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brianaisgoingplaces's review
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It’s so important for people to be able to see themselves across different media, and Boundless does a great job pulling experiences from so many different people. The twenty stories in this book range from the silly to the somber, all striking your emotions in different ways.
I really admire the goals of this book and the different stories I got to read. However, I do think this book works best for teenagers and preteens. As an adult, reading some of these stories felt very much like I was being subjected to the complaints of whiny teenagers. I feel very old saying that as someone who is barely (she lies) out of her teenage years. The middle stories of this book had me leaning towards three stars, but a few of the stories near the end brought it back up to a four for me.
I’m excited that I got introduced to quite a few new to me authors, some I hope to read again in the future.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy of this book.
3.75 rounded to 4
roooney's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Showcasing a variety of multicultural and/or multiracial voices from experienced and emerging authors, Boundless is a collection of stories exploring the emotional, ethical and interpersonal pursuits and perils of adolescence.
Occasionally the entire bind up felt slightly disjointed - likely due to to the differing ages of protagonists, due to this I would personally suggest reading story by story on a paced basis. The writing is strong and emotional and emerging authors hold their own against the heavyweights.
All in all a worthwhile read for 2023.
Occasionally the entire bind up felt slightly disjointed - likely due to to the differing ages of protagonists, due to this I would personally suggest reading story by story on a paced basis. The writing is strong and emotional and emerging authors hold their own against the heavyweights.
All in all a worthwhile read for 2023.
roshreviews's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Strong character development? No
2.5
In a Nutshell: An anthology themed around the troubles of coming from multi-racial/multi-cultural origins. Great in terms of authentic rep. In terms of writing, well… it’s YA as advertised. So it will work better with the YA crowd.
This collection of twenty stories comes with an amazing theme. What happens when your identity crosses boundaries of race, culture, religion, or nationality? You are ‘boundless’; your identity cannot be contained within a single checkbox. Do you lean more towards one side of your parental ancestry? Can you keep one foot on each side of your cultural origin and do justice to both? Do your peers accept your holistic persona or see you only as you are visible to them, in terms of your facial features (or perhaps, I should say – racial features)?
Sounds like a relevant theme, right? In today’s world, where boundaries keep getting diluted and a “country” is nothing but a geo-political unit and citizens are more global than local, the number of people who come from multiracial and multicultural origins is at its peak. However, this doesn’t mean that they fit into their dual identities with ease, and the problem is as much because of their own split-personality feelings as because of others’ judgemental comments.
Each of the twenty stories in this collection features such a protagonist, and this should have hence led to a satisfying anthology experience. However, the hurdle I couldn’t jump over is the writing, which is adamantly YA in style. I was hoping that the powerful theme would be enough to push aside the shortcomings of the YA approach, but unfortunately, that doesn’t happen. Most of the main adult characters in the stories are either idiots or ignoramuses. The emotional exploration of the protagonists is primarily at a surface level. The characters are typical young adults who feel that they know more than adults.
The biggest disappointment was that the theme is addressed with justice only in a few of the stories. In most of the stories, the protagonist deals with YA problems rather than cultural-identity issues, with the latter being the background than the prime focus. This makes the collection feel like a generic YA anthology, and also makes the stories feel repetitive after a while.
All in all, this might work better for YA readers and for readers who are fond of YA-style writing. If you are an adult reader who wants to try an anthology about a set of teenagers who go through life mortified at the ignorance of their peers and the adults in their lives, this will work for you. But if you are a reader who has a low threshold of tolerance of flat and/or opinionated young characters, avoid it regardless of the outstanding theme.
I rated the stories individually as I always do, but after a point, every story began to get the same rating – between 2 to 3 stars, with just a couple of exceptions. So I am just going to hit the halfway mark here, and round it up as I know a part of the displeasure is because of my inability to accept YA writing without rolling my eyes.
A shoutout to the cover designer - you did a wonderful job!
2.5 stars, rounding up.
My thanks to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “Boundless: Twenty Voices Celebrating Multicultural and Multiracial Identities”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
This collection of twenty stories comes with an amazing theme. What happens when your identity crosses boundaries of race, culture, religion, or nationality? You are ‘boundless’; your identity cannot be contained within a single checkbox. Do you lean more towards one side of your parental ancestry? Can you keep one foot on each side of your cultural origin and do justice to both? Do your peers accept your holistic persona or see you only as you are visible to them, in terms of your facial features (or perhaps, I should say – racial features)?
Sounds like a relevant theme, right? In today’s world, where boundaries keep getting diluted and a “country” is nothing but a geo-political unit and citizens are more global than local, the number of people who come from multiracial and multicultural origins is at its peak. However, this doesn’t mean that they fit into their dual identities with ease, and the problem is as much because of their own split-personality feelings as because of others’ judgemental comments.
Each of the twenty stories in this collection features such a protagonist, and this should have hence led to a satisfying anthology experience. However, the hurdle I couldn’t jump over is the writing, which is adamantly YA in style. I was hoping that the powerful theme would be enough to push aside the shortcomings of the YA approach, but unfortunately, that doesn’t happen. Most of the main adult characters in the stories are either idiots or ignoramuses. The emotional exploration of the protagonists is primarily at a surface level. The characters are typical young adults who feel that they know more than adults.
The biggest disappointment was that the theme is addressed with justice only in a few of the stories. In most of the stories, the protagonist deals with YA problems rather than cultural-identity issues, with the latter being the background than the prime focus. This makes the collection feel like a generic YA anthology, and also makes the stories feel repetitive after a while.
All in all, this might work better for YA readers and for readers who are fond of YA-style writing. If you are an adult reader who wants to try an anthology about a set of teenagers who go through life mortified at the ignorance of their peers and the adults in their lives, this will work for you. But if you are a reader who has a low threshold of tolerance of flat and/or opinionated young characters, avoid it regardless of the outstanding theme.
I rated the stories individually as I always do, but after a point, every story began to get the same rating – between 2 to 3 stars, with just a couple of exceptions. So I am just going to hit the halfway mark here, and round it up as I know a part of the displeasure is because of my inability to accept YA writing without rolling my eyes.
A shoutout to the cover designer - you did a wonderful job!
2.5 stars, rounding up.
My thanks to Inkyard Press and NetGalley for the DRC of “Boundless: Twenty Voices Celebrating Multicultural and Multiracial Identities”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.
lukeduke05's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
ddnreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-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? No
4.0
"...halving something could make it more intead of less." - From Effing Nico by Randy Ribay
I feel this on a personal level. I live in a very diverse, very rich with cultures and ethnicites country where it's common for us to be a halfie. I may not get those racism or out of place at times but I understand deeply how it feels.
To be decent enough for both but never mastering them. Learning different local languages. Not Javanese enough, not Bugis enough. Having to explain to people my family background. It's confusing and often meddled with unpleasant stretotyping.
This book opened a lot of struggles experienced by children of multicultural background. Mostly, they don't have it easy. As heartwarming as it could be, there are tries, and hopes here. And I guess lessons for everyone to remember.
I enjoy this beautiful work. My top 3 stories goes to:
- Hispanics Jewish Bingo by Goldy Moldavsky
(I WAS SO HOOKED WITH THE STORY. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'LL HAPPEN NEXT TO JAVIER AND AMALIA'S LIFE.)
- Irish Soda Bread by Eric Smith (I got so hooked bcs the plot went so smoothly. And I'm a teacher. So yeah)
- CONFESSION by Erin Entrada Kelly
(We love a badass who punch someone in the face for being a bully, and a racist)
Honourable mention:
- A halfie's Guide to Mexican Restaurant
- Invisibility
"You’re not a mash-up or a crash-up or a mix-up. You’re not parts. You’re a whole. Not a spark, but a fire . You’re not a piece of perfection, but the whole dang enchilada. You are one molten glow, girl, light indivisible."
kylamari's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
wchereads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
3.75
In "I am not a papaya" by Veera Hiranandani, the protagonist Rani admitted to hating dances, but simply by going there, she would be able to:
make people think harder, wonder about her, but also wonder about themselves, things she wished people did more of in general.
This is exactly what this anthology made me do. I wondered about and tried hard to understand why these characters feel and act the way they do as someone who isn't multiracial, and also began to wonder and reflect on my own experiences as an immigrant from East Asia living in North America.
This is a collection of stories centred around the experiences of teens and young adults dealing with their multiracial/multicultural identities, belonging and self-acceptance. Some stories explore more emotional topics like divorce of parents, abandonment and grief. Feels aside, most stories tend to be lighthearted and feel-good reads. Most stories take place in a contemporary and US-American middle or high school setting, but there are a few historical ones and a few that take place outside of the US.
As with any anthology, the stories can be a bit hit or miss for individual readers. The stories that did hit, hit me very hard. Some of my favourites are:
"Invisible" by Emiko Jean, which was told in a combination of second and first person POV, with the reader playing the role of the ignorant doctor, forcing the reader to examine their own biases and prejudices.
"Enough to be a real thing" by I. W. Gregorio, which is engaging, fun, and made me laugh out loud plenty of times with its humour.
"Searching" by Jasmine Warga, an emotional read in which the protagonist travels to the country her deceased father was from, in an attempt to understand his roots better, as well as to search... for what exactly, she can't say for sure, and while I have not had experiences like hers at all, I understood her sense of loss and desire for searching, even if aimlessly.
There are many stories in addition to the ones above that I highly enjoyed reading and I will be looking up other books by their authors.
I will recommend this anthology to any multiracial/multicultural young readers hoping to feel validated/represented, and anyone in general looking to discover authors who are multiracial/multicultural.
The only complaint I have about this book - and that is kind of more on me than on the book itself - is that there are so many stories with school settings AND are more or less similar to each other thematically that I am now experiencing major burnouts with any sorts of YA stories with school dramas. Gotta mix up my pride month tbr list I suppose!
Many thanks to netgalley for providing the e-ARC!
This is a collection of stories centred around the experiences of teens and young adults dealing with their multiracial/multicultural identities, belonging and self-acceptance. Some stories explore more emotional topics like divorce of parents, abandonment and grief. Feels aside, most stories tend to be lighthearted and feel-good reads. Most stories take place in a contemporary and US-American middle or high school setting, but there are a few historical ones and a few that take place outside of the US.
As with any anthology, the stories can be a bit hit or miss for individual readers. The stories that did hit, hit me very hard. Some of my favourites are:
"Invisible" by Emiko Jean, which was told in a combination of second and first person POV, with the reader playing the role of the ignorant doctor, forcing the reader to examine their own biases and prejudices.
"Enough to be a real thing" by I. W. Gregorio, which is engaging, fun, and made me laugh out loud plenty of times with its humour.
"Searching" by Jasmine Warga, an emotional read in which the protagonist travels to the country her deceased father was from, in an attempt to understand his roots better, as well as to search... for what exactly, she can't say for sure, and while I have not had experiences like hers at all, I understood her sense of loss and desire for searching, even if aimlessly.
There are many stories in addition to the ones above that I highly enjoyed reading and I will be looking up other books by their authors.
I will recommend this anthology to any multiracial/multicultural young readers hoping to feel validated/represented, and anyone in general looking to discover authors who are multiracial/multicultural.
The only complaint I have about this book - and that is kind of more on me than on the book itself - is that there are so many stories with school settings AND are more or less similar to each other thematically that I am now experiencing major burnouts with any sorts of YA stories with school dramas. Gotta mix up my pride month tbr list I suppose!
Many thanks to netgalley for providing the e-ARC!
pawprintsinthesink's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I didn't always love short stories, mostly because I kept wanting more, and they kept ending. But I always want to spend more time with characters I love, and that knows no form. Novel, novella, or short story, great characters always make me want to spend more time in their world.
My love for short stories has really grown in the last few years, and it's in part due to anthologies like this. Anthologies connected by theme, or interconnected by setting with character crossovers like Ancestor Approved.
Boundless, a new anthology with twenty incredible contributing authors, is edited by Ismée Williams and Rebecca Balcárcel. This young adult anthology highlights multicultural life and tackles themes of identity and belonging.
Each story is incredible, with thorough character development. Each story is engrossing, so much so that I couldn't just continue straight through but I had to take a moment between stories to just appreciate how beautiful each one was. This is the kind of anthology you can really savor, enjoying it story by story, without feeling rushed.
Themes of identity and belonging are explored at a micro and macro level, allowing for diversity and individual experiences to flourish. These stories are so relatable. There is something universal about searching for where you belong, yet that same something is multiplied by multi-cultural and multi-racial experiences. As a bicultural person myself, I found something in each and every story to relate to, and felt seen in ways I didn't expect. But even without being bicultural, I think I would have found just as many relatable moments.
This anthology includes stories from:
* Adi Alsaid
* Rebecca Balcárcel
* Akemi Dawn Bowman
* Anika Fajardo
* Shannon Gibney
* I.W. Gregorio
* Veera Hiranandani
* Nasugraq Rainey Hopson
* Emiko Jean
* Erin Entrada Kelly
* Torrey Maldonado
* Mélina Mangal
* Goldy Moldavsky
* Randy Ribay
* Loriel Ryon
* Tara Sim
* Eric Smith
* Jasmine Warga
* Ismée Williams
* Karen Yin
These stories are just wonderful. Individually, each story is engrossing, well written, and thought provoking. Together, they create a beautiful tapestry of connection, acceptance, and love.
Boundless will be available June 13, 2023.
Thank you to Inkyard Press, NetGalley, the contributors, and editors for an advanced e-copy such that I could share my honest opinions.
My love for short stories has really grown in the last few years, and it's in part due to anthologies like this. Anthologies connected by theme, or interconnected by setting with character crossovers like Ancestor Approved.
Boundless, a new anthology with twenty incredible contributing authors, is edited by Ismée Williams and Rebecca Balcárcel. This young adult anthology highlights multicultural life and tackles themes of identity and belonging.
Each story is incredible, with thorough character development. Each story is engrossing, so much so that I couldn't just continue straight through but I had to take a moment between stories to just appreciate how beautiful each one was. This is the kind of anthology you can really savor, enjoying it story by story, without feeling rushed.
Themes of identity and belonging are explored at a micro and macro level, allowing for diversity and individual experiences to flourish. These stories are so relatable. There is something universal about searching for where you belong, yet that same something is multiplied by multi-cultural and multi-racial experiences. As a bicultural person myself, I found something in each and every story to relate to, and felt seen in ways I didn't expect. But even without being bicultural, I think I would have found just as many relatable moments.
This anthology includes stories from:
* Adi Alsaid
* Rebecca Balcárcel
* Akemi Dawn Bowman
* Anika Fajardo
* Shannon Gibney
* I.W. Gregorio
* Veera Hiranandani
* Nasugraq Rainey Hopson
* Emiko Jean
* Erin Entrada Kelly
* Torrey Maldonado
* Mélina Mangal
* Goldy Moldavsky
* Randy Ribay
* Loriel Ryon
* Tara Sim
* Eric Smith
* Jasmine Warga
* Ismée Williams
* Karen Yin
These stories are just wonderful. Individually, each story is engrossing, well written, and thought provoking. Together, they create a beautiful tapestry of connection, acceptance, and love.
Boundless will be available June 13, 2023.
Thank you to Inkyard Press, NetGalley, the contributors, and editors for an advanced e-copy such that I could share my honest opinions.
echostarr99's review against another edition
informative
reflective
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Boundless is a richly diverse collection of YA short stories centered around the multiracial and mixed race characters. Their voices, interactions and relationships with others depict some big questions surrounding identity, race, and societal expectations. I've read previous work by some of the authors in this collection, but most are new to me and I'll eagerly look for their other books.
Some stories in Boundless seem a bit simplistic in the first reading, but I can imagine these can serve as a starting point for productive conversations about how people of different background might navigate different situations and how racial/ethnic identities might play a role. I also like that so many different backgrounds and identities are represented so, as a reader, I was introduced to a new perspective every few pages. Finally, I appreciate short story collections that center on a theme, where you can get a sense of the many different layers that might be part of the experience of a multiracial character, but where the author-contributors each have their own distinct styles.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the e-arc!
Some stories in Boundless seem a bit simplistic in the first reading, but I can imagine these can serve as a starting point for productive conversations about how people of different background might navigate different situations and how racial/ethnic identities might play a role. I also like that so many different backgrounds and identities are represented so, as a reader, I was introduced to a new perspective every few pages. Finally, I appreciate short story collections that center on a theme, where you can get a sense of the many different layers that might be part of the experience of a multiracial character, but where the author-contributors each have their own distinct styles.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for the e-arc!
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