though, and your cheeks hurt from smiling too much.

You are seated on the bench furthest from your father’s big bone chair, hoping to be obscured by the shadowy darkness of the corner. The first three benches are crammed with boys jostling for a better seat yet unwilling to move to the empty benches behind. You scoff at their stupidity but pray they don’t stop clamoring for those seats. In your heart of hearts you belong with them, but you know the further away you are from them, the better. (Continue Reading…)

shells and trinkets

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Cast of Wonders 579: The Ivory Eagle

Previously published in Wyngraf #2 October 2022

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:21 — 35.1MB)

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The Ivory Eagle

by Jonathan Olfert

Autumn winds chilled the late-harvest gathering, kept everyone huddling by fires or the warmest tidepools. Kerredi’s latest trade brought him down to crouch by the shore where the breeze bit through the seams in his ragged furs. Two traders sloshed in the shallows, waiting on his decision. He clutched a leaf-wrapped packet of elk jerky and eyed the bargain: a shell-bead bracelet dangling from a tentacle. The Curling Hand People did make nice beads, but was this a trade up? Enough of a trade up? (Continue Reading…)

silhouette of horses against a backdrop of the milky way

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Cast of Wonders 577: Fording the Milky Way

Cast of Wonders 577: Fording the Milky Way is a Cast of Wonders original.

Abusive relationships, dysfunctional families

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:37 — 32.4MB)

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Fording the Milky Way

by Megan Ng

There’s a festival celebrated in China that’s dedicated to young lovers. It is not one celebrated here, but Ma tells me about it all the same. Storytelling is our way of killing time as she makes supper for the ranch hands or patches Pa’s shirts, and whenever she’s sitting comfortably with her hands full I know I’m about to hear something interesting. Ma’s stories aren’t like the ones in books– hers seem more thrilling and real, even though I know she’s making most of them up.

She tells me a story about a beautiful weaver girl who lives among the stars and falls in love with a human cowherd. She tells me about a vengeful mother goddess who rips the sky in two with a hairpin to keep the lovers apart forevermore.

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Jade Emperor takes pity on them, Ma says. He allows all the magpies of the world to form a bridge between the heavens, so that the weaver and her cowherd can see each other for a single night. (Continue Reading…)

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Cast of Wonders 575: Crystal Hexagons on Windowsills (Staff Picks 2023)

Originally published as Cast of Wonders 560, 27th October 2023

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 39:44 — 55.3MB)

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Crystal Hexagons on Windowsills

by Prashanth Srivatsa

I was the only one among my friends who did not get the letter. Which is a real shame, because I was the only one who could snap a finger to conjure a flame. (Continue Reading…)