Short stories included in this resource

Title and synopsis / Aspects of 'odd one out'
The catcher in the rye by J D Salinger
Holden Caulfield is the narrator who seems to be excluded from and victimised by the world around him. The novel is about his attempts to find his way in a world in which he feels he doesn’t belong. / Holden’s alienation is the cause of most of his pain. He desperately needs human contact and love, but he is bitter and has built a wall around himself which prevents such interaction. He is unable to understand his emotions, nor does he attempt to discover the source of his troubles.
Finding Grace by Alyssa Brugman
The author portrays the intensity of a teenager's struggle to find a way through frustrating emotions. She gives the reader insights into the world of disability and the prejudice sometimes projected by the outside world. / The novel focuses on the frustrations of caring for and protecting a handicapped person. There are detailed descriptions of extreme emotions and a sense of hopelessness. Rachel experiences distress and confusion.
Walking naked by Alyssa Brugman
This is about the high school scene and the need to conform to peer pressure.
The protagonist, Megan Tuw, has always been part of the in-crowd. She begins to spend time with a girl called ‘the freak’ and does not tell her friends. Megan knows that she would lose face and status if they knew that she was becoming friends with Perdita. / The novel scarily details the pressures of being popular and of the need to have the right clothes, the right friends and the right looks.
Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta
Josie Alibrandi, is a third-generation Italian-Australian. In her last year of school, Josie grapples with the uneasiness of first love, the grief of unexpected death and discovery of family secrets. Josie seeks to define her place in the world. / Josie is struggling to balance the desire to be independent against the need to belong.
A Marathon of her own, by Irini Savvides, tells how Sophia and her family migrate to Melbourne from Greece in 1955, the year before the Melbourne Olympics. / Set in 1955–56, this historical novel explores the Greek migrant experience. Sophia turns to running to escape the prejudice she faces at her new school.
The bonesetter’s daughter by Amy Tan relates the experiences of a young Chinese woman, LuLing, who grew up in China in the period prior to World War II and during the Japanese occupation. / Amy Tan frames the historical section of the novel by telling the story of LuLing’s American daughter, Ruth, as she struggles to understand her mother.
Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Gregor wakes up in bed and finds he has turned into a cockroach. The family tries to cope.
This is a short story or a novella. / The style is simple and matter-of-fact.
Gregor does not seem to be very shocked by his transformation, unlike the family. He worries about losing his job. No one can understand him. The family banishes him to his room. Themes are the way outsiders survive and communicate and the control people have over their lives.

Identity: Novels