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A review by mendezconzeta
Foreshadow: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA by Nova Ren Suma, Emily X.R. Pan
4.0
I really liked most of these stories, and even those which I didn't like are powerful and would be great in another reader's hands. This book is amazing and YA star writers introducing all these amazing new YA writers is a hopeful, powerful thing. LOVED the book and its purpose!
Flight: 2/5. I liked its final thoughts on the whole thing, but the story didn't convince nor was my cup of tea. I understand not understanding since we start with the same amount of information the main character has, but I didn't enjoy it because it was mysterious in a confusing way. I didn't know what I was reading.
Risk: 5/5. Disgusting as The Metamorphosis (or at least what I remember about it). It lets you read it in a million different ways and every single one of them is better than the last one. A really good example on how to keep the reader reading regarding a short story.
Sweetmeats: 5/5. I would 100% read a whole book inspired in this short story. For real. I'm still amazed at how the author manages the rhythm, the characters and their interactions. One of my favorites.
Glow: 2.5/5. Uhhhh I love sapphic stories but this one was kind of bland for me. I didn't like Naia at all and it all felt kind of rushed? It's about the power all girls have in themselves and the message is really empowering, but I didn't feel it in the story.
Escape: 2/5. I didn't like the rythm of the narration nor the character's voices, and it read as a really long story for me for being a short story. I liked how the main character solves the main problem, but not the ending.
Pan dulce: 1/5. I didn't like how it was written nor the characters (I found the main character's voice horrible) nor the topics. I don't wanna be rude because this story reads as a really personal one for the author, but... if almost nothing is gonna happen in your story then you have to get the reader to stay focused in other ways. Before the thing happened I was bored as hell, and after the thing happened everything went back to being boring. The thing didn't save the rest of the story. I get that it's a story that takes place in the 90s, but it's 2020: the narration is on the very verge of being sexist and slutshaming. We don't let the false dichotomy of pretty =/= intelligent pass anymore.
Solace: 4/5. Beautiful. Beautiful narration and beautiful characters. The ending was kind of a Hallmark film but even then I loved it. I would totally read a book about this, because if so much grief, sadness and hope is present in a short story, IMAGINE a book about it!
Princess: 4/5. The story wasn't that interesting for me, but I loved the world building and how in a few pages the author gave us a clear view of the world with rules that are, let's say, consistent for what we've read.
Fools: 5/5. I would TOTALLY read a book about this. I loved the characters, the world and the come and go between Fan and Dimen. For being a short story, it was well developed and written. One of my favorites.
Monsters: 5/5. Lovely. Beautiful story, development and writing. It's incredible how in not many pages you can say so much, from Milagros' past in Venezuela to two years later, when she encounters the monster a second time. I would read a book about this, a miggle grade series that ends up being YA.
Break: 5/5. A cute, lovely story that you can revisit to end up with a smile on your face. Fresh rom-com air in the middle of an anthology. Loved the characters!
Resilient: 4/5. I really liked the hopeful tone between the grief. It's not a 5/5 because I feel there was something missing that I would probably be able to find in the same story but in a longer format. Really liked the charaters.
Belly: 3.5/5. I liked it. It's a story with so much spirit... but something was missing. That something is something that I think could be developed in a book, but that falls short in a short story. It possesses too much power to be in an anthology (this one or any one!)
FRTC on my blog for Foreshadow's blog tour on October 19th!
Thanks to Algonquin Books for Young Readers both for choosing me once again for one of their blog tours and for giving me this eARC!
Flight: 2/5. I liked its final thoughts on the whole thing, but the story didn't convince nor was my cup of tea. I understand not understanding since we start with the same amount of information the main character has, but I didn't enjoy it because it was mysterious in a confusing way. I didn't know what I was reading.
Risk: 5/5. Disgusting as The Metamorphosis (or at least what I remember about it). It lets you read it in a million different ways and every single one of them is better than the last one. A really good example on how to keep the reader reading regarding a short story.
Sweetmeats: 5/5. I would 100% read a whole book inspired in this short story. For real. I'm still amazed at how the author manages the rhythm, the characters and their interactions. One of my favorites.
Glow: 2.5/5. Uhhhh I love sapphic stories but this one was kind of bland for me. I didn't like Naia at all and it all felt kind of rushed? It's about the power all girls have in themselves and the message is really empowering, but I didn't feel it in the story.
Escape: 2/5. I didn't like the rythm of the narration nor the character's voices, and it read as a really long story for me for being a short story. I liked how the main character solves the main problem, but not the ending.
Pan dulce: 1/5. I didn't like how it was written nor the characters (I found the main character's voice horrible) nor the topics. I don't wanna be rude because this story reads as a really personal one for the author, but... if almost nothing is gonna happen in your story then you have to get the reader to stay focused in other ways. Before the thing happened I was bored as hell, and after the thing happened everything went back to being boring. The thing didn't save the rest of the story. I get that it's a story that takes place in the 90s, but it's 2020: the narration is on the very verge of being sexist and slutshaming. We don't let the false dichotomy of pretty =/= intelligent pass anymore.
Solace: 4/5. Beautiful. Beautiful narration and beautiful characters. The ending was kind of a Hallmark film but even then I loved it. I would totally read a book about this, because if so much grief, sadness and hope is present in a short story, IMAGINE a book about it!
Princess: 4/5. The story wasn't that interesting for me, but I loved the world building and how in a few pages the author gave us a clear view of the world with rules that are, let's say, consistent for what we've read.
Fools: 5/5. I would TOTALLY read a book about this. I loved the characters, the world and the come and go between Fan and Dimen. For being a short story, it was well developed and written. One of my favorites.
Monsters: 5/5. Lovely. Beautiful story, development and writing. It's incredible how in not many pages you can say so much, from Milagros' past in Venezuela to two years later, when she encounters the monster a second time. I would read a book about this, a miggle grade series that ends up being YA.
Break: 5/5. A cute, lovely story that you can revisit to end up with a smile on your face. Fresh rom-com air in the middle of an anthology. Loved the characters!
Resilient: 4/5. I really liked the hopeful tone between the grief. It's not a 5/5 because I feel there was something missing that I would probably be able to find in the same story but in a longer format. Really liked the charaters.
Belly: 3.5/5. I liked it. It's a story with so much spirit... but something was missing. That something is something that I think could be developed in a book, but that falls short in a short story. It possesses too much power to be in an anthology (this one or any one!)
FRTC on my blog for Foreshadow's blog tour on October 19th!
Thanks to Algonquin Books for Young Readers both for choosing me once again for one of their blog tours and for giving me this eARC!