Reviews
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages, by Saundra Mitchell
bibrarian_'s review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
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? N/A
4.5
tstevenson_'s review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
bookshelfmonkey's review against another edition
3.0
Another amazing book. I'm not going to review each story but some of my favourites were:
The Sweet Trade
Every Shade of Red
Walking After Midnight
The Inferno & The Butterfly
Generally, the quality of the stories was very high and I'm so glad that I read this book. However, I do have a few concerns/ complaints:
1. There were significantly more stories featuring women/ girls than men/boys.
2. There weren't any trans main characters and only 2-3 stories featured any.
The Sweet Trade
Every Shade of Red
Walking After Midnight
The Inferno & The Butterfly
Generally, the quality of the stories was very high and I'm so glad that I read this book. However, I do have a few concerns/ complaints:
1. There were significantly more stories featuring women/ girls than men/boys.
2. There weren't any trans main characters and only 2-3 stories featured any.
casthefanby's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, and Death
Minor: Grief, Deadnaming, and War
tthe_cancerian's review against another edition
4.0
overall rating: 3.88 stars rounding up to 4 stars.
This was a really good anthology. I enjoyed most of the stories. The ones I didn't was because I didn't like the writing or they were too short. It really did have a wide variety of stories and LGBTQ+ characters.
My favourite stories were from Tess Sharpe and Shaun David Hutchinson, both were 5 star reads.
Individual Ratings:
1) 'Roja' by Anna-Marie McLemore - 2 stars
- Didn't like the writing, it was confusing.
2) 'The Sweet Trade' by Natalie C. Parker - 4 stars
- Liked it, it had a good message and I liked the heroines but I wasn't too emotionally invested.
3) 'And They Don't Kiss At The End' by Nilah Magruder - 3 stars
- It was sweet
4) 'Burnt Umber' by Mackenzie Lee - 3.5 stars
- This was really emotional and well-written
5) 'The Dresser and The Chambermaid' by Robin Talley - 4 stars
- It was cute but it was far too intense for such a short amount of time (one day)
6) 'New Year' by Malindo Lo - 3.5 stars
- I liked it.
7) 'Molly's lips' by Dahlia Adler - 3 stars
- Too short and we don't learn anything else about the characters except for their love for Nirvana.
8) 'The Coven' by Kate Scelsa - 4 stars
- Very witchy and queer.
9) 'Every Shade of Red' by Elliot Wake - 3.5 stars
- I liked it but the ending was really confusing and left me unsatisfied.
10) 'Willows' by Scott Tracey - no rating
- Dnf'ed it. It was really boring and I couldn't connect to the story
11) 'The Girl with the Blue Lantern' by Tess Sharpe - 5 stars
- My favourite. The writing was so atmospheric and beautiful. I loved it.
12) 'The Secret Life of A Teenage boy' by Alex Sanchez - 3.5 stars
- It was a good story but the attraction was too quick and intense for my taste.
13) 'Walking after Midnight' by Kody Keplinger - 4.5 stars
- Really cute
14) 'The End of The World As We Know It' by Sara Farizan - 4 stars
- I liked it but needed a little more backstory. The parents were the highlight.
15) 'Three Witches' by Tessa Gratton - 4.5 stars
- Very eerie and atmospheric.
16) 'The Inferno and the Butterfly' by Shaun David Hutchinson - 5 stars
- My favourite, so beautiful and magical.
17) 'Healing Rosa' by Tehlor Kay Mejia - 4.5 stars
- Very atmospheric and emotional.
This was a really good anthology. I enjoyed most of the stories. The ones I didn't was because I didn't like the writing or they were too short. It really did have a wide variety of stories and LGBTQ+ characters.
My favourite stories were from Tess Sharpe and Shaun David Hutchinson, both were 5 star reads.
Individual Ratings:
1) 'Roja' by Anna-Marie McLemore - 2 stars
- Didn't like the writing, it was confusing.
2) 'The Sweet Trade' by Natalie C. Parker - 4 stars
- Liked it, it had a good message and I liked the heroines but I wasn't too emotionally invested.
3) 'And They Don't Kiss At The End' by Nilah Magruder - 3 stars
- It was sweet
4) 'Burnt Umber' by Mackenzie Lee - 3.5 stars
- This was really emotional and well-written
5) 'The Dresser and The Chambermaid' by Robin Talley - 4 stars
- It was cute but it was far too intense for such a short amount of time (one day)
6) 'New Year' by Malindo Lo - 3.5 stars
- I liked it.
7) 'Molly's lips' by Dahlia Adler - 3 stars
- Too short and we don't learn anything else about the characters except for their love for Nirvana.
8) 'The Coven' by Kate Scelsa - 4 stars
- Very witchy and queer.
9) 'Every Shade of Red' by Elliot Wake - 3.5 stars
- I liked it but the ending was really confusing and left me unsatisfied.
10) 'Willows' by Scott Tracey - no rating
- Dnf'ed it. It was really boring and I couldn't connect to the story
11) 'The Girl with the Blue Lantern' by Tess Sharpe - 5 stars
- My favourite. The writing was so atmospheric and beautiful. I loved it.
12) 'The Secret Life of A Teenage boy' by Alex Sanchez - 3.5 stars
- It was a good story but the attraction was too quick and intense for my taste.
13) 'Walking after Midnight' by Kody Keplinger - 4.5 stars
- Really cute
14) 'The End of The World As We Know It' by Sara Farizan - 4 stars
- I liked it but needed a little more backstory. The parents were the highlight.
15) 'Three Witches' by Tessa Gratton - 4.5 stars
- Very eerie and atmospheric.
16) 'The Inferno and the Butterfly' by Shaun David Hutchinson - 5 stars
- My favourite, so beautiful and magical.
17) 'Healing Rosa' by Tehlor Kay Mejia - 4.5 stars
- Very atmospheric and emotional.
greylandreviews's review against another edition
3.0
3.25 stars
I enjoyed this book so much! There were four stories that I really want full length novels from: Roja by McLemore, Every Shade of Red by Wake, The Girl with the Blue Latern by Sharpe, and The Inferno and The Butterfly by Hutchinson.
Also appreciated And They Don't Kiss in the End by Magruder for asexual spectrum representation.
Trigger Warnings: Loss of loved one, war, abuse, racism, homophobia, depression, mention of suicide, child neglect, mention of sex trafficking, and underage drinking
I enjoyed this book so much! There were four stories that I really want full length novels from: Roja by McLemore, Every Shade of Red by Wake, The Girl with the Blue Latern by Sharpe, and The Inferno and The Butterfly by Hutchinson.
Also appreciated And They Don't Kiss in the End by Magruder for asexual spectrum representation.
Trigger Warnings: Loss of loved one, war, abuse, racism, homophobia, depression, mention of suicide, child neglect, mention of sex trafficking, and underage drinking
earnestgirl's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
apolloann's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was an amazing anthology of short stories. It had several Five Star Stories including the opener, "Roja," a very interesting Trans retelling of Little Red Riding Hood by Anna-Marie McLemore that had me coming back to it several times before I even finished the rest of the book! The Queer authors of this anthology have created wonderful Queer stories filled with diverse characters who quickly pull you into their worlds. There were 2 stories that I was not super fond of, hence the drop from a full 5 star rating.
Filled with absolute bangers of quotes, "All Out" will be an anthology I re-read time and time again. I will definitely be finding more works by these fantastic authors to read!
Filled with absolute bangers of quotes, "All Out" will be an anthology I re-read time and time again. I will definitely be finding more works by these fantastic authors to read!
maraieth's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Overall score taken as an average of the individual stories. As a whole I quite enjoyed this, although I an no longer quite the target audience, I think I would have loved this even more if I'd had it 10-15 years ago when I was starting to come out and understand my own identity.
Roja - 3.5
Thought this was interesting with potential to be great as a longer story. The short form didn't help this one for me
The Sweet Trade - 3
A cute enough story, but I would have liked to see some actual lesbian pirate adventures
And they don't kiss at the end - 3.5
Great to see some ace rep, and a lot of it definitely resonated with my experience, just the setting wasn't so much to my taste
Burnt Umber - 2.5
Not sure why, but this one didn't really interest me as much, although it did have some humour
The dresser and the chambermaid - 4
This just made me smile, I liked it more than I thought I was going to
New Year - 3
Had some potential, but ultimately didn't really seem to go anywhere
Molly's lips - 3.5
Thought this was quite sweet
The Coven - 2
Don't know what it was about this that didn't work for me, but definitely not as good as the rest so far
Every shade of red - 5
I need a full novel of this version of Robin Hood immediately! I need to know what happens next and just full details of this world. Just amazed how much a short story could capture. Very engaging and absolutely the stand out of this collection so far.
Willows - 3
Found this one hard to get into and sometimes confusing, but I liked how it ended
The girl with the blue lantern - 4.5
Loved this, how the romance developed and always a fan of fae vibes
The secret life of a teenage boy - 2
Not so keen on the age difference, when the younger is a minor & still at school - not so much that the younger boy is interested (it happens, particularly at that sort of age) but the fact that the older boy, who is at a completely different state of life, is absolutely willing to take this kid with him is a bit iffy to me.
Walking after midnight - 4
A really sweet story, I would definitely read more about them
The end of the world as we know it - 3
Sweet enough, but pretty forgettable.
Three Witches - 3.5
There was a lot I liked about this, but it left me a little confused (particularly part 3) - I feel like if they had stuck to the first 2 parts and maybe expanded them slightly it might have been a better story.
The inferno and the butterfly - 4
While there was a romance, I liked how there was a lot more to it than that, and how I think both came to realise their own value not just as what they can provide their masters by the end.
Healing Rosa - 4.5
I really like the atmosphere and the use of magic here. It was sweet and I really enjoyed it. Definitely ended the anthology on a high.
Roja - 3.5
Thought this was interesting with potential to be great as a longer story. The short form didn't help this one for me
The Sweet Trade - 3
A cute enough story, but I would have liked to see some actual lesbian pirate adventures
And they don't kiss at the end - 3.5
Great to see some ace rep, and a lot of it definitely resonated with my experience, just the setting wasn't so much to my taste
Burnt Umber - 2.5
Not sure why, but this one didn't really interest me as much, although it did have some humour
The dresser and the chambermaid - 4
This just made me smile, I liked it more than I thought I was going to
New Year - 3
Had some potential, but ultimately didn't really seem to go anywhere
Molly's lips - 3.5
Thought this was quite sweet
The Coven - 2
Don't know what it was about this that didn't work for me, but definitely not as good as the rest so far
Every shade of red - 5
I need a full novel of this version of Robin Hood immediately! I need to know what happens next and just full details of this world. Just amazed how much a short story could capture. Very engaging and absolutely the stand out of this collection so far.
Willows - 3
Found this one hard to get into and sometimes confusing, but I liked how it ended
The girl with the blue lantern - 4.5
Loved this, how the romance developed and always a fan of fae vibes
The secret life of a teenage boy - 2
Not so keen on the age difference, when the younger is a minor & still at school - not so much that the younger boy is interested (it happens, particularly at that sort of age) but the fact that the older boy, who is at a completely different state of life, is absolutely willing to take this kid with him is a bit iffy to me.
Walking after midnight - 4
A really sweet story, I would definitely read more about them
The end of the world as we know it - 3
Sweet enough, but pretty forgettable.
Three Witches - 3.5
There was a lot I liked about this, but it left me a little confused (particularly part 3) - I feel like if they had stuck to the first 2 parts and maybe expanded them slightly it might have been a better story.
The inferno and the butterfly - 4
While there was a romance, I liked how there was a lot more to it than that, and how I think both came to realise their own value not just as what they can provide their masters by the end.
Healing Rosa - 4.5
I really like the atmosphere and the use of magic here. It was sweet and I really enjoyed it. Definitely ended the anthology on a high.
elys3's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25