"In this wonderful collection Amina Gautier writes with exhilarating insight and confidence about the lives of teenagers who are indeed at risk from themselves, their families and their friends. These are urgent and important stories."—Margot Livesey, author of The House on Fortune Street and Eva Moves The Furniture
"In these always engaging stories, Amina Gautier reminds us that behind the disturbing headlines are vibrant young people whose lives matter immeasurably. Gautier employs unflinching honesty to capture those lives, and she does so with clarity, dignity and genuine insight. At-Risk will break your heart even as it leaves you full of hope. It is a truly lovely book."—David Haynes, author of The Full Matilda
"[P]art of what makes At-Risk immensely appealing is the sense that Gautier has captured facets of youth which transcend borders. . . . Despite its title, this is not a debut composed of rapid shocks and dangers, but a quieter accumulation of heartbreaking pressures. Another treasure in the University of Georgia Press' acclaimed series."—Karen Rigby, ForeWord
“It was no surprise to us that she won such a high-status award. . . . What is more notable is the quality of the stories, which also update the usual Flannery O’Connor winner’s content: citified, frisky, adventurous and redolent of social concerns. Gautier’s stories do not resemble anyone else’s, one reason why we are so proud to have published her.”—Notre Dame Reviews
“[T]he stories in At-Risk constitute a strong, promising performance and suggest that much more excellent work lies ahead. . . . Baxter, Sterling, and Gautier, in particular, write tales that are memorable precisely because they have an authentic texture that helps, in O’Connor’s formulation, make actual the mysterious position of our lives on earth.”—Greg Johnson, The Georgia Review
“Gautier is good at what she does. . . .Her true achievement is her capacity to tell stories of urgency, sensitivity and grace. Her characters are bearers of psychological complexity. . . .all familiar stories in their basic broad strokes, it is her fine sense of detail, her intimate knowledge of the quirks and foibles of her character, and her capacity to write lines with seemingly effortless grace, that make this such a pleasurable and enlightening read.”—Kwame Dawes, Prairie Schooner
“These stories have courage, a brutal honesty, and a layered insight that is hard to find. They will stay with you long after the stories are over.”— Richard Thomas, The Nervous Breakdown
"Ultimately, these aren’t stories that surprise us at the end, but rather ones that surprise us with how those ends are reached. . . . A thought-provoking read, At-Risk offers no easy solutions to the problems of inner city poverty and racial discrimination. In the end, we may not be able to love these children and teenagers enough to change their circumstances, but Gautier ensures that we will, in fact, love them."—Siân Griffiths, The Iowa Review
