A Taste of Blackberries
Doris Buchanan Smith
 As told from the point of view of the unnamed narrator, the story begins as he and his best friend Jamie go blackberry picking. We follow the boys as they take part in a series of exploits - some told in current narrative time, some revealed in poignant flashbacks - allowing the reader to witness their world and shared experience. When one of the boys tragically dies as a result of a rare allergic reaction to bee stings, the narrator struggles to cope with denial, grief, guilt, and loneliness, before coming to terms with his loss. The setting for the story is the author's childhood home, a Maryland suburb, near the author's birthplace, in Washington, D.C..