101 Ways to Dance

101 Ways to Dance
Author: Kathy Stinson
Published By: Second Story Press, 2006
ISBN: 1-897187-10-6
Genre: Fiction, Sexual Behaviour
Pages: 150

101 Ways to Dance is a collection of short stories about teenagers in a variety of sexual situations: pregnancy, masturbation, incest, and lesbianism are but a few of the "hot button" topics covered in the fourteen vignettes. The book has received a fair amount of praise for the way it opens up topics for discussion without appearing to impose any judgments from the author onto the reader (and the book actually includes discussion questions based on each story at the back), but as far as reading it without intending to use it as a launch pad for further investigation, I was somewhat underwhelmed. The stories do create a sense of anticipation, building to a titillating crescendo before abruptly ending; for me, as an adult reader, there was little emotional pay-off, but I suspect the "quick and dirty" approach to story-telling is better appreciated by a younger reader.

I do think it is important that books like 101 Ways to Dance be made, ones that present many different types of sexuality in one accessible format (the love story between two teens with Down's Syndrome was rather charming), helping teenagers to know that no matter how they are feeling about their sexuality, they aren't alone. I appreciated that the stories are sex-positive without assuming hetero-normativity; there is no one right way to approach sex, and this book is, as Stinson herself says, a positive and safe way to explore one's sexual curiosity. Suggested age range 14+.

Rated: 4/5

Another review of 101 Ways to Dance can be found here.