Chasing War
by Jason Davis

Dispatches from Iraq during the first stirrings of the U.S. deployment.

"I expected plastic pop-up Iraqi silhouettes to spring from the ground and I would be strategically placed in a foxhole with an M4 resting on a sandbag. My dominant eye would look over the sight as I aimed center mass; then I would see spurts of Al Qaeda blood spilling from the chest of my enemy. That was the war I felt the Army had prepared me for."

Paris Chez Moi
by Janelle Flores

How an eager young writer studies abroad in Paris when it's all been said and done before.

"Like some tick of writing, I developed a tendency to organize everything I saw into sentences, giving grammar to the world and turning Paris into a text."

A Lonely Coast: The Birth of Industrial Terrain in Long Beach
by Khassaundra Delgado

When a World War II-era plan to protect the city's port from enemies proved too successful, Long Beach lost touch with its surf-city roots and embraced a new, industrial future. Some residents are still hoping for a return to its possibly apocryphal past.

"The breakwater lies just off the coast. Its construction was a turning point in the natural environment and social habitat of Long Beach. Combined with the adjacent San Pedro and Middle breakwaters, this undersea wall constitutes the largest man-made breakwater in the world. Now, more than fifty years later, the city faces another turning point: what should be done about it, if anything?"

The American Girl
by Sara Qadr

A Southern California gradeschooler is transplanted to Gulf-War-I-era Iraq, where she reexamines her notions of self, family, and nationality.

"I felt sure that today I would finally get a letter from California, from my mom or dad. I had written them 20 letters now, made them very pretty and sent them. It had been forty days since the last letter I got. Forty. But today was special. I was turning nine, so I waited."

Biters Among Kings
by Deanna Ong

Inside the hierarchical world of L.A. graffiti artists.

"'I’m not sure,' I say a bit hesitantly. We’re standing in a dusty parking lot behind an office park in Downey. It’s broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon, but Fusco has been 'practice-tagging' here ever since high school and assures me that the coast is clear. He straightens out his Dead Kennedys t-shirt and proceeds to beautifully tag 'I'm Not Sure' onto the wall."

Janie and Roberta
by Jennifer Lee

During a desperate time, two sisters find a way to live together that brings meaning to them both.

'Roberta knew that she could not stay with Janie forever. She knew that their time was limited. But she had promised Janie that she would not leave until they found the best care-provider possible. Roberta made this promise when Janie wrote in her notepad: 'What will I do when you and Ed both go?'"

 

The Cactus Wren
by Robyn Herian

An elusive wild bird with a distinctive call captivates a group of scientists and conservationists who seek to protect its Orange County habitat.

"Cactus wrens in Orange County once had the contiguous habitat that they needed, until it was fragmented by human development and burned by human error.  'What does it take to make people care? People don’t have to care. You can still get on the Internet and enjoy life.'"

Agent Orange and My Father
by Hong Kong Tran

A daughter and journalist becomes captivated by the the legacy of Agent Orange, only to discover that one of its victims is closer than she had ever suspected.

"I sat in silence as my mother told me that my father’s health had been affected by exposure to Agent Orange during the war. When she told me this, I wanted to believe her. But I also knew that it would be hard to prove."         

Mr. & Mrs. Lap
by Jennifer Lee

An unlikely marriage between two childhood friends forges a bond strong enough to survive even the fall of Saigon.

"Then something happened and Mrs. Lap snapped out of it. She suddenly felt the magnitude of her responsibility as a mother. She needed to care for Quoc and Uyen, as Mr. Lap instructed. After nine years of marriage, this was the first time she had ever truly been away from him."