All Out

Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore
Mexico 1870
LGBT+ Rep: Transman
Huh...That was...peculiar. Very peculiar. I love that we get an Author Note for this one, because it is inspired by a real person - which I thought was really cool. It's a Mexican adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood, with a trans soldier. There are some very strange hints of magic, that I still don't totally understand, but...I liked it. Didn't love it, but I liked it. (Also, there's a bit of a learning curve for me, because I can muddle through French and know next to no Spanish. And both pepper the story.)
**The Sweet Trade by Natalie C. ParkerVirginia Colony 1717LGBT+ Rep: F/FI want this to be a full length novel. That would be awesome: two girls run away on their wedding day, meet each other and...well, two more things happen, but I don't want to give out spoilers. Suffice to say, it's awesome.And They Don't Kiss At The End by Nilah MagruderMaryland 1976LGBT+ Rep: Asexual...I had my doubts before starting this, because I don't usually like ‘historicals' that take place in the last hundred years or so. But this one...I actually like. I don't know if it was because the 70's roller scene was just a backdrop, or what. Though, it was partially because I like the main character and the ace rep was nice. (Spoiler: They totally don't kiss at the end and I was totally left with warm fuzzies.)Burnt Umber by Mackenzi LeeAmsterdam 1638LGBT+ Rep: M/MAh, yes, teenaged boys drawing naked women. For art. And then, unfortunately for our main character, drawing naked men. Anyway, the story was pretty darn cute, but I wish less time had been spent with the romantic red herring because I couldn't stand him. I did like the art aspect and would like to see more of that in a historical context.The Dresser & the Chambermaid by Robin TalleyEngland 1726LGBT+ Rep: F/FNot that this story was bad, I just don't find reading about a blooming romance between a pair of servants to royalty particularly interesting. Especially when they're both lacking in personality and add in a misunderstanding...shrugs* Just meh.

New Year by Malinda Lo
San Francisco 1955
LGBT+ Rep: Uh... A girl that might be gay? Or bi.
While I did enjoy this story, I also can't help but wonder what the point of it was. Lily is a second generation Chinese American. I loved reading about her Aunt Judy (who was inspired by a ‘Rocket' Girl.' But...this could have easily been a part of a longer story - and would have probably made more sense that way. (Also, the LGBT+ representation is so minute I'm not really sure this story fit here.)
Molly's Lips by Dahlia AdlerSeattle 1994LGBT+ Rep: F/FSo...I'm supposed to take this seriously? I mean, this very short, short story is like a love letter to Kurt Cobain. It probably says something about me that I've never loved a celebrity so much that I mourn their death. (Of course, I'm not sure if it's a good something or a bad something.) So, reading a story revolving around Cobain's death, Courtney Love reading his suicide note at a vigil for him... Not for me. I mean, even if I'd been a fan of Nirvana - which, I very briefly liked a couple of their songs - I still don't get the obsession. Maybe I'm too old, but I just don't get it and I never did, even when I was a teen - and considering that Cobain killed himself before the people this book is directed towards were even born... One, very baffled, star.The Coven by Kate ScelsaParis 1924LGBT+ Rep: F/FIs it weird that I have absolutely no feelings for this story. I mean, witches (and I thought this was supposed to be a HISTORICAL collection, not fantasy) and Paris - but the witches were out of place and Paris was...well, this story could have been set in any city in the world and nothing would have changed. And what was with the ‘foggy' mind? If that was supposed to be some neurodivergent rep, it wasn't explained very well.

Every Shade of Red by Elliot Wake
England late 1300s
LGBT+ Rep: M/M and transman - with minor asexual and F/F
I always knew Robin Hood and Will Scarlet were gay. Lol But, seriously, this is an inclusive, nonracist, no homophobic, nonsexist retelling of Robin Hood. (Well, these things still exist in the world, but our core group is delightfully diverse.) This story has it all - including a pervading sense of dread and an unhappy ending. If it would get a novel continuation, though, I'd read it. (Three very mixed feels stars.)
Willows by Scott TraceyMassachusetts 1732LGBT+ Rep: M/MSo...people are ritually sacrificed because they are cursed and they then become Returns because the curse doesn't die with them and the main character remembers past lives? Honestly, this story makes no sense, both in the actual story aspect and, especially, the world building. Because worlds just don't work like that. (Also another story with magic and a depressing ending.)**The Girl With the Blue Lantern by Tess SharpeCalifornia 1849LGBT+ Rep: F/FMore magic. *sigh This isn't what I signed up for with this anthology and...I'm fed up with it. This story is...shallow and not bad, but absolutely nothing memorable.

The Secret Life of a Teenage Boy by Alex Sanchez
Virginia 1969
LGBT+ Rep: M/M
I did kind of like the story, but my overwhelming feeling was awkwardness - and I hate secondhand embarrassment/awkwardness. Though, the awkwardness probably fits teenaged romance very well. So there is that. And I'm just not sure how I feel about that ending.
Walking After Midnight by Kody KeplingerNew York 1952LGBT+ Rep: F/F and asexualAnd we were doing so well avoiding any sexist crap. Too many things I didn't care for in this story, weird structure and...well, the sexism.The End of the World as We Know it by Sara FarizanMassachusetts 1999LGBT+ Rep: F/F‘Being a girl is stupid. People only want to know who you want to kiss and nothing else.' So...is this internalized misogyny? It sure sounds it to me. But, really, this story has plenty of other problems. It takes the Y2K crash scare and tries to do something with that - even if nothing actually happened. Plus this quote seems in very ill-taste.‘“I think everything's already messed up after Columbine. Like, what kind of world do we live in if you can get shot up in your high school?”“That was horrible. But I think it's a one-time thing. People won't stand for that kind of tragedy to keep happening.”‘Three Witches by Tessa GraftonSpain 1519LGBT+ Rep: F/FWell, this was suitably unpleasant. Basically, one of those you love your own gender so you must be in need of religion so you don't sin again. A 16th century pray the gay away camp, really, that one of the main characters was sent to by her brother. Pretty sure, too, that we're being told that these girls are under the influence of a demon and that's why they like their own gender.The Inferno & the Butterfly by Shaun David HutchinsonEngland 1839LGBT+ Rep: M/MMagic. Again. Beyond that, I liked the story because we dealt with stage magicians and they are all kinds of awesome. But we also had real magic and I am so sick of that in this anthology.

Healing Rosa by Tehlor Kay Majia
New Mexico 1933
LGBT+ Rep: F/F
Supremely meh. Oh. We did get magic. Again. Yay.[/sarcasm] And some kind of demon-y thing. So...All about a bruja healing woman. Sort of. Sure, there was a plot - I just didn't think much of it.
*


So, I think, between this and Kaleidoscope, I'm done with anthologies for a good long time. Before I go, though, I want to impart some interesting stats about this story whose partial subtitle is ‘throughout the ages'.

Number of stories: 17
Number of stories from the last 100 years: 8
Number of stories dealing with the supernatural: 7
Number of stories set in the US: 10
Number of stories where the sole LGBT+ rep was either M/M or F/F: 13

Actual Averaged Rating: 2.41

I have no explanation for why young adult story anthologies are SO. GOOD. But they are. This particular one revolves around queer teens in historical times. That's about the only commonality; the genres vary from normal fiction to fantasy to magical realism. There are gay, lesbian, transgender, and asexual teens represented. I am a little annoyed that there don't seem to be any bisexual teens in the anthology; it could be argued that at least one if not more are bi simply because they had opposite-sex relationships before the same-sex romance in the story, but that's also common before realizing your sexuality/coming out. No one is explicitly bisexual in this book. There were also two transmen but no transwomen.

There was a decent amount of cultural diversity while remaining mostly centered in the US; Chinatown in 1950s San Francisco, 1870s Mexico, Colonial New England, 1930s Hispanic New Mexico, Robin Hood-era Britain.

The stories were really good, I just wish they'd included a bisexual story and a transwoman. They did have an asexual girl, which is a sexuality often overlooked, so that was nice.

It's a great collection of stories, just limited in scope. They could have cut a few F/F stories and added in bisexual, nonbinary, and transwomen, and lived up to the open umbrella of the “queer” label a bit more. I really enjoyed it, I think I'm just a little disappointed because I was expecting more of the spectrum.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

(This review can also be found on my blog.)

This was one of my most-anticipated books of 2018 and while it was great, it did fall a little shy of expectations. There were all kinds of queer characters (including ace rep!) and I loved reading about them all. It was great how the stories spanned so many different time periods. Even if you're not big on historical fiction (like myself), you'll still find things to enjoy in this collection.

Sometimes sight is a more powerful way of hearing than sound.

My rating for each story:

Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Sweet Trade by Natalie C. Parker ⭐⭐⭐⭐
And They Don't Kiss at the End by Nilah Magruder ⭐⭐⭐
Burnt Umber by Mackenzi Lee ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Dresser & the Chambermaid by Robin Talley ⭐⭐⭐⭐
New Year by Malinda Lo ⭐⭐⭐ (cw racism)
Molly's Lips by Dahlia Adler ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (cw off-page suicide)
The Coven by Kate Scelsa ⭐⭐⭐
Every Shade of Red by Elliot Wake ⭐⭐⭐ (cw deadnaming)
Willows by Scott Tracey ⭐⭐⭐
The Girl with the Blue Lantern by Tess Sharpe ⭐⭐⭐
The Secret Life of a Teenage Boy by Alex Sanchez ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Walking After Midnight by Kody Keplinger ⭐⭐⭐⭐
The End of the World As We Know It by Sara Farizan ⭐⭐⭐
Three Witches by Tessa Gratton ⭐⭐⭐
The Inferno & the Butterfly by Shaun David Hutchinson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Healing Rosa by Tehlor Kay Mejia ⭐⭐⭐⭐

That is the secret to survival. Teach fear to those who taught you to be afraid.

My average rating was 3.58 stars, rounded down to 3.5. My biggest problem with the lower-rated stories were mostly that they felt too rushed to me. There were several where I didn't feel like enough time had been spent developing characters and their relationships and things felt rushed to me. There were also some stories where either the fantastical elements or the lack of directness by the authors caused me some confusion about what was actually happening. It was for these reasons that I marked some things down.

Regardless, this was a really nice read and I think anyone interested should pick it up.