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A review by enne
Keep Faith by Kess Costales, C.T. Callahan, Mary Fan, Elly Ha, Sofia Soter, Kate Brauning, Mayara Barros, Bogi Takács, Adiba Jaigirdar, Julia Rios, Megan Manzano, Shenwei Chang, Vanshika Prusty, Gabriela Martins
4.0
Actual rating: 4.1785714285
And I Entreated by Bogi Takács - 4 stars
CW: Verbal cissexism, danger of physical harm due to an accident
I really enjoyed this story and I found it to be a really strong start to this anthology! I loved the conversation about gender in relation to religion and especially in relation to certain religious practices. Also, the nuance with which nonbinary genders were discussed was really nice to see! There’s a point in the story, where one of the nonbinary characters points out that being nonbinary is different for everyone and while certain people may be comfortable with certain things, others aren’t and!! that’s okay!! And listen, I know that’s like,, common sense, but as a nonbinary person, reading that felt really validating especially because that was the first time I’ve seen it said straight-forward and without pushback from any of the other characters. I really loved the world and I thought the concept of the story was really interesting, too? We basically see from the perspective of Shoshi, who has been turned into a plant, as she watches her child prepare for their bar mitzvah. A communications expert is sent to help Shoshi communicate with her husband and child and the story kind of starts from there. The only complaints I really have about this story is that the writing felt a bit unedited in some places, and I thought the world could have been a little bit more well-established, but overall, I really enjoyed this story!
Bigger Than Us by Megan Manzano - 4 stars
CW: Mentions of death
This story was really short and sweet and I really wish it had been longer. Jude knows that she’s bound to manifest powers and have to leave and go work for the Conclave some day, but despite that, she can’t stop herself from falling in love with Mari. So, when her powers do appear, Jude is conflicted. But, surely, seeing Mari one last time can’t do any harm?
This story was only about ten pages long, and I feel like I got just enough to be intrigued by it, but not enough to actually connect with the characters or the world. That said, I’m always down for reading about girls kissing girls and I really love what we did get to see of Mari and Jude’s relationship because it’s so precious and you can tell they love each other, and I just wish we had gotten to spend more time with them. I thought the magic system was really interesting here, too, and it definitely had a lot of potential. I think it all comes back to the fact that we should have gotten more time with this story, and this world, and these characters because I did really enjoy what we did get.
Droplets of Starlight by Vanshika Prusty - 5 stars
This was… amazing?? Showstopping?? I loved this story so much!! This one is set in a contemporary India, if I’m not mistaken, and we follow Payal, as she comes to realize her feelings for a girl who lives next door. There are some quotes from this one that are definitely going to stick with me for a long time because they hit very close to home for me, but we’re not going to talk about those because I really don’t feel like crying right now. However, we can talk about how well the relationship between the two girls in this story was developed and how sweet and precious it is and how I now want a girlfriend, so thanks, I guess. Everything about this story is phenomenal and I cannot recommend it enough.
Godzilla by Kate Brauning - 4 stars
I really loved this one as well! I really liked how it went beyond just exploring whether queerness was viewed as bad/good by religion, but how it discussed how religious people will often use queer people in their church to absolve their guilt over their religion not being the most accepting as a whole. That’s not a topic I see very often (or ever) explored in literature, and I really appreciated it here. In this story, we follow Emily, a bisexual Christian girl, who is dating Rosie, the resident Youth Group Lesbian (her words, not mine). Emily, Rosie, and the rest of their youth group takes the elementary school kids trick-or-treating for Halloween, and along the way, Emily meets Lauren and the story kind of goes from there. I really loved the discussion on more casual discrimination and homophobia that can occur in places that seem to be accepting at first glance. The only complaint I have about this story is that the romance did read a bit insta-lovey to me, but it is a short story, so, there wasn’t really any other way to go about it, to be fair.
Golden Hue by Mayara Barros - 3 stars
CW: Mentions of blood
First of all, this story features a character using xie/xir pronouns, which is something that you literally see in literature once in a millennium, so I want y’all to know that. Second of all, I thought the plot of the story felt a bit,,, underdeveloped. Like there was definitely a lot more room for that to be developed and I thought it could have been done in about the same amount of time, but I don’t think the author was really aiming for a plot-driven story here. That said, I did fall in love with the characters (very easily). And I know I’ve said this about like every single story in this anthology so far, but the relationships were so tender!! and sweet!! and I would literally kill for a girlfriend, so please tell what I have to sacrifice to get one. Also!! there is on-page, explicit demisexual rep in this one and I would also like y’all to know that if that’s something you’re on the lookout for.
How Not To Die (Again) by Gabriela Martins - 5 stars
CW: death of character
I loved this story so much! The concept was really original and creative and I was definitely hooked right from the beginning. We follow a girl who keeps dying and then being reincarnated the following day, only to die again, and she’s tired of it. There may also be another cute girl involved. But our main character definitely doesn’t like here. Nuh-uh. Not at all. So of course, it’s all romantic as fuck. I really enjoyed the development of this relationship and the slow-burn-like nature of it because the author definitely makes you wait and hope for the romance in this one. I love our main character, the most clueless gay of them all, which is honestly the relatable trope in literature. I also really loved the love interest, who’s a gay trans girl!! And she’s also an immigrant and I really appreciated that aspect of her identity as well. All of the characters in this story were absolutely iconic and the premise was really original and I really loved it. It’s definitely one of my favorites from this anthology.
Life is a Story of Change by Elly Ha - 5 stars
I’m not entirely certain if this was nonfiction or not, but it certainly read like one, so I’m just going to review it as one. Which means that inserted here are all the things I usually say before reviewing non-fiction, such as, I don’t read non-fiction ever and I have no standard to measure it by, so I really wouldn’t trust me with this one. That said, I did really appreciate the vulnerability with which the author approached the topic that they were writing about. Reading about someone who was questioning their identity on the asexual spectrum was really meaningful to me, as that’s something that I’m currently going through and seeing them come out of the experience on the other side and be… okay?? was really comforting and validating to see and I just… I don’t know. I really enjoyed this story. It made me very happy.
Nothing Left Standing by C. T. Callahan - 5 stars
CW: mention of domestic violence
I really loved this story! It took me by surprise at first because it’s written in second person, but once I got used to it, I thought it was a really creative format and way of presenting this narrative. It’s about two people who are running away from where they live in order to go to a more accepting place. It’s really interesting because the majority of this story is internal monologue and by the end of it, I felt like I knew the character very well and I actually really enjoyed that.
On The Other Side by Shenwei Chang -4 stars
CW: grief over parental death
I think my one problem with this one was that it took a bit too long to get to the point of the story and I was a bit bored for the first couple of pages, but once we did get to the point, I found I was actually really enjoying what I was reading. We follow a Taiwanese American person who goes to a temple to speak with their dead mother and to introduce her to their partner. I found the way the author tied queerness and religion together in this one really interesting. I also thought that the characters were really well-developed, especially for the amount of time that we got with them. I felt like I knew what they were about pretty early on and that definitely helped me feel more connected to the story.
Read The Room by Sofia Soter - 5 stars
I loved this one as well!! It was so well-written and the relationships were so well-established in the beginning and then developed really naturally over the course of the story and aaah!! We follow Jo, a girl who’s learning how to read tarot, and also a girl who’s in love with her two best friends, but would never tell them that. This story does feature a polyamorous relationship!! I thought reading about Jo’s journey to learning how to read tarot was really interesting. But I also just thought that the relationship between the three friends in this story was really well-written. That was my favorite part of it, if I’m being honest. All of the characters felt really developed on their own, and as part of the group, and I really loved that.
Ten Steps to Becoming a Successful Vlogger by Julia Rios - 3 stars
Look I’m honestly not sure how to rate or review this just because this is so out of the scope of what I normally read. It reads like a nonfiction article about how to become a blogger, except, as far as I can tell, it’s “written” by a fictional person and I mean… It’s good for what it does?? It’s this nonbinary person talking about how they got their start with a channel talking about genderqueer make-up. I thought it was really interesting to read about another nonbinary person’s thoughts on makeup, especially because I’m nonbinary myself. I’m just… not sure how it fits into this anthology.
The Language of Magic by Adiba Jaigirdar - 4 stars
CW: mentions of death
I really enjoyed the magic in this story! The plot did feel a bit directionless for the first 10 pages or so, but after I got the hang of what was going on, I found myself being really immersed into the story! We follow a girl who sees a vision of her grandmother’s death and is now trying to figure out a way to get back to her home country of Bangladesh to see her grandmother one last time. The main character was really endearing and written in a way that made her easy to sympathize with! We didn’t really get that much of a romance in this story, but we did a hint of it, and I really appreciated that the author just left it at that, as opposed to trying to fit all of that into a single short story. I really appreciated how the focus was really more on the familial relationship here because that really shone through. I also really loved the writing and the way the magic was written and developed in this story!!
The Messenger by Mary Fan -3.5 stars
I think it definitely took me a bit of time to get used to the world and get the hang of it, but once I did, I thought the premise was really interesting. We follow this scientist who gets the chance to explore and gather data on alternate earths. I thought that there wasn’t really a necessity for two points of view and we really could have gotten the same story with just one point of view, though. But, other than that, I thought the writing was really spot on and very whimsical and descriptive. I did also really enjoy reading about the development of the relationship and I loved how we follow our main character basically from the day she is born to the day she dies. I thought that was really original and something I hadn’t really seen done in a short story before, but it was executed pretty well with this one.
Whatever She Wants by Kess Costales - 4 stars
This story was absolutely amazing to close the anthology off with! I will say that I wasn’t really a huge fan of the writing and the pacing in this novel, but I think that’s definitely just a me thing, and that it’s not like,, objectively bad or anything. At its heart, this is a very classic childhood friends to lovers story, but also it’s a) sapphic and b) has a lot more layers to it. The exploration of how catholicism and queerness interact was really well done in my opinion and I really appreciated how that was a central part of the main character’s life. I also really loved the way the relationship was developed and the romance was absolutely to die for, but that’s just my opinion. This story was a really strong finish to this anthology.
And I Entreated by Bogi Takács - 4 stars
CW: Verbal cissexism, danger of physical harm due to an accident
I really enjoyed this story and I found it to be a really strong start to this anthology! I loved the conversation about gender in relation to religion and especially in relation to certain religious practices. Also, the nuance with which nonbinary genders were discussed was really nice to see! There’s a point in the story, where one of the nonbinary characters points out that being nonbinary is different for everyone and while certain people may be comfortable with certain things, others aren’t and!! that’s okay!! And listen, I know that’s like,, common sense, but as a nonbinary person, reading that felt really validating especially because that was the first time I’ve seen it said straight-forward and without pushback from any of the other characters. I really loved the world and I thought the concept of the story was really interesting, too? We basically see from the perspective of Shoshi, who has been turned into a plant, as she watches her child prepare for their bar mitzvah. A communications expert is sent to help Shoshi communicate with her husband and child and the story kind of starts from there. The only complaints I really have about this story is that the writing felt a bit unedited in some places, and I thought the world could have been a little bit more well-established, but overall, I really enjoyed this story!
Bigger Than Us by Megan Manzano - 4 stars
CW: Mentions of death
This story was really short and sweet and I really wish it had been longer. Jude knows that she’s bound to manifest powers and have to leave and go work for the Conclave some day, but despite that, she can’t stop herself from falling in love with Mari. So, when her powers do appear, Jude is conflicted. But, surely, seeing Mari one last time can’t do any harm?
This story was only about ten pages long, and I feel like I got just enough to be intrigued by it, but not enough to actually connect with the characters or the world. That said, I’m always down for reading about girls kissing girls and I really love what we did get to see of Mari and Jude’s relationship because it’s so precious and you can tell they love each other, and I just wish we had gotten to spend more time with them. I thought the magic system was really interesting here, too, and it definitely had a lot of potential. I think it all comes back to the fact that we should have gotten more time with this story, and this world, and these characters because I did really enjoy what we did get.
Droplets of Starlight by Vanshika Prusty - 5 stars
This was… amazing?? Showstopping?? I loved this story so much!! This one is set in a contemporary India, if I’m not mistaken, and we follow Payal, as she comes to realize her feelings for a girl who lives next door. There are some quotes from this one that are definitely going to stick with me for a long time because they hit very close to home for me, but we’re not going to talk about those because I really don’t feel like crying right now. However, we can talk about how well the relationship between the two girls in this story was developed and how sweet and precious it is and how I now want a girlfriend, so thanks, I guess. Everything about this story is phenomenal and I cannot recommend it enough.
Godzilla by Kate Brauning - 4 stars
I really loved this one as well! I really liked how it went beyond just exploring whether queerness was viewed as bad/good by religion, but how it discussed how religious people will often use queer people in their church to absolve their guilt over their religion not being the most accepting as a whole. That’s not a topic I see very often (or ever) explored in literature, and I really appreciated it here. In this story, we follow Emily, a bisexual Christian girl, who is dating Rosie, the resident Youth Group Lesbian (her words, not mine). Emily, Rosie, and the rest of their youth group takes the elementary school kids trick-or-treating for Halloween, and along the way, Emily meets Lauren and the story kind of goes from there. I really loved the discussion on more casual discrimination and homophobia that can occur in places that seem to be accepting at first glance. The only complaint I have about this story is that the romance did read a bit insta-lovey to me, but it is a short story, so, there wasn’t really any other way to go about it, to be fair.
Golden Hue by Mayara Barros - 3 stars
CW: Mentions of blood
First of all, this story features a character using xie/xir pronouns, which is something that you literally see in literature once in a millennium, so I want y’all to know that. Second of all, I thought the plot of the story felt a bit,,, underdeveloped. Like there was definitely a lot more room for that to be developed and I thought it could have been done in about the same amount of time, but I don’t think the author was really aiming for a plot-driven story here. That said, I did fall in love with the characters (very easily). And I know I’ve said this about like every single story in this anthology so far, but the relationships were so tender!! and sweet!! and I would literally kill for a girlfriend, so please tell what I have to sacrifice to get one. Also!! there is on-page, explicit demisexual rep in this one and I would also like y’all to know that if that’s something you’re on the lookout for.
How Not To Die (Again) by Gabriela Martins - 5 stars
CW: death of character
I loved this story so much! The concept was really original and creative and I was definitely hooked right from the beginning. We follow a girl who keeps dying and then being reincarnated the following day, only to die again, and she’s tired of it. There may also be another cute girl involved. But our main character definitely doesn’t like here. Nuh-uh. Not at all. So of course, it’s all romantic as fuck. I really enjoyed the development of this relationship and the slow-burn-like nature of it because the author definitely makes you wait and hope for the romance in this one. I love our main character, the most clueless gay of them all, which is honestly the relatable trope in literature. I also really loved the love interest, who’s a gay trans girl!! And she’s also an immigrant and I really appreciated that aspect of her identity as well. All of the characters in this story were absolutely iconic and the premise was really original and I really loved it. It’s definitely one of my favorites from this anthology.
Life is a Story of Change by Elly Ha - 5 stars
I’m not entirely certain if this was nonfiction or not, but it certainly read like one, so I’m just going to review it as one. Which means that inserted here are all the things I usually say before reviewing non-fiction, such as, I don’t read non-fiction ever and I have no standard to measure it by, so I really wouldn’t trust me with this one. That said, I did really appreciate the vulnerability with which the author approached the topic that they were writing about. Reading about someone who was questioning their identity on the asexual spectrum was really meaningful to me, as that’s something that I’m currently going through and seeing them come out of the experience on the other side and be… okay?? was really comforting and validating to see and I just… I don’t know. I really enjoyed this story. It made me very happy.
Nothing Left Standing by C. T. Callahan - 5 stars
CW: mention of domestic violence
I really loved this story! It took me by surprise at first because it’s written in second person, but once I got used to it, I thought it was a really creative format and way of presenting this narrative. It’s about two people who are running away from where they live in order to go to a more accepting place. It’s really interesting because the majority of this story is internal monologue and by the end of it, I felt like I knew the character very well and I actually really enjoyed that.
On The Other Side by Shenwei Chang -4 stars
CW: grief over parental death
I think my one problem with this one was that it took a bit too long to get to the point of the story and I was a bit bored for the first couple of pages, but once we did get to the point, I found I was actually really enjoying what I was reading. We follow a Taiwanese American person who goes to a temple to speak with their dead mother and to introduce her to their partner. I found the way the author tied queerness and religion together in this one really interesting. I also thought that the characters were really well-developed, especially for the amount of time that we got with them. I felt like I knew what they were about pretty early on and that definitely helped me feel more connected to the story.
Read The Room by Sofia Soter - 5 stars
I loved this one as well!! It was so well-written and the relationships were so well-established in the beginning and then developed really naturally over the course of the story and aaah!! We follow Jo, a girl who’s learning how to read tarot, and also a girl who’s in love with her two best friends, but would never tell them that. This story does feature a polyamorous relationship!! I thought reading about Jo’s journey to learning how to read tarot was really interesting. But I also just thought that the relationship between the three friends in this story was really well-written. That was my favorite part of it, if I’m being honest. All of the characters felt really developed on their own, and as part of the group, and I really loved that.
Ten Steps to Becoming a Successful Vlogger by Julia Rios - 3 stars
Look I’m honestly not sure how to rate or review this just because this is so out of the scope of what I normally read. It reads like a nonfiction article about how to become a blogger, except, as far as I can tell, it’s “written” by a fictional person and I mean… It’s good for what it does?? It’s this nonbinary person talking about how they got their start with a channel talking about genderqueer make-up. I thought it was really interesting to read about another nonbinary person’s thoughts on makeup, especially because I’m nonbinary myself. I’m just… not sure how it fits into this anthology.
The Language of Magic by Adiba Jaigirdar - 4 stars
CW: mentions of death
I really enjoyed the magic in this story! The plot did feel a bit directionless for the first 10 pages or so, but after I got the hang of what was going on, I found myself being really immersed into the story! We follow a girl who sees a vision of her grandmother’s death and is now trying to figure out a way to get back to her home country of Bangladesh to see her grandmother one last time. The main character was really endearing and written in a way that made her easy to sympathize with! We didn’t really get that much of a romance in this story, but we did a hint of it, and I really appreciated that the author just left it at that, as opposed to trying to fit all of that into a single short story. I really appreciated how the focus was really more on the familial relationship here because that really shone through. I also really loved the writing and the way the magic was written and developed in this story!!
The Messenger by Mary Fan -3.5 stars
I think it definitely took me a bit of time to get used to the world and get the hang of it, but once I did, I thought the premise was really interesting. We follow this scientist who gets the chance to explore and gather data on alternate earths. I thought that there wasn’t really a necessity for two points of view and we really could have gotten the same story with just one point of view, though. But, other than that, I thought the writing was really spot on and very whimsical and descriptive. I did also really enjoy reading about the development of the relationship and I loved how we follow our main character basically from the day she is born to the day she dies. I thought that was really original and something I hadn’t really seen done in a short story before, but it was executed pretty well with this one.
Whatever She Wants by Kess Costales - 4 stars
This story was absolutely amazing to close the anthology off with! I will say that I wasn’t really a huge fan of the writing and the pacing in this novel, but I think that’s definitely just a me thing, and that it’s not like,, objectively bad or anything. At its heart, this is a very classic childhood friends to lovers story, but also it’s a) sapphic and b) has a lot more layers to it. The exploration of how catholicism and queerness interact was really well done in my opinion and I really appreciated how that was a central part of the main character’s life. I also really loved the way the relationship was developed and the romance was absolutely to die for, but that’s just my opinion. This story was a really strong finish to this anthology.