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A review by nonsensicaljourney
Foreshadow: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA by Nova Ren Suma, Emily X.R. Pan
4.0
This is a book of short stories written by emerging Young Adult authors and, as an aspiring Young Adult writer myself, I found a lot of joy in the way that this anthology was put together. The project and the website itself are incredibly commendable, and it makes me so happy to know that diverse young adult authors are being supported by such a platform. These are stories that deserve to be broadcasted.
It's difficult to review the book itself, but it had a wonderful structure of Short Story --> Author's Note --> Note on an Element of Writing Style (written by either Emily XR Pan or Nova Ren Suma). It helped highlight the most critical elements of writing good short stories - things I have myself learned from university classes - but applied to the story at hand, in the YA genre. I've read writing books before, and this one seemed remarkably specific and useful - I really appreciated its insight.
On top of that, I'd like to highlight a few of my favourite stories from the volume. The story "Glow" by Joanna Truman was incredibly well written and emotionally resonant, tracking the story of two girls at the end of the world on a road trip. The story "Pan Dulce" by Flor Salcedo investigates the realities of crossing the border into Mexico and what this can mean for young people. The story "Break" by Sophie Meridien uses structure to frame an adorable romance around spin-the-bottle.
The best two, in my opinion, were "Resilient" by Mayra Cuevas, who wrote about two young women fleeing the impacts of Hurricane Maria, and "Princess" by Maya Prasad, which was a sci fi glimpse into humanity. I can't wait to read more of Cuevas' and Prasad's work in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for Young Readers for giving me an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in writing in the YA genre.
It's difficult to review the book itself, but it had a wonderful structure of Short Story --> Author's Note --> Note on an Element of Writing Style (written by either Emily XR Pan or Nova Ren Suma). It helped highlight the most critical elements of writing good short stories - things I have myself learned from university classes - but applied to the story at hand, in the YA genre. I've read writing books before, and this one seemed remarkably specific and useful - I really appreciated its insight.
On top of that, I'd like to highlight a few of my favourite stories from the volume. The story "Glow" by Joanna Truman was incredibly well written and emotionally resonant, tracking the story of two girls at the end of the world on a road trip. The story "Pan Dulce" by Flor Salcedo investigates the realities of crossing the border into Mexico and what this can mean for young people. The story "Break" by Sophie Meridien uses structure to frame an adorable romance around spin-the-bottle.
The best two, in my opinion, were "Resilient" by Mayra Cuevas, who wrote about two young women fleeing the impacts of Hurricane Maria, and "Princess" by Maya Prasad, which was a sci fi glimpse into humanity. I can't wait to read more of Cuevas' and Prasad's work in the future!
Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Books for Young Readers for giving me an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in writing in the YA genre.