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Reviews
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages by Saundra Mitchell
lilyjoyner's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed a few of the stories, but I don’t think that anthologies are my cup of tea.
l_brina's review against another edition
4.0
"I had a whole slew of questions about what the future would hold now." 3.5 rounded up.
maliear's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
cdiviakauthor's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5
Queer historical fiction with romantic subplots is simply a superior genre, in my opinion. The pacing of the anthology wove together beautifully with no gaps between the stories, and every story brought something unique to the table. Not every story was my favorite, but my favorite ones stood with me long after I turned the page to the next one. I think the sliding scale between realism and fantasy created a lovely medley.
Queer historical fiction with romantic subplots is simply a superior genre, in my opinion. The pacing of the anthology wove together beautifully with no gaps between the stories, and every story brought something unique to the table. Not every story was my favorite, but my favorite ones stood with me long after I turned the page to the next one. I think the sliding scale between realism and fantasy created a lovely medley.
thatsnotoli's review against another edition
4.0
Some stories were really amazing, some I didn't like that much, but overall I enjoyed reading them all.
rachelmariereads's review against another edition
4.0
I intended to pick this up to read during Pride month, but it ended up getting carried over into July. Regardless, I really feel like this is an anthology everyone can appreciate! With stories spanning all the way from the 14th century to 1999, this book really gives a sense of history to the LGBTQ+ community. The LGBTQ+ movement may be the most recent civil rights fight in our history, but LGBTQ+ people have been around for as long as time itself.
One of the first stories that struck me was about a teenage girl discovering her asexuality during the roller-skating craze of the 1970’s. I think this was the first story I’ve ever read about an asexual chatacter. While she doesn’t feel any sexual attraction, she does feel some romantic attraction to a guy in her life. Instead of shutting her down he is incredibly accepting and supportive, and is content to just hold her hand and be next to her. This warmed my heart so much!
While many of the stories feature entirely fictional characters, some were based on reinventions of fairy tales and legends. One of my favorites was a take on the story of Robin Hood, where Robin was transgender and his love interest was a deaf boy. Will and Robin’s love story was heartbreaking, but also so joyful.
Some of the stories crossed over into the realm of fantasy as well. One of my favorites was the love story of a water spirit who helped a girl survive during the Gold Rush of the late 1800’s. I also really loved a story that took place in New Mexico in the 1930’s, where a young girl’s abuela teaches her how to heal using magic, and she falls in love with the sick girl next door.
I really appreciated how the authors told such a wide variety of stories, and also how they focused on joy. When it comes to telling tales like these, I feel like all too often the focus is on their struggles and how society doesn’t accept them. But we’ve heard that story before. What really sets this book apart is how it focuses on joy, happiness, and love. I smiled so much while reading this, it was such a breath of fresh air.
One of the first stories that struck me was about a teenage girl discovering her asexuality during the roller-skating craze of the 1970’s. I think this was the first story I’ve ever read about an asexual chatacter. While she doesn’t feel any sexual attraction, she does feel some romantic attraction to a guy in her life. Instead of shutting her down he is incredibly accepting and supportive, and is content to just hold her hand and be next to her. This warmed my heart so much!
While many of the stories feature entirely fictional characters, some were based on reinventions of fairy tales and legends. One of my favorites was a take on the story of Robin Hood, where Robin was transgender and his love interest was a deaf boy. Will and Robin’s love story was heartbreaking, but also so joyful.
Some of the stories crossed over into the realm of fantasy as well. One of my favorites was the love story of a water spirit who helped a girl survive during the Gold Rush of the late 1800’s. I also really loved a story that took place in New Mexico in the 1930’s, where a young girl’s abuela teaches her how to heal using magic, and she falls in love with the sick girl next door.
I really appreciated how the authors told such a wide variety of stories, and also how they focused on joy. When it comes to telling tales like these, I feel like all too often the focus is on their struggles and how society doesn’t accept them. But we’ve heard that story before. What really sets this book apart is how it focuses on joy, happiness, and love. I smiled so much while reading this, it was such a breath of fresh air.