Short story fans will be enthralled by Atlanta Stories: Reconstruction by G. M. Lupo, a collection of nine stories that are set in Atlanta. In this collection, two girls from a Chinese orphanage exhibit the power of friendship, two others must decide if there is more to their friendship than what they think, a girl who is a sophomore at Decatur High School, the eldest in the family, and whose mother is diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer seeks some release by taking a night out in ''House Band.'' These stories examine the lives of people within the context of family dynamics, relationships, and how each character deals with the changes happening in their lives.

Whether it is the story of one character's unique journey to success in music or a young girl struggling to hold her family together, Lupo writes humanity and realism into the characters. Those who have read Rebecca Too must have noticed Lupo's superior storytelling skills, but Atlanta Stories: Reconstruction illustrates that the author has the gift of briefer art, successfully creating fully drawn characters and weaving backstories that add depth to his short fiction. The thickened, intricate, and dazzling sentence-making meld with the exciting dialogues to build drama in these short stories. The author captures turning points in the lives of the characters with cleverness while building strong themes of family, friendship, resilience, and love. This collection establishes Lupo as a wunderkind in the short story.