A cycle of stories about the difficult process of coming of age: young people who see themselves as outcasts, oddballs, and freaks, and who grow up through some experience of love and loss. These "Ugly Duckling"-type stories are timeless and the author has managed to make them new again. They are united by the one thousand-year-old city of Yaroslavl, Russia, and provide a host of exciting details which go unseen by tourists: the real adventure begins where the tourist trail ends. Winner of the Debut and other prizes, Anna Lavrinenko (b. 1984) lives in Yaroslavl, Russia, the vivid backdrop for all her stories.