What happens when you give a high school creative writing class a deadline? How can you cram a bunch of teenagers' creative minds into a book within a single semester? Students caught in a web of college preparation, extracurricular activities, and community service took a chance and signed up for the newly created class, the beginning of a journey into their imaginations. With their busy lives, they set aside an hour of their day to write, revise, and edit. This book is the result of their efforts. The anthology "When You Give a Creative Writing Class a Deadline" expresses the feelings and thoughts that go on in teens' minds as they explore different paths into different worlds with different styles of writing. These high school writers, under the guidance of award-winning author Amanda LaPera, came together to create this compelling compilation of works ranging from fiction to plays to poetry. Join us on a roller-coaster of emotions. One moment you're a mermaid on the high seas, the next you're outsmarting zombies, murderers or Minotaur, traversing the stars, alternate dimensions or far off galaxies, contemplating life, love and identity, discovering caves, avoiding stalkers or dealing with depression, searching for a way home, finding new friends, or simply finding yourself. Authors: Sadie Adams, Emily Chau, Jennifer Chau, Tuyet Duong, Hannah Grove, Kevin Ho, Tracey Hoang, Zachary King, Nancy Le, Nicole Le, Christina Nguyen, Gina Nguyen, Kari Nguyen, Dawn Pham, Thong Pham, Emily Plasencia, Magaly Plasencia, Danny Quach, Alexandra Quang, Brenna Ramirez, Emanuel Ramirez, Ashley Rivera, Noah Sabatina, Thana Sithisombath, Aislinn Stolze, Amy Tran, Dan Tran, Yen Tran, Richard Trejo, Monica Van, Kimberly Viramontes, and Stephany Vivar.