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A review by spellboundliz
Fresh Ink by Lamar Giles
4.0
This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Update: 7/5/2020
When I first received this book in 2018, I was unable to complete my full review. I have now compiled my status updates from then into a full review of each story in this anthology. (The updates have been edited for grammar, accuracy, and content warnings.)
I was very excited to review this book because I have been a huge supporter of We Need Diverse Books and their effort to promote diversity in YA and other children's lit. As one might expect, there is a lot of diversity in this anthology, and as a white LGBT reviewer, I am only able to speak on some of the representation in the book as an OwnVoices reviewer. If you are reading this, I encourage you to explore other reviews by OwnVoices reviewers on the stories that I myself cannot speak on regarding their specific representation.
7/30/18-8/2/18
Eraser Tattoo by Jason Reynolds: 3/5
This was a cute little story about a teenage couple in Brooklyn saying goodbye as one of them moves away. Over, the story was nice, and I thought it was cool that the character was moving to a place that’s an hour or so from where I live, but at times I felt like there was a lot of telling instead of showing in the writing. Also, the ‘eraser tattoo’ - just, ouch!
Meet Cute by Malinda Lo: 4/5
THIS WAS PRECIOUS. I love The X Files and Star Trek so I feel like this was personally made for me. I thought the meet-cute was lovely and I didn’t want to stop reading. However, I wonder how entertaining this story would be for people who aren’t the fans of the things it references quite heavily.
Don’t Pass Me By by Eric Gansworth: 4/5
This was a really powerful story that points out the failings of teachers towards students of color and exposes the microaggressions and racism that Native Americans face in the education system. I really enjoyed this short story and the end felt like a triumph when the main character stood up to his teacher for his casual racism. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Be Cool For Once by Aminah Mae Safi: 3/5
This is a really hard story to review because I felt like it was cute, but it didn’t work for me personally. I like elements of the story, like the setting and the band, as well as the backgrounds of the characters and how that interacted with their daily life, but other things just didn’t work for me. Someone else might really connect with it, though, so I give it kudos for that.
Tags by Walter Dean Myers: 5/5
(7/5/2020: I did not initially give this story a review because I wanted to write out a more thoughtful one, but now, as it is two years later, I am unable to give a full review of this story because of how much time has passed. However, I did give it 5 stars, so I was clearly impressed.)
Why I Learned to Cook by Sara Farizan: 5/5
This story really hit home for me. My grandma wasn’t an immigrant, and both she and I were/are white, but I felt very connected to this story because my grandma and I had a relationship that revolved around food. Like the main character, I’m also bi and I wish that I could have shared that part of my life with my grandma before she passed the way that Yasi did in this story.
A Stranger at the Bochinche by Daniel José Older: 3/5
This was very interesting but hard to grasp at times, I think because of the world-building and the fact that very little was explained - you just kind of had to go along with it. I think I would have caught on a little better had there been more story, but it was cool for what it was.
A Boy’s Duty by Sharon G Flake: 3.5/5
This was a historical fiction story about a boy struggling with homelessness and poverty trying to chase his dreams, while also dealing with the racism he faces for being Black. This was an eye-opening story but some of the dialogue felt stilted and the story felt rushed from time-to-time. I liked the conclusion though.
One Voice by Melissa de la Cruz: 4/5
I enjoyed this story! It discusses a string of hate crimes targeting people of color at Stanford and how it affects the community of the university. I felt like this was a very necessary story, especially for young readers. The ending, however, did feel rushed.
Paladin/Samurai by Gene Luen Yang, Illustrations by Thien Pham: 3.5/5
This was a short comic about a microaggression that a Japanese boy faces from the GM during a D&D-like game with his friends. I enjoyed it even though I’ve never played D&D (I do listen to actual-play podcasts though!) and it was a nice break from the heavier prose that makes up most of this anthology.
Catch, Pull, Drive by Schuyler Bailar: 5/5
This was a powerful story about a trans boy who has to face his first day back on the swim team after coming out as transgender. The author is a trans man himself and the first openly trans NCAA Division I swimmer. The story was well written; I loved how it was told partially through flashbacks during a swim race. I feel like everyone should read it. Content warnings for bullying, transphobia, hate speech, transphobic slurs, and the use of the trans character's dead name (these are challenged in the story and not condoned).
Super Human by Nicola Yoon: 5/5
This story is about a superhero and discusses police brutality towards Black people in America. I felt like this was a necessary topic that I was hoping would be addressed in this anthology and the story was a poignant and unique approach to the subject. This is exactly what I wanted from this anthology.
Overall, I gave this anthology a 4/5 because many of the stories hit home or made an emotional impact on me. Regardless of this, I feel that everyone should read this anthology because it has something for everyone, whether it could help them feel represented or seen, or if it could teach them about a culture/identity they didn't already know about.
This is by no means an exhaustive review, but I thought I would compile what thoughts I had while reading these stories so that others might be able to know if this anthology is for them (although I feel it's really for anyone who reads YA). If you would like to check out some more thorough (and probably better written) reviews, feel free to check out Melanie's review here or Destiny's review here.
Update: 7/5/2020
When I first received this book in 2018, I was unable to complete my full review. I have now compiled my status updates from then into a full review of each story in this anthology. (The updates have been edited for grammar, accuracy, and content warnings.)
I was very excited to review this book because I have been a huge supporter of We Need Diverse Books and their effort to promote diversity in YA and other children's lit. As one might expect, there is a lot of diversity in this anthology, and as a white LGBT reviewer, I am only able to speak on some of the representation in the book as an OwnVoices reviewer. If you are reading this, I encourage you to explore other reviews by OwnVoices reviewers on the stories that I myself cannot speak on regarding their specific representation.
7/30/18-8/2/18
Eraser Tattoo by Jason Reynolds: 3/5
This was a cute little story about a teenage couple in Brooklyn saying goodbye as one of them moves away. Over, the story was nice, and I thought it was cool that the character was moving to a place that’s an hour or so from where I live, but at times I felt like there was a lot of telling instead of showing in the writing. Also, the ‘eraser tattoo’ - just, ouch!
Meet Cute by Malinda Lo: 4/5
THIS WAS PRECIOUS. I love The X Files and Star Trek so I feel like this was personally made for me. I thought the meet-cute was lovely and I didn’t want to stop reading. However, I wonder how entertaining this story would be for people who aren’t the fans of the things it references quite heavily.
Don’t Pass Me By by Eric Gansworth: 4/5
This was a really powerful story that points out the failings of teachers towards students of color and exposes the microaggressions and racism that Native Americans face in the education system. I really enjoyed this short story and the end felt like a triumph when the main character stood up to his teacher for his casual racism. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Be Cool For Once by Aminah Mae Safi: 3/5
This is a really hard story to review because I felt like it was cute, but it didn’t work for me personally. I like elements of the story, like the setting and the band, as well as the backgrounds of the characters and how that interacted with their daily life, but other things just didn’t work for me. Someone else might really connect with it, though, so I give it kudos for that.
Tags by Walter Dean Myers: 5/5
(7/5/2020: I did not initially give this story a review because I wanted to write out a more thoughtful one, but now, as it is two years later, I am unable to give a full review of this story because of how much time has passed. However, I did give it 5 stars, so I was clearly impressed.)
Why I Learned to Cook by Sara Farizan: 5/5
This story really hit home for me. My grandma wasn’t an immigrant, and both she and I were/are white, but I felt very connected to this story because my grandma and I had a relationship that revolved around food. Like the main character, I’m also bi and I wish that I could have shared that part of my life with my grandma before she passed the way that Yasi did in this story.
A Stranger at the Bochinche by Daniel José Older: 3/5
This was very interesting but hard to grasp at times, I think because of the world-building and the fact that very little was explained - you just kind of had to go along with it. I think I would have caught on a little better had there been more story, but it was cool for what it was.
A Boy’s Duty by Sharon G Flake: 3.5/5
This was a historical fiction story about a boy struggling with homelessness and poverty trying to chase his dreams, while also dealing with the racism he faces for being Black. This was an eye-opening story but some of the dialogue felt stilted and the story felt rushed from time-to-time. I liked the conclusion though.
One Voice by Melissa de la Cruz: 4/5
I enjoyed this story! It discusses a string of hate crimes targeting people of color at Stanford and how it affects the community of the university. I felt like this was a very necessary story, especially for young readers. The ending, however, did feel rushed.
Paladin/Samurai by Gene Luen Yang, Illustrations by Thien Pham: 3.5/5
This was a short comic about a microaggression that a Japanese boy faces from the GM during a D&D-like game with his friends. I enjoyed it even though I’ve never played D&D (I do listen to actual-play podcasts though!) and it was a nice break from the heavier prose that makes up most of this anthology.
Catch, Pull, Drive by Schuyler Bailar: 5/5
This was a powerful story about a trans boy who has to face his first day back on the swim team after coming out as transgender. The author is a trans man himself and the first openly trans NCAA Division I swimmer. The story was well written; I loved how it was told partially through flashbacks during a swim race. I feel like everyone should read it. Content warnings for bullying, transphobia, hate speech, transphobic slurs, and the use of the trans character's dead name (these are challenged in the story and not condoned).
Super Human by Nicola Yoon: 5/5
This story is about a superhero and discusses police brutality towards Black people in America. I felt like this was a necessary topic that I was hoping would be addressed in this anthology and the story was a poignant and unique approach to the subject. This is exactly what I wanted from this anthology.
Overall, I gave this anthology a 4/5 because many of the stories hit home or made an emotional impact on me. Regardless of this, I feel that everyone should read this anthology because it has something for everyone, whether it could help them feel represented or seen, or if it could teach them about a culture/identity they didn't already know about.
This is by no means an exhaustive review, but I thought I would compile what thoughts I had while reading these stories so that others might be able to know if this anthology is for them (although I feel it's really for anyone who reads YA). If you would like to check out some more thorough (and probably better written) reviews, feel free to check out Melanie's review here or Destiny's review here.