On "Place de la Revolution" by Kate Brown (425 words) ****

Here, in fewer than five hundred words, you'll get a sense of the lives of these Arab immigrants to France. I'm reminded of a French movie I saw a few years back--the name unfortunately escapes me--that goes into great detail about such lives. There's a tendency to let the constant barrage of media messages about terrorism skew our view of the general lot of the youths, who are just like kids everywhere--trying to get along and making their share of stupid life choices. Here, these youths' discomfort with their surroundings is made plain in every little action, but most especially at the end. Read the story here (originally published in Linnet's Wings).