I recently had the pleasure of reading a book of short stories by LDS author, Anne Bradshaw. Her newest book, entitled “Please, no zits!” offers quick reading for every taste. There’s romance, adventure, introspection, and humor. But, for me, the best part of her book was the glimpse it gave me into life ‘on the other side of the pond’.

Anne Bradshaw was born and raised in England. She moved to the United States a decade ago and brings with her a love and feel for the British Isles, which she knows so well. Included in her book is a map of the British Isles. The towns and cities mentioned in her book are marked on the map so readers can identify their location. She has also included a glossary of terms. I did not need the glossary except for one word, eejit. Of course, all of you who do know what the word eejit means are probably laughing because I have just shown that I am one! Oh, the irony. (Eejit means idiot, by the way.)

I did not read the book in order. That’s the nice thing about these books. You can bounce around according to your mood.

The first story I read was the one Anne talked about the most, “Rock Bottom in a Jail Cell”. Listening to Anne talk about this story built a sense of intrigue within me. The longest story in the book deals with a teenager having to face the consequences of his wrong choices and the difficult choice he makes to try and open his heart to the Spirit. It was a story influenced by the personal experience of the author’s friend whose son did make it back and now lectures on drug abuse and recovery.

I felt the angst of recently returned Elder Kalan Ballantyne in the story “Advertised on Her Face”. He struggles with what to do when he comes home to find his girlfriend has become engaged to someone much less worthy and notices the visible effects it has on her. She did a terrific job of drawing me into Kalan's thoughts.

But not all the stories are so serious. A cute idea for asking someone out on a date is shared in “Darkness at Noonday” I smiled at the humorous way of asking a fellow seminary student out on a date. The idea was presented in such detail I wondered if this really happened. (If it hasn’t been used before, it should be.)

But my favorite short story was “Mountain Nearing”. Feeling awkward in a not-so-voluntary service project the young hero, Aaron Veasey, learns personal lessons and grows in maturity. By the end, the story brought a tear to my eye and, again, I wondered how much was fiction and how much was from personal experience.

Anne writes for teens by writing about teens. She listens to their concerns: be it dating, appearance or feelings of eternity, and then writes a story she hopes will help them understand their divine worth and ability to live righteously despite the pressures of the world.

One thing I appreciated in Anne’s book was that so many of her stories were about young men. In fact, my own teenage son has been reading the book in bits and pieces, too. It’s not so romantic and mushy that he can’t enjoy it. I appreciate that Anne’s heroes are not whimps. Some make mistakes and struggle with the consequences. Others struggle when they view the choices made by people they love. Many of her heroes are missionaries and, by creating stories with mature missionaries and returned missionaries, my son is able to stay focused on his own not-too-distant goal. Anne openly shows the struggle of making the decision to serve and the later blessings in “Beyond the Thorns”. The trials of coming home were expressed in more than one story and even a girlfriend falling in love with a ‘gifted’ pianist while her beau is serving a mission is shared in “Slicing Rainbows”. (It is not until the last short paragraphs that you realize the new ‘man’ in her life is only eleven years old.)

I liked the fact that the stories in the book were short. Easy to read. Easy to pick it up and read from anyplace. Great for those snippets of time we all have. Though some of the stories are set in the United States, most find a comfortable locale in the cities and countryside of the British Isles. I truly enjoyed the dialogue, cultural insight and language cadence from the various locations around the British Isles. It was like going on a mini-vacation without the expensive airfare. How fun and refreshing.



If you're looking for a great I'm thinking of you gift, check out Anne Bradshaw's newest book. The book is in independent LDS stores already, and on Amazon.com, but not yet in Deseret Book or Seagull.

For more information, visit her website.
Anne's Web site