This anthology of nineteen short stories comes from an idea by Lana M. Ho-Shing. The basic premise is that the authors are in a room and as they look out and see various people and situations, they bring these to life through their stories. The surprising thing is what wonderful stories came from this concept. Each of the nineteen stories is well-written.

While Ho-Shing deserves praise for the concept, equal praise should go to the compiler, Harpe, for his selection of stories that touch the heart.

Two stories, "Austin, My Hero" by Tory Lynn and "Twilight" by Matthew Alan Pierce, recount the friendships of boyhood friends, and both authors capture the essence of love as exhibited by young boys. One loses his friend to death later in life, and the other loses his friend because he had to move. Even though one seems much more tragic than the other, the parting was equally heart-wrenching for each of the boys.

One story, written by Ho-Shing, does not follow the premise of a window, but because of its realistic account of the 9/11 tragedy, it was included in the anthology. One other story, "Killing Frost," gives us a touching story of a young white man helping a black woman and her two daughters.

This is a book that should be on the desk of people who teach the short story; the idea of the window (or something similar) could be used to jumpstart writers toward writing short stories. This was a very enjoyable read.