927 reviews for:

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

Elsie Chapman, Ellen Oh

3.79 AVERAGE

celia_opp's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: N/A

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

journeymouse's review against another edition

4.75

emotional informative reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

avidales's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

bookishandbroadway825's review against another edition

4.0

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3.75 stars. This was captivating, enchanting, utterly creative. I'm a simple girl, when I see "retellings," I read the book. And this one didn't disappoint! It was full of magic and creatures and love and fear and strange, outlandish tales that somehow worked perfectly. Would highly recommend if you want to read fantasy but are too intimidated/busy to dive into a ginormous 1,000 page epic fantasy. It has the most wonderful fairy tale vibes, but also has quite a range of stories, from video games to palace walls to the sun and moon and singing swans, and of course, some boarding school drama and contemporary charm. It was just very diverse, in characters and also in storytelling; it was so fun to hear so many different author's voices! I really really liked this :)

greenjelly50's review against another edition

3.0

adventurous mysterious

katherine_alexis's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ked_03's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous funny hopeful mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

angelreadstheworld's review against another edition

4.0

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A lovely collection. Some particular favourites:
- Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi
- Olivia's Table by Alyssa Wong
- Steel Skin by Lori M. Lee
- Still Star-Crossed by Sona Charaipotra
- The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette de Bodard
- The Land of the Morning Calm by E.C. Meyers

amyponds's review against another edition

3.0

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A collection of Asian-inspired mythology retellings, which were largely hit or miss in terms of quality. I loved some of them, was pretty neutral on some, and flat-out disliked others. However, I recognize that this is a really important collection of stories, and I would recommend reading it regardless of the flaws. I didn't really enjoy The Counting of Vermillion Beads, for instance, but loved the original story when I looked it up. On the whole, it was a really interesting book to add to my mental shelf of short story collections.

Individual Story Ratings:
- Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi: 4 stars
- Olivia’s Table by Alyssa Wong: 4 stars
- Steel Skin by Lori M. Lee: 3 stars (Look up the original story!)
- Still Star-Crossed by Sona Charaipotra: 2 stars
- The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette De Bodard: 3 stars (Look up the original story!)
- The Land of the Morning Calm by E. C. Myers: 5 stars (My favourite of the collection.)
- The Smile by Aisha Saeed - 4 stars
- Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers by Preeti Chhibber - 2 stars
- Nothing into All by Renée Ahdieh - 4 stars
- Spear Carrier by Rahul Kanakia - 1 star
- Code of Honor by Melissa de la Cruz - 2 stars
- Bullet, Butterfly by Elsie Chapman - 4 stars (An absolute highlight.)
- Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar: 3 stars
- The Crimson Cloak by Cindy Pon - 5 stars (Second favourite, and I love the reasoning behind it.)
- Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa - 3 stars

sonichtouch's review against another edition

3.0

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HARD to rate. my average rating for this is 3.2/5. the only two stories that i gave 5 stars to are Eyes Like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa & The Smile by Aisha Saeed.