I'm a sucker for any anthology that ends with Richard Petty accepting the National Book Award. . . This one also has a lot of heart. The first of what promises to be an annual collection of stories promoting "a rebirth of beauty and life-affirming values," the Silver Rose Anthology offers a strong mix of voices and attitudes. Not every story here will appeal to every reader (the opening story, for instance, does little for me), but the collection overall is outstanding. Personal favorites (in addition to George Singleton's outrageous "Richard Petty Accepts the National Book Award") include Robert Olen Butler's seamless "Rafferty and Josephine," Julie Orringer's touching "Note to Sixth-Grade Self" Patry Francis'"Limbe," and Patricia Hackbarth's provocative "A Brief Geological Guide to Canyon County."
Move over Bill Henderson, Katrina Keneson, and Larry Dark. Watson's in the house!

When Kevin Watson gathered the stories for this anthology, he was doing us a public service. This is a hard world: hearts break, and lives are shattered. Stories that don't deal with those realities aren't true to life. But there's so much more to life--and should be to art. These stories are "life-affirming" in the best kind of way: They don't stay sunk in gloom, but they don't stoop to easy answers. Each one shows us a new facet of getting on with life, making things work, following the path. The individual stories are excellent--I especially like the story by Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Olen Butler, although it's one of several strong stories--and in their cumulative effect, the collection becomes (and I mean this in the best kind of way) inspirational.

i only gave this book 5 stars because i could not give it more. i went to a reading of one of the writers and soon went on to read the rest. it has a good mix of voices, but by far the best writer is Heidi Shayla and her story "The Coffin Builder's Romance", it is a beautiful story of quilts, boxes, and of course, coffins. it is my all time favorite anthology, and i would definetly recomend it.