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3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
I listened to this collection of 15 retellings of Asian myths written by contemporary POC writers as an audiobook. All of the stories were good, but these especially stood out to me: "Olivia's Table" by Alyssa Wong, about a Chinese American teenager who must cook a banquet for the hungry ghosts of an Arizona mining town; "Counting the Vermilion Beads" by Aliette de Bodard, about two sisters trying to escape a life of working as accountants to the Emperor; "The Land of the Morning Calm" by E.C. Meyers about a teen girl who's mother was obsessed with an MMORPG based on Korean myths- and who may still haunt the game after her death; and "Bullet, Butterfly" by Elsie Chapman, set in a dystopian future China, a teen boy soldier disguises himself and sneaks out of the hospital to work in the city armory. I wish that the authors of each story had read their own works in the audiobook; instead, the majority of the stories from female POVs are read by an AFAB narrator; the stories from male POVs are read by an AMAB narrator. This didn't add to my listening pleasure, but overall I still enjoyed the book.
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Average rating for all of them: 3.5 stars, but I'm rounding up to 4 stars!
Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi - 5 stars
Beautiful prose, gorgeous love story, absolutely magical.
Olivia’s Table by Alyssa Wong - 5 stars
I loved this! Might actually be one of my favorites in the anthology. Really interesting concept, for such a short story the world felt very real and fleshed out.
Steel Skin by Lori M. Lee - 3.5 stars
Started out a little strange, but the ending really turned it all around.
Still Star-Crossed by Sona Charaipotra - 2 stars
Was a little distracted while listening, but it didn’t sound very interesting and the ‘love interest’ was kind of creepy.
The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette De Bodard - 3.5 stars
Yet again distracted (I’m sorry I was playing the Sims hahah), might have to listen to this again.
The Land of the Morning Calm by E. C. Myers - 5 stars
Didn’t think I would love this as much when it turned out to be about video games, but wow! The way grief is handled in this story is beautiful.
The Smile by Aisha Saeed - 4 stars
There wasn’t that much depth to the world, but I loved how feminist it was and the way it discusses love and free choice.
Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers by Preeti Chhibber - 3 stars
I didn’t really feel a connection to this story and was pretty confused when it kept switching back and forth between the contemporary story and the one following the myth, but that also might be attributed to the audiobook.
Nothing into All by Renée Ahdieh - 4 stars
This felt like reading a fairy tale, with a wonderful morale to the story!
Spear Carrier by Rahul Kanakia - 1 star
Didn’t care for the main character nor the story.
Code of Honor by Melissa de la Cruz - 1 star
The main characters was so stupid and there was no point to this story.
Bullet, Butterfly by Elsie Chapman - 3.5 stars
Worldbuilding was a bit vague, but the love story was sweet and tragic.
Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar - 4 stars
I really liked this, but I can’t really put into words why
The Crimson Cloak by Cindy Pon - 4.5 stars
I thought the love interest was called ‘Coward’ for the first couple of times he was mentioned. Wouldn’t mind a longer version of this story though!
Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa - 4.5 stars
Super beautiful, loved the ending!
Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi - 5 stars
Beautiful prose, gorgeous love story, absolutely magical.
Olivia’s Table by Alyssa Wong - 5 stars
I loved this! Might actually be one of my favorites in the anthology. Really interesting concept, for such a short story the world felt very real and fleshed out.
Steel Skin by Lori M. Lee - 3.5 stars
Started out a little strange, but the ending really turned it all around.
Still Star-Crossed by Sona Charaipotra - 2 stars
Was a little distracted while listening, but it didn’t sound very interesting and the ‘love interest’ was kind of creepy.
The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette De Bodard - 3.5 stars
Yet again distracted (I’m sorry I was playing the Sims hahah), might have to listen to this again.
The Land of the Morning Calm by E. C. Myers - 5 stars
Didn’t think I would love this as much when it turned out to be about video games, but wow! The way grief is handled in this story is beautiful.
The Smile by Aisha Saeed - 4 stars
There wasn’t that much depth to the world, but I loved how feminist it was and the way it discusses love and free choice.
Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers by Preeti Chhibber - 3 stars
I didn’t really feel a connection to this story and was pretty confused when it kept switching back and forth between the contemporary story and the one following the myth, but that also might be attributed to the audiobook.
Nothing into All by Renée Ahdieh - 4 stars
This felt like reading a fairy tale, with a wonderful morale to the story!
Spear Carrier by Rahul Kanakia - 1 star
Didn’t care for the main character nor the story.
Code of Honor by Melissa de la Cruz - 1 star
The main characters was so stupid and there was no point to this story.
Bullet, Butterfly by Elsie Chapman - 3.5 stars
Worldbuilding was a bit vague, but the love story was sweet and tragic.
Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar - 4 stars
I really liked this, but I can’t really put into words why
The Crimson Cloak by Cindy Pon - 4.5 stars
I thought the love interest was called ‘Coward’ for the first couple of times he was mentioned. Wouldn’t mind a longer version of this story though!
Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa - 4.5 stars
Super beautiful, loved the ending!
More Accurate Rating: 3.5 Stars
I loved the concept of retelling Asian mythology and folklore (especially since they are own voices).
But I felt that half of the stories were too basic. Maybe because this is marketed to Young Adults (and I've been mostly reading Adult books), but some of the stories were simplistic and boring. I preferred the retellings of stories that didn't fall into Young Adult tropes but rather acted as more modern, feminist retellings of stories the authors grew up reading.
I loved the concept of retelling Asian mythology and folklore (especially since they are own voices).
But I felt that half of the stories were too basic. Maybe because this is marketed to Young Adults (and I've been mostly reading Adult books), but some of the stories were simplistic and boring. I preferred the retellings of stories that didn't fall into Young Adult tropes but rather acted as more modern, feminist retellings of stories the authors grew up reading.
I loved reading the retellings of these asian myths. I need more anthologies like this.
There were only 2 stories in the book I actually really enjoyed. I don't think it would be fair to give the book as a whole a lower rating just because of that though. Hating on a book in a genre I don't like would be childish so I gave it a 3. If you're interested in folklore anthologies this would be great for you.
This was one of the most enjoyable anthologies I have ever read!
I didn't care for most of these stories.
least liked: spear carrier, steel skin
most liked: bullet butterfly, the crimson cloak
least liked: spear carrier, steel skin
most liked: bullet butterfly, the crimson cloak
adventurous
reflective
slow-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
I still have no clue how to rate short story collections by different people so I will just say if I were 9 dentists, I would recommend.