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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved this, it was a fun read! Most of the stories well written and definitely made me feel emotional. I’m glad that most of them too had pretty good communication between the characters given that these were YA characters. As well as them not all ending up together. It made it more realistic.
First, thanks to NetGalley for the e-ARC!
I've been so excited about this book because it has by some of my favorite YA contemp authors. If Emery Lord or Huntley Fitzpatrick published their grocery lists I would probably read them. I enjoyed all of the stories in this anthology, of course some more than others. I was introduced to authors I have never heard of and now have some new books to check out.
If you're a fan of swoon, you'll not be disappointed by this adorable collection.
EDIT 1/7/18: I read the final copy now that it's out and pretty much everything is still adorable.
I've been so excited about this book because it has by some of my favorite YA contemp authors. If Emery Lord or Huntley Fitzpatrick published their grocery lists I would probably read them. I enjoyed all of the stories in this anthology, of course some more than others. I was introduced to authors I have never heard of and now have some new books to check out.
If you're a fan of swoon, you'll not be disappointed by this adorable collection.
EDIT 1/7/18: I read the final copy now that it's out and pretty much everything is still adorable.
This just wasn't what I was expecting. I wanted more cute.
Siege Etiquette⭐⭐
Print Shop⭐⭐
Hourglass⭐⭐⭐
Click⭐⭐⭐
The Intern⭐
Somewhere That's Green⭐
The Way We Love Here⭐⭐⭐
Oomph⭐⭐⭐
The Dictionary of You and Me ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love⭐
259 Miles⭐⭐⭐⭐
Something Real⭐
Say Everything⭐
The Department of Dead Love⭐⭐
Siege Etiquette⭐⭐
Print Shop⭐⭐
Hourglass⭐⭐⭐
Click⭐⭐⭐
The Intern⭐
Somewhere That's Green⭐
The Way We Love Here⭐⭐⭐
Oomph⭐⭐⭐
The Dictionary of You and Me ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Unlikely Likelihood of Falling in Love⭐
259 Miles⭐⭐⭐⭐
Something Real⭐
Say Everything⭐
The Department of Dead Love⭐⭐
Some stories were far stronger than others, but on the whole, this is a strong collection. I really liked the thread that tied these stories together, and found several of them to be compelling despite their brevity! Would have finished more quickly if my hold hadn’t expired.
This review was originally posted on my blog, Bookish Wanderess
I usually don’t read anthologies, short stories just aren’t my thing, because I almost always end up feeling like I wanted more from them. I only read this one because I like the concept, I love reading about meet cutes, and I had heard a lot of great things about it. At the end, I foudn that even if this had highs and lows, like every anthology, there was certain consistency in the stories and I enjoyed most of them.
Here are some thoughts about each individual story:
SIEGE ETIQUETTE by KATIE COTUGNO (2.5 stars)
This story was told in second person and that didn’t work at all, it kept pulling me out of the story. The main character is unlikeable, which I feel is hard to handle in such a short story, and even when you get the impression that there’s more to her, it’s hard to empathize with her. Also, the main characters have cero chemestry and I saw the ‘big reveal’ coming, it was pretty obvious.
PRINT SHOP by NINA LACOUR (4 stars)
This was a very cute f/f couple. All the characters were compelling, even if they only appeared for a couple pages, the set up of the print shop was pretty interesting and it was what I was expecting from this anthology, which was a story that left me with the sense that it was a promising start to something more. I would like to read more this couple.
HOURGLASS by IBI ZOBOI (3 stars)
This story had some very positive aspects, it addressed race, body image and poverty. Nonetheless, there were too many plot elements for such a short story and the meet cute happened in the last page, so there’s just a few sentences about the guy the main character meets. Honestly, it left me with more questions than answers not only about the romance element, but also about other elements of the plot.
CLICK by KATHERINE MCGEE (5 stars)
This was a really cute story, the concept was interesting and it’s the firt story where the characters get to spend more time together, it’s a longer meet cute. There was some deep to this story since it dealt with grief, shortly but in a very emotional way. Also, the ending was so heartwarming.
THE INTERN by SARA SHEPARD (3 stars)
I feel like this tried to be a very emotional story from the first moment, but it doesn’t enought time to come to emphatize with the main character. Also, the characters involved in the meet cute didn’t have much chemestry.
SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN by MEREDITH RUSSO (5 stars)
This one was cute and precious and I loved it. It had a f/f romance and one of the chracters was a trans girl and the other a lesbian. This story dealt a lot with transphobia and I do think the conflict was resolved a little too quickly and easily, especially because it was a complex issue, BUT I really liked both characters and in the end the two of them together kind of worked.
THE WAY WE LOVE HERE by DHONIELLE CLAYTON (5 stars)
This had a really captivating and unique concept, it was the first one to be a bit magical but it worked really well with the other stories. Honestly, I don’t understand how she did so much worldbuilding in such a short stoy and still managed to have compelling charatcers as well. This story almost made me cry, I felt connected to the chracters and I was impacted by what they went throught.
OOMPH by EMERY LORD (5 stars)
My favorite story! This one was the most adorable story about two girls that meet in an airport. There were amazing characters, good dialogue, so much chemistry and the sense that the meet cute is the beggining of something more. I would love to read more about the two of them.
THE DICTIONARY OF YOU AND ME by JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT (4stars)
I liked the premise of this one and the funny phone conversations between the main characters. When they actually meet face to face things got awkward for a little while but the ending is really adorable.
THE UNLIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF FALLING IN LOVE by JOCELYN DAVIES (3,8 stars )
This premise of this story was a bit far fetch for multiple reasons but the ending was so cute! There was insta love, which I normally don’t like, but honestly I didn’t mind it that much in this. Also, I found the secondary characters really compelling, especially the family of the main character and that helped to keep the story interesting.
259 MILLION MILES by KASS MORGAN (3,5 stars)
This had an interesting premise with the little scifi element but the ending was kind of sad even when I could tell it was trying to be hopeful. This story was the only one in this anthology that left me feeling disappointed and sad about the fact that the main characters met. Also, I think this story tried to cover too many topics that had emotional implications, but never got me to feel anything about any of them.
SOMETHING REAL by JULIE MURPHY (3,5 stars)
I didn’t enjoy this story that much, I think the plot didn’t work that well even if the concept had potential. But the characters were really good and helped to redeem this story a little. Also, the ending was adorable! Another f/f romance with really likeable main characters that get stuck in an uncomfortable situation.
SAY EVERYTHING by HUNTLEY FITZPATRICK (2,8 stars)
The characters in this story had cero chemestry and I didn’t like the plot, I felt like it was the kind of plot that was popular in YA contemporary novels a long time ago, this angsty star-cross lovers story that reminds me a little of late 2000’s books. Also, it was a really forgattable story.
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD LOVE by NICOLA YOON (4 stars)
This story is really good mainly becuase the concept is fascinating and there’s a lot of worldbuilding packed into a really short story. Also, I felt really sad about the break up portion of the story and I liked that this invoked an emotional response out of me, but the problem is that the new relationship that starts to develop fades to the background becuase the old relationship is such a big part of the story, so I ended up not being as invested in the meet cute
I usually don’t read anthologies, short stories just aren’t my thing, because I almost always end up feeling like I wanted more from them. I only read this one because I like the concept, I love reading about meet cutes, and I had heard a lot of great things about it. At the end, I foudn that even if this had highs and lows, like every anthology, there was certain consistency in the stories and I enjoyed most of them.
Here are some thoughts about each individual story:
SIEGE ETIQUETTE by KATIE COTUGNO (2.5 stars)
This story was told in second person and that didn’t work at all, it kept pulling me out of the story. The main character is unlikeable, which I feel is hard to handle in such a short story, and even when you get the impression that there’s more to her, it’s hard to empathize with her. Also, the main characters have cero chemestry and I saw the ‘big reveal’ coming, it was pretty obvious.
PRINT SHOP by NINA LACOUR (4 stars)
This was a very cute f/f couple. All the characters were compelling, even if they only appeared for a couple pages, the set up of the print shop was pretty interesting and it was what I was expecting from this anthology, which was a story that left me with the sense that it was a promising start to something more. I would like to read more this couple.
HOURGLASS by IBI ZOBOI (3 stars)
This story had some very positive aspects, it addressed race, body image and poverty. Nonetheless, there were too many plot elements for such a short story and the meet cute happened in the last page, so there’s just a few sentences about the guy the main character meets. Honestly, it left me with more questions than answers not only about the romance element, but also about other elements of the plot.
CLICK by KATHERINE MCGEE (5 stars)
This was a really cute story, the concept was interesting and it’s the firt story where the characters get to spend more time together, it’s a longer meet cute. There was some deep to this story since it dealt with grief, shortly but in a very emotional way. Also, the ending was so heartwarming.
THE INTERN by SARA SHEPARD (3 stars)
I feel like this tried to be a very emotional story from the first moment, but it doesn’t enought time to come to emphatize with the main character. Also, the characters involved in the meet cute didn’t have much chemestry.
SOMEWHERE THAT’S GREEN by MEREDITH RUSSO (5 stars)
This one was cute and precious and I loved it. It had a f/f romance and one of the chracters was a trans girl and the other a lesbian. This story dealt a lot with transphobia and I do think the conflict was resolved a little too quickly and easily, especially because it was a complex issue, BUT I really liked both characters and in the end the two of them together kind of worked.
THE WAY WE LOVE HERE by DHONIELLE CLAYTON (5 stars)
This had a really captivating and unique concept, it was the first one to be a bit magical but it worked really well with the other stories. Honestly, I don’t understand how she did so much worldbuilding in such a short stoy and still managed to have compelling charatcers as well. This story almost made me cry, I felt connected to the chracters and I was impacted by what they went throught.
OOMPH by EMERY LORD (5 stars)
My favorite story! This one was the most adorable story about two girls that meet in an airport. There were amazing characters, good dialogue, so much chemistry and the sense that the meet cute is the beggining of something more. I would love to read more about the two of them.
THE DICTIONARY OF YOU AND ME by JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT (4stars)
I liked the premise of this one and the funny phone conversations between the main characters. When they actually meet face to face things got awkward for a little while but the ending is really adorable.
THE UNLIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF FALLING IN LOVE by JOCELYN DAVIES (3,8 stars )
This premise of this story was a bit far fetch for multiple reasons but the ending was so cute! There was insta love, which I normally don’t like, but honestly I didn’t mind it that much in this. Also, I found the secondary characters really compelling, especially the family of the main character and that helped to keep the story interesting.
259 MILLION MILES by KASS MORGAN (3,5 stars)
This had an interesting premise with the little scifi element but the ending was kind of sad even when I could tell it was trying to be hopeful. This story was the only one in this anthology that left me feeling disappointed and sad about the fact that the main characters met. Also, I think this story tried to cover too many topics that had emotional implications, but never got me to feel anything about any of them.
SOMETHING REAL by JULIE MURPHY (3,5 stars)
I didn’t enjoy this story that much, I think the plot didn’t work that well even if the concept had potential. But the characters were really good and helped to redeem this story a little. Also, the ending was adorable! Another f/f romance with really likeable main characters that get stuck in an uncomfortable situation.
SAY EVERYTHING by HUNTLEY FITZPATRICK (2,8 stars)
The characters in this story had cero chemestry and I didn’t like the plot, I felt like it was the kind of plot that was popular in YA contemporary novels a long time ago, this angsty star-cross lovers story that reminds me a little of late 2000’s books. Also, it was a really forgattable story.
THE DEPARTMENT OF DEAD LOVE by NICOLA YOON (4 stars)
This story is really good mainly becuase the concept is fascinating and there’s a lot of worldbuilding packed into a really short story. Also, I felt really sad about the break up portion of the story and I liked that this invoked an emotional response out of me, but the problem is that the new relationship that starts to develop fades to the background becuase the old relationship is such a big part of the story, so I ended up not being as invested in the meet cute
The risk with anthologies is that, unless you have a very good editor and a very clear and cohesive vision, they tend to feel disjointed. Sometimes, despite the difference in styles, tones, and even genres, anthologies rise above because the theme sparkles in each story. That did not happen here.
Most of the short stories felt artificial, tacked on, and the characters were forgettable. I'm glad to see more representation, but representation is not enough to carry a book.
The only two stories that deserve five stars are Print Shop by Nina LaCour, which is delicate and quiet but very sweet, and The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon, which is creative and a little dark but ultimately upliftingly romantic. 259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan was also creative and bittersweet, I'd give it four stars. Everything else, three to one stars.
I guess this just wasn't for me?
Most of the short stories felt artificial, tacked on, and the characters were forgettable. I'm glad to see more representation, but representation is not enough to carry a book.
The only two stories that deserve five stars are Print Shop by Nina LaCour, which is delicate and quiet but very sweet, and The Department of Dead Love by Nicola Yoon, which is creative and a little dark but ultimately upliftingly romantic. 259 Million Miles by Kass Morgan was also creative and bittersweet, I'd give it four stars. Everything else, three to one stars.
I guess this just wasn't for me?
La mia storia preferita è quella di Jocelyn Davies, per quanto riguarda le altre non sono niente di che.
I absolutely loved some of these stories (especially Ibi Zoboi’s!), but I didn’t like some other ones as much. So, I decided to split it down the middle with a 3 star rating. With that being said, I definitely recommend this quick read, especially to YA romance lovers!
Some of these stories are meh, but some are AMAZING.
My favourites:
OOMPH
A cute story, well-written. I love the natural pacing and flow - it felt so believable. I also loved the little Marvel character references. Very cute.
THE UNLIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF FALLING IN LOVE
My favourite of the entire bunch. Women in STEM, a smart MC, a super interesting and very meta story! So frickin cute!
My favourites:
OOMPH
A cute story, well-written. I love the natural pacing and flow - it felt so believable. I also loved the little Marvel character references. Very cute.
THE UNLIKELY LIKELIHOOD OF FALLING IN LOVE
My favourite of the entire bunch. Women in STEM, a smart MC, a super interesting and very meta story! So frickin cute!