Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II offers more inspiring stories to help you master the game we call life. Today's teens have ever more issues and social pressures to juggle than young adults just 20 years ago. This book, like its predecessor, can be your guide - a beacon in the darkness, a safe haven in a storm, a warm hug in the cold and a respite from loneliness. There's no preaching as to what you should and shouldn't do. Instead, this book is full of teens sharing their experiences on learning to accept like, becoming the best person you can be, being happy with who you are, and loving yourself - no matter what.

Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling coauthors, are professional speakers who have dedicated their lives to enhancing the personal and professional development of others. Kimberly Kirberger is the coauthor of the bestselling Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul series, as well as Chicken Soup for the College Soul and Chicken Soup for the Parent's Soul. She is also president of Inspiration And Motivation for Teens, Inc. (I.A.M. 4 Teens) and frequently speaks to and in support of teens nationwide.

Starlight, Star Bright When I was five years old, I took an extreme liking to my sisterÆs toys. It made little difference that I had a trunk overflowing with dolls and toys of my own. Her ôbig girlö treasures were much easier to break, and much more appealing. Likewise, when I was ten and she was twelve, the earrings and make-up that she was slowly being permitted to experiment with held my attention, while my former obsession with catching bugs seemed to be a distant and fading memory. It was a trend that continued year by year and, except for a few bruises and threats of terrifying ôhaircutsö while I was sleeping, one that my sister handled with tolerance. My mother continually reminded her, as I entered junior high wearing her new hair clips, that it was actually a compliment to her sense of style. She told her, as I started my first day of high school wearing her clothes, that one day she would laugh and remind me of how she was always the cooler of the two of us. I had always thought that my sister had good taste, but never more than when she started bringing home guys. I had a constant parade of sixteen-year-old boys going through my house, stuffing themselves with food in the kitchen, or playing basketball on the driveway. I had recently become very aware that boys, in fact, werenÆt as ôickyö as I had previously thought, and that maybe their cooties werenÆt such a terrible thing to catch after all. But the freshman guys who were my age, whom I had spent months giggling over at football games with my friends, suddenly seemed so young. They couldnÆt drive and they didnÆt wear varsity jackets. My sisterÆs friends were tall, they were funny, and even though my sister was persistent in getting rid of me quickly, they were always nice to me as she pushed me out the door. Every once in a while I would luck out, and they would stop by when she wasnÆt home. One in particular would have long conversations with me before leaving to do whatever sixteen-year-old boys did (it was still a mystery to me). He talked to me as he talked to everyone else, not like a kid, not like his friendÆs little sister . . . and he always hugged me good-bye before he left. It wasnÆt surprising that before long I was positively giddy about him. My friends told me I had no chance with a junior. My sister looked concerned for my potentially broken heart. But you canÆt help who it is that you fall in love with, whether they are older or younger, taller or shorter, completely opposite or just like you. Emotion ran me over like a Mack truck when I was with him, and I knew that it was too late to try to be sensible—I was in love. It did not mean I didnÆt realize the possibility of being rejected. I knew that I was taking a big chance with my feelings and pride. If I didnÆt give him my heart there was no possibility that he would break it . . . but there was also no chance that he might not. One night before he left, we sat on my front porch talking and looking fo

---

Excerpted from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul II: 101 More Stories of Life, Love and Learning by Jack L. Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Kimberly Kirberger
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.