About the Author

Deborah Ellis is the internationally acclaimed author of more than twenty books for children. A peace activist and humanitarian, Deborah has travelled the world to meet with and hear the stories of children marginalized by poverty, war, and illness. She has won a number of major awards in her native Canada for her work.

Reviews

"Ellis's first collection of short stories for YAs exhibits the same fine writing quality that readers have come to expect from her. As occurs in the majority of her books, Ellis addresses a social concern, this time drugs and addictions, but she does so without engaging in any preaching or making of overt value judgements. Instead, she just lets readers draw their own conclusions from the stories' happenings. Highly Recommended." -- CM Magazine "Lunch with Lenin, is a powerful and skillfully executed collection of short stories about the impact of drugs, alcohol, and addiction on the lives of young people. . . This collection is guaranteed to provoke discussion and debate among those who do read it, particularly at the junior high and early high school level, and is likely to attract teachers looking for accessible and interesting classroom reading." -- Quill & Quire "The stories themselves are uniformly readable, and their subject is undeniably timely and urgently important." -- Booklist "The variety of characters, settings, and perspectives make this a quality collection." -- School Library Journal "Fabulous work.. ." -- The Hamilton Spectator "In her first book of short stories, she lives up to her very fine reputation as a writer of thoughtful, current, and compelling fiction. Each [story] is perfect for opening a discussion on issues that will resonate with many of the adolescent readers... be sure to include it in your list of books to share in your middle years or high school classroom, or with your teenager.... Thank You, Deborah Ellis for sharing your stories with us!" -- The Brandon Sun "Deborah Ellis has written a marvelous collection of ten short stories presenting realistic and relevant problems to teenage readers. Her stories show how courageous individuals make difficult choices in a confusing and often dangerous world. One of the most powerful messages in the entire collection of stories is found in the words of Ms. Greer, a history teacher, "Stories... That's really all we leave behind us. Good stories and bad stories. Sometimes, we get to choose." (p. 147) Teenage readers will definitely choose these stories. Rating: E - Excellent" -- Resource Links


This gripping collection of young adult short stories delivers a chilling portrayal of those who struggle to make their way (to whom the book is dedicated). It is a subtle and sophisticated collection that requires careful previewing for classroom appropriateness prior to being offered to students. With that proviso in place, I highly recommend it. The stories depict the lives of 10 teenagers who are directly or indirectly involved with drugs. Their vivid lives and desperate situations are portrayed in simple language, but their experiences are as complex as they are heartbreaking. Settings include locations in North America, Afghanistan, Russia, the Philippines, Mongolia and Bolivia. In the first story we meet Matthew, a straight-A student who rolls and smokes a joint with his grandmother in her nursing home to ease her physical pain. The following nine stories are equally full of thought-provoking contexts and social issues. From the opium fields of Afghanistan to hardcore heroin addicts on the streets of Moscow, we see the similarities of lives controlled and often destroyed by drugs. Crystal meth, ecstasy, glue sniffing, child neglect, police corruption and rehab are just a few of the themes that may prompt discussions about rich and poor, right and wrong, the war on drugs and whether the end justifies the means. "Professionally Speaking " "Andrea Murik"," OCT, is a Special Education resource teacher at Angus Morrison Elementary School in Angus." "

"Ellis's first collection of short stories for YAs exhibits the same fine writing quality that readers have come to expect from her. As occurs in the majority of her books, Ellis addresses a social concern, this time drugs and addictions, but she does so without engaging in any preaching or making of overt value judgements. Instead, she just lets readers draw their own conclusions from the stories' happenings.
Highly Recommended."
-- "CM Magazine"
""Lunch with Lenin," is a powerful and skillfully executed collection of short stories about the impact of drugs, alcohol, and addiction on the lives of young people. . . This collection is guaranteed to provoke discussion and debate among those who do read it, particularly at the junior high and early high school level, and is likely to attract teachers looking for accessible and interesting classroom reading."
-- "Quill & Quire"
"The stories themselves are uniformly readable, and their subject is undeniably timely and urgently important."
-- "Booklist"
"The variety of characters, settings, and perspectives make this a quality collection."
-- "School Library Journal"
"Fabulous work.. ."
-- "The Hamilton Spectator"
"In her first book of short stories, she lives up to her very fine reputation as a writer of thoughtful, current, and compelling fiction. Each [story] is perfect for opening a discussion on issues that will resonate with many of the adolescent readers be sure to include it in your list of books to share in your middle years or high school classroom, or with your teenager . Thank You, Deborah Ellis for sharing your stories with us!"
-- "The Brandon Sun"
"Deborah Ellis has written a marvelous collection of ten short stories presenting realistic and relevant problems to teenage readers. Her stories show how courageous individuals make difficult choices in a confusing and often dangerous world. One of the most powerful messages in the entire collection of stories is found in the words of Ms. Greer, a history teacher, "Stories That's really all we leave behind us. Good stories and bad stories. Sometimes, we get to choose." (p. 147) Teenage readers will definitely choose these stories.
Rating: E - Excellent"
-- "Resource Links"
"

This gripping collection of young adult short stories delivers a chilling portrayal of "those who struggle to make their way" (to whom the book is dedicated). It is a subtle and sophisticated collection that requires careful previewing for classroom appropriateness prior to being offered to students. With that proviso in place, I highly recommend it. The stories depict the lives of 10 teenagers who are directly or indirectly involved with drugs. Their vivid lives and desperate situations are portrayed in simple language, but their experiences are as complex as they are heartbreaking. Settings include locations in North America, Afghanistan, Russia, the Philippines, Mongolia and Bolivia. In the first story we meet Matthew, a straight-A student who rolls and smokes a joint with his grandmother in her nursing home to ease her physical pain. The following nine stories are equally full of thought-provoking contexts and social issues. From the opium fields of Afghanistan to hardcore heroin addicts on the streets of Moscow, we see the similarities of lives controlled and often destroyed by drugs. Crystal meth, ecstasy, glue sniffing, child neglect, police corruption and rehab are just a few of the themes that may prompt discussions about rich and poor, right and wrong, the war on drugs and whether the end justifies the means. "Professionally Speaking " "Andrea Murik"", OCT, is a Special Education resource teacher at Angus Morrison Elementary School in Angus."

"Ellis's first collection of short stories for YAs exhibits the same fine writing quality that readers have come to expect from her. As occurs in the majority of her books, Ellis addresses a social concern, this time drugs and addictions, but she does so without engaging in any preaching or making of overt value judgements. Instead, she just lets readers draw their own conclusions from the stories' happenings.
Highly Recommended."
-- "CM Magazine" ""Lunch with Lenin," is a powerful and skillfully executed collection of short stories about the impact of drugs, alcohol, and addiction on the lives of young people. . . This collection is guaranteed to provoke discussion and debate among those who do read it, particularly at the junior high and early high school level, and is likely to attract teachers looking for accessible and interesting classroom reading."
-- "Quill & Quire" "The stories themselves are uniformly readable, and their subject is undeniably timely and urgently important."
-- "Booklist"