An editor for the literary journal "New American Writing" and Chair of the Creative Writing Department, San Francisco State University, Maxine Chernoff writes short stories with a polish and candor that most other aspiring writers can only hope for. Some Of Her Friends That Year is an original anthology of fifteen unique stories by Chernoff about the quirks and dark sides to human behavior. From "We Kill What We Love" and "Rent-A-Pet", to "You Suck" and "Jewish Urban White Trash Story", Chernoff's tales are gut-twisting intense and do not shy away or beat around the bush in delivering devastating black humor, avant-garde wit, and an abyss of negative sympathy for the nasty demon within us all. An entrancing read; each these coiling tales is resists being put down until the very end.

As one of the poets featured in Will Work for Peace, one might expect me to be a bit biased, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Most poets work in a virtual vacuum, only tenuously connected to each other by the occasional workshop or shared membership in a 'poetry society'. When Brett Axel first approached me for a submission to an anthology he was considering, the names Marge Piercy, Lyn Lifshin, Moshe Bennaroch and so many others were abstractions to me as a fledgling poet. I knew these tremendous writers were 'out there' somewhere, beating down doors with their words and keeping a struggling artform alive. But to think that someday I would ever share a credit with these dynamic modern poets would be a pipe dream at best. It is through the sincere efforts of Brett Axel that many newer voices like mine have an extraordinary opportunity to appear with Pulitzer Prize winners and other poetic heavyweights. By way of an honest review, however, I will say this- not everything in this book will be to your particular liking. I myself came across some works that did not move me in the way the author may have intended. Some imagery can be raw and visceral, using shock value in place of craft at times. But to ignore those voices would be an even more shocking turn of events, so praise be to the editor for not sacrificing his vision to a senseless conformity. As Pete Seeger so aptly put it in his quote, trying to read all these poems at one time would be like trying 'to swallow Manhattan whole'. I say to you- buy this book, read this book, but understand that it's what you do after reading this book that will ultimately define who you could be. Poetry is alive and well, and lives in the blunt pages of Will Work for Peace.

Just amazing start to finish! I like the disregard for fame used in putting the book together. That great poems got in even if they were writtenby nobodys. Look at Roger Bonair-Agard's poem on page 74. Shortly after Will Work For Peace came out he won Slam Nationals, becoming Slam Champion of 1999, which will be getting him lots of offers. But Zeropanik Press didn't need to be told he was good by an award. They could tell by his writing! Good for them and good for all of us because Will Work For Peace is a literary milestone. It's a new standard for all future anthology editors to try to live up to. Thumbs up to Brett Axel and Thumbs up to Zeropanik Press for their guts and integrty.

Brett Axel visited my Church and I bought a copy of Will Work For Peace from him, not for poetry, but because I care about working for peace. I started reading through it thinking It'd just go on my shelf and that'd be the end of it, but the book grabbed me and kept me rivited. If I had known that poetry was this alive I'd have been into poetry. I've been reading some of the poems to my friends who also didn't think poetry was important and they are saying the same thing. Fantastic! There's no way to get through this book without having your old mindsets challenged. It's funny, powerful, sad, and uplifting. A book that deserves to be read by everyone. A book that really can make the world a better place!

I read this book around the time the 6 year old Michigan boy shot his classmate. I have an 11 year old boy named Danny and the beginning of the book really is great at describing the passions and fears a parent would probably have if they were ever faced with this situation. The middle of the book slowed down a bit but still gave a good sense of how the characters in such a horrible situation might react. The end was just crazy and I was dissapointed. Here is a great line: "Nothing we fear gets realized, but while we're distracted, worse things happen." It's a fast read with short chapters. I don't know how a story like this could have ended and in the end I guess no ending to such a sad story would suffice. It is worth the effort but don't expect too much in the ending.

Reading A Boy in Winter, by Maxine Chernoff, I really cared. I urgently wanted this sensitive child and the people surrounding him to make it to spring.It's been said before, but this is a book you won't be able to put down. These likable characters and the tragedy they don't deserve will grab you. You'll finish the book in two days.As always with Chernoff's novels, it's beautifully written-witty and wise. Presented through the eyes of the three main characters, this poignant story deals with the many faces of loss: a child's loss of an uninterested parent; a parent's loss of a child; the loss of a spouse who's lost interest in the marriage. There are many other universal themes: a woman¹s dual need for two kinds of love-that of a child and that of an adult; a father's desire to teach his son manly things (which, ironically, robs his son of his manhood); the common illusion that parenting, if done right, can protect children from pain; the guilt a parent feels when a child suffers or causes pain. A Boy in Winter is a captivating book. It deals movingly with loss and fear of loss. Yet, it is upbeat as it reveals the strength of unconditional love.

I picked up A BOY IN WINTER and had trouble putting it down. Although I enjoy a good drama as much as the next guy, it was the complexity of the mother/son relationship that Chernoff writes about that really kept me reading.

There is no arguing the instant tension Chernoff creates when Nancy Harvath's only son Danny kills his best friend Eddie Nova with a hunting bow. You're viscerally aware that from that moment, life will never be the same for these characters.

The stakes are raised even higher when the reader discovers that the parents of both of these children have been carrying on an extra-marital love affair.

And if you enjoy beautifully sculpted language and vivid descriptions of scenery--this book will attract you.

Still, what most impressed me in this novel was the depth and integrity the author found in exploring the relationship between mother and son. Many of the moments that were most poinant were quiet--away from the hype and drama of the disasterous situation--when the reader is cast deep into the consciousness of a mother who loves her child feverishly.

The book is devided into three sections, so the reader is given the opportunity to explore the story from three characters' points-of-view. The middle section is Danny's.

In this section, the writer again suceeds at submersing the reader into a character's consciousness. She is able to capture his youth intelligence. Many of the readers assumptions are turned upside-down. Danny, despite his youth--is often able to see his mother with more clarity than she sees herself.

In addition to his lamenting his deed, you experience the sad, adult-like consiousness of a child. His loyalty to his mother is exemplified by the fact that his father left them when he was two--and the stuggle he witnessed while she saved to get them out of their apartment into a home.

While the subject matter is challenging, and the situation grim--the novel is ultimately redemptive. It was a refreshing change to read a narrative about a family who sticks together through horrendous circumstances.

These folks are human. They make mistakes. Huge mistakes. But Chernoff uses sparse, pitch-perfect language and imagry to invite you into the consciousness of her characters--who if you listen--will teach you how to love.

I want everyone to read this book. People who have children. People who have parents. Mothers who're raising children on their own. Fathers who have left them behind.