THE BLUE JEAN COLLECTION Edited by Peter Carver Saskatoon (Sask.), Thistledown Press, 1992. 240pp, galley, $9.95 ISBN 0-920633-94-3. CIP Subject Headings: Short stories, Canadian (English). Young adult fiction, Canadian (English). Canadian fiction (English)-20th century. Grades 7-10 / Ages 12-15 Reviewed by Joyce Brown Volume 20 Number 5 1992 October The Blue Jean Collection is an anthology of fiction for young adults selected from the winning entries in a national writing competition sponsored by Thistledown Press. The winning selection, "I Am Hilda Burrows," written by Sharon Gibson Palermo of Halifax, tells of a young woman who survives the Halifax explosion of 1917. Despite her injuries she works to rescue others. The runner-up, Linda Holeman of Winnipeg, entered a moving story, "Saying Goodbye," which relates a girl's attempt to accept the death of her father, an Ojibwa. Each of the nineteen stories in this anthology displays a theme of particular interest to young adults--their relationships with their parents and friends, their absorption with their appearance, their concerns for the environment, and their fears for the future. The variety of styles--fantasy, science fiction, abstract and contemporary--will maintain young readers' interest. The stories are lively, often suspenseful, true to the experiences and enthusiasms of young adults, and consistently entertaining. The cover illustration and design by Stéphan Daigle will appeal to teenaged readers. I would highly recommend The Blue Jean Collection for a high school library collection. Joyce Brown is a teacher-librarian at Westwood Community High School in Fort McMurray, Alberta