You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
An outstanding anthology. I think so far, this one is my favorite out of all the YA anthologies I have read so far. I love mythology and fairy tales, so getting to read stories about magic that I wouldnt normally hear in the western part of the world was a treat for me. I would highly recommend this book. 9/10
My favorite part of this anthology (besides the stories!) was the backstory and history given.
I was very intrigued by a book of short stories by Asian authors retelling Asian folk tales, and this didn't disappoint. Every story is inspired by a different legend and area, which makes the book incredibly rich. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a sucker for folklore and fairy tales, so having a book which had stories based on lore and traditions I'm unfamiliar with was fantastic.
As with any anthology, I have my favorites but honestly I enjoyed all of the stories. I think my favorite was Olivia's Table by Alyssa Wong, but that's a tough call. Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar was gorgeous, as was Bullet, Butterfly by Elsie Chapman. There is an author's note after each story that tells the inspiration for the tale. Many of the stories have a strong feminist bent, like Cindy Pon's The Crimson Cloak, in which she gives a voice to a goddess who was mostly silent in the original folktale. There are stories that deal realistically with grief, and moving past grief. There are stories of family, and stories of what it means to love someone. Very highly recommend
As with any anthology, I have my favorites but honestly I enjoyed all of the stories. I think my favorite was Olivia's Table by Alyssa Wong, but that's a tough call. Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar was gorgeous, as was Bullet, Butterfly by Elsie Chapman. There is an author's note after each story that tells the inspiration for the tale. Many of the stories have a strong feminist bent, like Cindy Pon's The Crimson Cloak, in which she gives a voice to a goddess who was mostly silent in the original folktale. There are stories that deal realistically with grief, and moving past grief. There are stories of family, and stories of what it means to love someone. Very highly recommend
- Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi (Filipino): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
A gorgeously written fairy tale that really made me crave a SEA inspired retelling. However, the tale was extremely short and, perhaps because of that, not completely satisfying for me. That said, I really love how Chokshi writes.
- Olivia’s table by Alyssa Wong (Chinese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This was so so good. I have read Wong’s short stories before and they are really masterful. This one was the perfect blend of bitter and heartwarming, truly magnificent. It rarely happens to me that a short story can really touch me, but this one delivers.
- Steel Skin by Lori. M. Lee (Hmong): ⭐️ ⭐️ .75
Honestly...this didn’t make sense to me? I enjoyed the brief explanation about the tale by which this was inspired, rather than Steel Skin itself. I would have appreciated a retelling similar to the original story much more than this.
- Still star-crossed by Sona Charaipotra (Punjabi): ⭐️ ⭐️ .5
Uh I had pretty much guessed how the whole story would go from page 2, and it ended rather abruptly. Very average.
- The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette De Bodard (Vietnamese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This was quite weird, but it...oddly worked? I do think it worked more after reading the author’s explanation, which isn’t exactly a good thing itself, but I did like it quite a bit.
- The Land of the Morning Calm by E. C. Myers (Korean): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This was a nice adaptation of mythology in a modern landscape/world! Kind of what Steel Skin wanted to do (although with a futuristic setting) but much better imho. I also really appreciated how gaming was treated as an important element, and not only a silly hobby, like it happens in most cases.
- The Smile by Aisha Saeed (South Asian): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
A great feminist retelling of the original tale! The writing was quite good as well.
- Girls who twirl and other dangers by Preeti Chhibber (Gujarati): ⭐️ .5
Hella boring. Sorry.
- Nothing into all by Renee Ahdieh (Korean): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The ending felt rather abrupt, though it did fit with the story itself. As usual, I really like Ahdieh’s writing, but there’s always something missing for me in the end.
- Spear Carrier by Rahul Kanakia (South Asian): ⭐️ ⭐️
One of those cases in which the modern setting didn’t really work for me. I happen to be quite familiar with the original tale and I didn’t like the modern take on this.
- Code of Honor by Melissa de la Cruz (Filipino): ⭐️ ⭐️
I have read de la Cruz before and I should have known her storytelling and writing don’t work at all for me. I found this pretty shallow and quick.
- Bullet, Butterfly by Elsie Chapman (Chinese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .25
I really liked this one. I was familiar with the original tale (figure skating culture y’all!!!) and I really appreciate this retelling and the way the author switched the roles between the main characters.
- Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar (South Asian): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .5
Both attempts to rewrite a story from The Mahabharata didn’t completely work for me, sadly, but this one was better than the other. It wasn’t anything amazing, but it was better than average.
- The Crimson Cloak by Cindy Pon (Chinese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5
This made me want to read something by Cindy Pon! I really liked how she wrote the story, with the narrator addressing the reader herself. The fact that the she decided to write it from the girl’s point of view, when she wasn’t given a voice in the original tale, only made me like it more.
- Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa (Japanese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I pretty much knew I would like this. I really like Julie Kagawa (and her Fae series, what a great unpopular opinion to have #MegDefenseSquad) and although I haven’t read her latest series, I am really looking forward to her new book. I think this short story is kind of linked to it and I really liked her take on the Kitsune, so can’t wait to read it!
There were, like with all short stories collections, tales I liked, tales I didn’t like and tales I loved, but I do think this is one of the best collections YA has to offer.
A gorgeously written fairy tale that really made me crave a SEA inspired retelling. However, the tale was extremely short and, perhaps because of that, not completely satisfying for me. That said, I really love how Chokshi writes.
- Olivia’s table by Alyssa Wong (Chinese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This was so so good. I have read Wong’s short stories before and they are really masterful. This one was the perfect blend of bitter and heartwarming, truly magnificent. It rarely happens to me that a short story can really touch me, but this one delivers.
- Steel Skin by Lori. M. Lee (Hmong): ⭐️ ⭐️ .75
Honestly...this didn’t make sense to me? I enjoyed the brief explanation about the tale by which this was inspired, rather than Steel Skin itself. I would have appreciated a retelling similar to the original story much more than this.
- Still star-crossed by Sona Charaipotra (Punjabi): ⭐️ ⭐️ .5
Uh I had pretty much guessed how the whole story would go from page 2, and it ended rather abruptly. Very average.
- The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette De Bodard (Vietnamese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This was quite weird, but it...oddly worked? I do think it worked more after reading the author’s explanation, which isn’t exactly a good thing itself, but I did like it quite a bit.
- The Land of the Morning Calm by E. C. Myers (Korean): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This was a nice adaptation of mythology in a modern landscape/world! Kind of what Steel Skin wanted to do (although with a futuristic setting) but much better imho. I also really appreciated how gaming was treated as an important element, and not only a silly hobby, like it happens in most cases.
- The Smile by Aisha Saeed (South Asian): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
A great feminist retelling of the original tale! The writing was quite good as well.
- Girls who twirl and other dangers by Preeti Chhibber (Gujarati): ⭐️ .5
Hella boring. Sorry.
- Nothing into all by Renee Ahdieh (Korean): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
The ending felt rather abrupt, though it did fit with the story itself. As usual, I really like Ahdieh’s writing, but there’s always something missing for me in the end.
- Spear Carrier by Rahul Kanakia (South Asian): ⭐️ ⭐️
One of those cases in which the modern setting didn’t really work for me. I happen to be quite familiar with the original tale and I didn’t like the modern take on this.
- Code of Honor by Melissa de la Cruz (Filipino): ⭐️ ⭐️
I have read de la Cruz before and I should have known her storytelling and writing don’t work at all for me. I found this pretty shallow and quick.
- Bullet, Butterfly by Elsie Chapman (Chinese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .25
I really liked this one. I was familiar with the original tale (figure skating culture y’all!!!) and I really appreciate this retelling and the way the author switched the roles between the main characters.
- Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar (South Asian): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ .5
Both attempts to rewrite a story from The Mahabharata didn’t completely work for me, sadly, but this one was better than the other. It wasn’t anything amazing, but it was better than average.
- The Crimson Cloak by Cindy Pon (Chinese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️.5
This made me want to read something by Cindy Pon! I really liked how she wrote the story, with the narrator addressing the reader herself. The fact that the she decided to write it from the girl’s point of view, when she wasn’t given a voice in the original tale, only made me like it more.
- Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa (Japanese): ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
I pretty much knew I would like this. I really like Julie Kagawa (and her Fae series, what a great unpopular opinion to have #MegDefenseSquad) and although I haven’t read her latest series, I am really looking forward to her new book. I think this short story is kind of linked to it and I really liked her take on the Kitsune, so can’t wait to read it!
There were, like with all short stories collections, tales I liked, tales I didn’t like and tales I loved, but I do think this is one of the best collections YA has to offer.
Really strong collection of short stories. My favorite collections are ones that have a strong unifying theme but latitude to explore it in different ways, and this one delivered with tales of East and South Asian folklore and myth interpreted in a variety of genres. Most Western mythology retellings tend to tread the same ground, where readers are at least familiar with elements of the stories even if they don't remember all the details; here, I enjoyed the stories with interesting new source inspirations to look up (beyond the brief blurb following each story).
It's a testament to the strength of the collection that my favorite selections spanned the range of genres. Alyssa Wong's "Olivia's Table" dealt with underrepresented history and hungry ghosts. It's always great for more readers to get to encounter the works of [a:Aliette de Bodard|2918731|Aliette de Bodard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1261567215p2/2918731.jpg], this time through her story of captive sisters in "The Counting of Vermilion Beads." E.C. Myers' story "Land of the Morning Calm" interprets mythology through a MMORPG lens. I enjoyed the fresh contemporary feel of Preeti Chhibber's "Girls who Twirl and Other Dangers," a tale of a girl squad getting carried away in retribution of slights against them. And Elsie Chapman's "Bullet, Butterfly" was a bleak but haunting love story set against the backdrop of war.
Read to fulfill Read Harder 2019 task #15 - A book of mythology or folklore.
It's a testament to the strength of the collection that my favorite selections spanned the range of genres. Alyssa Wong's "Olivia's Table" dealt with underrepresented history and hungry ghosts. It's always great for more readers to get to encounter the works of [a:Aliette de Bodard|2918731|Aliette de Bodard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1261567215p2/2918731.jpg], this time through her story of captive sisters in "The Counting of Vermilion Beads." E.C. Myers' story "Land of the Morning Calm" interprets mythology through a MMORPG lens. I enjoyed the fresh contemporary feel of Preeti Chhibber's "Girls who Twirl and Other Dangers," a tale of a girl squad getting carried away in retribution of slights against them. And Elsie Chapman's "Bullet, Butterfly" was a bleak but haunting love story set against the backdrop of war.
Read to fulfill Read Harder 2019 task #15 - A book of mythology or folklore.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Some stories I loved, some stories I didn’t really care for, but overall really enjoyed this anthology. I’m always a sucker for fairy tale retellings, and these were no exception.
I love that each of these characters were so diverse. I found myself enjoying more short stories than I disliked, but most of the longer stories I didn’t love. All in all, a solid read!
5 Stars
I love collections of short stories and I love Eastern myth - this mix was amazing.
Each was engaging and different, certainly good to get you out of a book slump.
I love collections of short stories and I love Eastern myth - this mix was amazing.
Each was engaging and different, certainly good to get you out of a book slump.