6 Short Stories to Cure Senioritis

Posted on May 18, 2025

As the weather warms and graduation draws nearer, it can be increasingly difficult to keep high school seniors (or students of all ages itching for summer vacation) engaged. These entertaining global stories are sure to grab students’ attention, while also giving them plenty to discuss. Read on for six stories of snarky narrators, unlikely friendships, and extraordinary situations. 

1. “Hello?” by Dmitry Biriukov (translated from Russian by Arch Tait): told from inside a crowded city bus, this stream-of-consciousness story follows someone eavesdropping on a fellow passenger’s phone conversation. (Have students listen to a performance of the story from the podcast Selected Shorts as they read.)
2. “Appendix,” by Yu Hua (translated from Chinese by Allan H. Barr): in this humorous story, two young boys take their belief that their surgeon father can do anything a little too far. 

3. "The Last Picture Show," by Ryu Murakami (translated from Japanese by Ralph McCarthy): in this portrait of 1970s Tokyo, a prep-school dropout and aspiring blues musician bonds with his Yakuza neighbor over a classic American movie. 

4. “Swimming Upstream,” by Eduardo del Llano (translated from Spanish by Dick Cluster): A sports skeptic finds himself in the body of a star baseball player in this fantastical story from Cuba (also available in the original Spanish). 

5. “The Memory,” by Mitsuyo Kakuta (translated from Japanese by Polly Barton): have students puzzle over this tale of a tragic accident, told by an unreliable narrator. This story was inspired by Le Ballon, a painting by Swiss artist Félix Vallotton.

   

6. “Cinderella's Secret Dream,” by Ena Lucia Portela (translated from Spanish by Pamela Carmell): students will be surprised by this fiery rendition of Cinderella, which features a protagonist dreaming of a career as a soap opera villainess and a not-so-charming prince straight out of Forbes magazine.