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1.04k reviews for:
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages
Saundra Mitchell
3.92 AVERAGE
1.04k reviews for:
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages
Saundra Mitchell
3.92 AVERAGE
Such a great compilation, and a queer book that actually has ace representation!!
I feel like this book really had a strong start to it, but then the last few stories fell flat for me. I wouldn't say they were bad, but they were 3 stars mostly. But I did end up with a couple 5 star stories and a couple 2 stars. The rest were mostly 4 stars, though. And the rest 3. So I would say that 3.5 is a solid rating for this one since I overall did enjoy it, but it wasn't a favorite of mine.
4.5 stars. A beautiful collection of queer stories, with rep for so many parts of the LGBTQIA+ community. I didn't enjoy ALL the stories in this anthology, but all were well written in their own way and I'm sure each one would bring someone joy. Highly recommend.
it took me a long time to read this because it was a bunch of short stories. there were so so many good ones. my favorites were the last two. The inferno & the butterfly by Shaun David Hutchinson and Healing Rosa by Tehlor Kay Mejia. As well as Every shade is red by Elliot Wake and Roja by Anna- Marie McLemore.
I may have a bias for stories with magic =P I highly recommend this book!
I may have a bias for stories with magic =P I highly recommend this book!
Overall this was just okay but I still enjoyed my time with it! The stories that were great made it worth it. I'm definitely going to pick up Out There soon.
Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore: 3.5 stars
McLemore’s prose is as beautiful as ever but this didn’t work as a standalone story in my opinion. It felt like it was lifted from a longer piece and was missing a lot of context.
Roja by Anna-Marie McLemore: 3.5 stars
McLemore’s prose is as beautiful as ever but this didn’t work as a standalone story in my opinion. It felt like it was lifted from a longer piece and was missing a lot of context.
The Sweet Trade by Natalie C. Parker: 3.5 stars
Short and sweet. I like the concept of two girls running away on their respective wedding days and finding each other but it isn't particularly memorable.
And They Don’t Kiss At the End by Nilah Magruder: 3.5 stars
I honestly can’t remember much of anything about this one (note to self to take better notes next time I read a short story collection!) but I’m glad we got a story about asexuality.
Burnt Umber by Mackenzi Lee: 4 stars
Beautifully written and felt well-grounded in the time period and setting. Memorable!
The Dresser and the Chambermaid by Robin Talley: 4 stars
I enjoyed this one! The kiss felt earned instead of shoehorned in. I did have to suspend my disbelief at the dresser being allowed to enter the ball though.
New Year by Malindo Lo: 4.5 stars
This inspired her novel Last Night at the Telegraph Club and is the best story in the collection in my opinion! It does a fantastic job of developing the time period and setting, including the atmosphere of fear of otherness that existed at the time (and still exists today!). So many great details! And it’s a rare story in this collection (possibly the only one?) where the character is discovering their sexuality without a love interest!
Molly’s Lips by Dahlia Adler: 3.5 stars
This story is one of many where the romance feels rushed. We know that Molly and Anabelle have a history together, at least, but that doesn’t mean we’re invested in their romance. I did like the premise and setting though.
The Coven by Kate Scelsa: 2 stars
This one was strange. I can’t tell what illness the main character is supposed to have nor do I understand how it was magically healed by the women who may or may not be witches. I feel like a real opportunity was missed to have some spooky witchy vibes! Also I can’t buy the fact that this random teenager was allowed into Gertrude Stein’s salon. Speaking of, Stein and Hemingway felt awkwardly shoehorned into the story. I do appreciate how queernormative the story is though!
Every Shade of Red by Elliot Wake: 4 stars
God this one has so much potential! If the author ever expands it into a novel I will be picking it up. The writing was lovely. What let it down for me was the sheer amount of characters and plot points - it was simply too much for one short story.
Willows by Scott Tracey: 2 stars
I nearly DNF’d this one. It’s truly bizarre. I can’t tell you what exactly happened and the premise is hard to buy. We know that witches cursed this town and that our main character themself is cursed and will be killed soon because of it but whatever their curse is is unclear. Their ability to remember their past lives, maybe? It was a little unclear to me whether they were only remembering past lives or if they were living more than one life at once. I think the sheer complexity of this story hurt it.
The Girl with the Blue Lantern by Tess Sharpe: 4 stars
Features some lovely imagery! The ending let me down though - there are stories that are simply too short for love confessions and this is one of them.
The Secret Life of a Teenage Boy by Alex Sanchez: 4 stars
Funny and engaging with a strong narrative voice. I got the impression that the love interest was considerably older than the main character though which made me uncomfortable. That may not have been intended though.
Funny and engaging with a strong narrative voice. I got the impression that the love interest was considerably older than the main character though which made me uncomfortable. That may not have been intended though.
Walking After Midnight by Kody Keplinger: 4 stars
Another sweet little story! I bought into the romance and the characters.
The End of the World As We Know It by Sara Farizan: 3.75 stars
How many times can I use the word “sweet”? This was sweet, though! This did a good job of making me feel fully invested in an attraction that started before the story began (unlike Molly’s Lips). Very odd to read a story set in a year I was alive in a historical fiction anthology though lmao
Three Witches by Tessa Gratton: 2 stars
Part of this rating is that I have no interest in a story about a character being held against their will because of their sexual/romantic orientation but I also thought this just didn’t work. The switch from the main character’s point of view to the other two characters' points of view was very jarring. Also how dare there be another story that teases me with witchy vibes and then doesn’t deliver…
The Inferno and the Butterfly by Shaun David Hutchinson: 3 stars
I won’t lie - I already read the novel this inspired and wasn’t much of a fan of it so I didn’t read this as closely as the others. My impression is that it’s a lesser-version of a book that is just okay. I can see why he made the changes he did.
Healing Rosa by Tehlor Kay Mejia: 4.5 stars
I definitely want to pick up more from this author! This was beautifully written with a compelling plot.
This was a 2.5 star read for me because I loved some of the stories and felt like some of the others were not interesting at all. My favorites were "Molly's Lips" by Dahlia Adler, "New Year" by Malinda Lo, "The Inferno & the Butterfly" by Shaun David Hutchinson and "Healing Rosa" by Tehlor Kay Mejia. It was my first anthology so, hopefully I will enjoy my next experiences with them more. I loved the LGBTQIA+ representation in this book and getting an experience with an anthology.
This is a very enjoyable anthology with a huge range of stories. It includes fantasy, paranormal, historical, contemporary and so much more. The stories are diverse and powerful, each one surprising and gripping. Not a single story was lackluster or disappointing. I devoured it and am very likely to reread it in the future.
Ok, technically I haven’t finished this yet. It was a library borrow and my loan ran out before I was done. I have it on hold but am at the end of the wait list so it will be awhile before I can get back to it.
Still, I’ve read the first 6 of 17 stories and have 4 starred all of those except the one by Mackenzi Lee. Lee’s story was *shrug* meh, but she’s on my pass list due to multiple Author-Behaving-Badly incidents so that undoubtedly influenced my ambivalence for the story.
So far, all the stories I’ve read were Own Voices which is wonderful and the storytelling has been enjoyable and entertaining.
I’ll revisit this review when I’ve finished.
Still, I’ve read the first 6 of 17 stories and have 4 starred all of those except the one by Mackenzi Lee. Lee’s story was *shrug* meh, but she’s on my pass list due to multiple Author-Behaving-Badly incidents so that undoubtedly influenced my ambivalence for the story.
So far, all the stories I’ve read were Own Voices which is wonderful and the storytelling has been enjoyable and entertaining.
I’ll revisit this review when I’ve finished.
“In the setting sun, I kiss her, and she tastes like marigolds.”
Oh how I wish this book had existed when I was a teen. Not being hyperbolic when I say it would’ve changed everything for me.
Healing Rosa was my favorite.
I also really loved And They Don’t Kiss at the End and Walking After Midnight. Wonderful to see some ace/aro rep.
Oh how I wish this book had existed when I was a teen. Not being hyperbolic when I say it would’ve changed everything for me.
Healing Rosa was my favorite.
I also really loved And They Don’t Kiss at the End and Walking After Midnight. Wonderful to see some ace/aro rep.
It's never easy putting together a short story collection without landing any duds, but this book is a clear success. All the stories help restore faith in humanity and give voice to those that have been hidden. The only nitpicking would be that so many queer perspectives still are missing, but hopefully that points to sequals. A lot of sequels. Read or be square!