Greg L.  Johnson gives The Starry Rift a good review at SF Site.  He says:

Another way The Starry Rift connects to science fiction’s past is in its size and variety of stories. The Starry Rift is just the kind of big collection that you used to find tucked away on the shelves of the local library, with each story a door into another universe of imagination and wonder. With any luck, that’s just the kind of experience that The Starry Rift will provide for the young readers of today.

Scott Westerfeld was born in Texas in 1963. He studied at Vassar College, and has worked as a software designer, a composer and is now a full time writer. His first novel Polymorph was published in 1997, and was followed by Fine Prey, Evolution’s Darling (a New York Times Notable Book; shortlisted for the Philip K. Dick Award), and The Risen Empire. His novels for teenagers include the Midnighters Trilogy (The Secret Hour, Touching Darkness, and Blue Noon) as well as So Yesterday, Peeps, The Last Days, Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras. Westerfeld has also contributed essays to Book Forum, Nerve, and the scientific journal Nature. He and fellow writer Justine Larbalestier divide their time between New York, Sydney and Mexico.