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riseofsilence 's review for:
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages
by Saundra Mitchell
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages is the first in a series of its kind. A collection of short stories by queer authors about queer characters, it already holds a sense of importance. When I saw this book appear in my suggested reads in my reading app, and saw the list of advertised authors, I knew I had to read it. However, after reading it, I was left with mixed feelings.
A collection of ten stories from very popular and talented authors, I came to the table expecting something great—and I walked away having found something potentially mediocre. The quality of every story was good. They were well written, well edited, but some of them were not whole. Some of them felt flat, under developed, or difficult to connect to. I was most excited to see representation for asexual characters, and while there were stories that were suited to that, I found them not very representative and cliche in the tropes that it fell to.
However, for every story that I didn’t like, I can honestly say that I found one I loved. The collection was pretty evenly balanced. Half of the stories I really didn’t care for and found myself wanting to skim through, and half of the stories I immediately attached and gravitated for. Not necessarily for their representation of sexualities and genders necessarily, but because those stories were well written and well developed stories first. They didn’t get carried away with representation and themes of being queer, instead, they represented “real” people who just also happened to be queer.
While this collection certainly isn’t for everyone, and while—like me—you may not love every piece in it, I think there is certainly something to be said for quite a few of the stories in this collection and for anyone comfortable with reading stories of this topic, I would definitely recommend reading it. If you’re interested in claiming your own copy of All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages, you can do so on Amazon or wherever books are sold.
Some of the pieces that I loved in this collection include the following by notable authors including Anna-Marie McLemore, Natalie C. Parker, Malinda Lo, Elliot Wake, and Scott Tracey. (The following titles and clips appear in the order of my favorite to least favorite.)
(5 Stars) Willows (Scott Tracey) - “That is the secret to survival. Teach fear to those who taught you to be afraid.”
(4 Stars) Roja (Anna-Marie McLemore) - “We fled from the howls of men who wailed more for their pride than their bodies. We left them with the salt-sting memory of us, a brazen girl, and a boy with a heart so fearless wolves were his guardian saints.”
(4 Stars) Every Shade of Red (Elliot Wake) - “You can hurt a boy like me without speaking a single word aloud. All you have to do is hold it in your mouth.”
(4 Stars) The Sweet Trade (Natalie C. Parker) - “All my life, people have told me what to do or taken what’s mine. I’ve been raised among pirates who call themselves gentlemen. I’m ready to turn the tables. I’m ready to take what’s mine. And maybe a few things that aren’t.”
(3.5 Stars) New Year (Malinda Lo) - “Stop fighting possibility.”
A collection of ten stories from very popular and talented authors, I came to the table expecting something great—and I walked away having found something potentially mediocre. The quality of every story was good. They were well written, well edited, but some of them were not whole. Some of them felt flat, under developed, or difficult to connect to. I was most excited to see representation for asexual characters, and while there were stories that were suited to that, I found them not very representative and cliche in the tropes that it fell to.
However, for every story that I didn’t like, I can honestly say that I found one I loved. The collection was pretty evenly balanced. Half of the stories I really didn’t care for and found myself wanting to skim through, and half of the stories I immediately attached and gravitated for. Not necessarily for their representation of sexualities and genders necessarily, but because those stories were well written and well developed stories first. They didn’t get carried away with representation and themes of being queer, instead, they represented “real” people who just also happened to be queer.
While this collection certainly isn’t for everyone, and while—like me—you may not love every piece in it, I think there is certainly something to be said for quite a few of the stories in this collection and for anyone comfortable with reading stories of this topic, I would definitely recommend reading it. If you’re interested in claiming your own copy of All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages, you can do so on Amazon or wherever books are sold.
Some of the pieces that I loved in this collection include the following by notable authors including Anna-Marie McLemore, Natalie C. Parker, Malinda Lo, Elliot Wake, and Scott Tracey. (The following titles and clips appear in the order of my favorite to least favorite.)
(5 Stars) Willows (Scott Tracey) - “That is the secret to survival. Teach fear to those who taught you to be afraid.”
(4 Stars) Roja (Anna-Marie McLemore) - “We fled from the howls of men who wailed more for their pride than their bodies. We left them with the salt-sting memory of us, a brazen girl, and a boy with a heart so fearless wolves were his guardian saints.”
(4 Stars) Every Shade of Red (Elliot Wake) - “You can hurt a boy like me without speaking a single word aloud. All you have to do is hold it in your mouth.”
(4 Stars) The Sweet Trade (Natalie C. Parker) - “All my life, people have told me what to do or taken what’s mine. I’ve been raised among pirates who call themselves gentlemen. I’m ready to turn the tables. I’m ready to take what’s mine. And maybe a few things that aren’t.”
(3.5 Stars) New Year (Malinda Lo) - “Stop fighting possibility.”