North American short stories enhance students' reading skills, language learning, and enjoyment of literature. Discovering Fiction, Second Edition, Student's Book 2 presents stories with universal appeal to engage students and make them think. Among the authors included are Nathaniel Hawthorne, Kate Chopin, Langston Hughes, Ernest Hemingway, and Shirley Jackson. Pre-reading and post-reading activities arouse students' interest, check their comprehension, increase their knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, and provide thought-provoking discussion and writing assignments. Literary term explanations enhance students' appreciation of literature.