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A review by rainpunk
Electrum by Der-shing Helmer
5.0
This is a beautiful, personal collection of stories about what it means to be mixed-race. The physical book itself is gorgeously realized. Each story is a different author, so they'll speak to different readers in different ways. Some are straight-forward autobiographical tales, some are rich in metaphor, some are even science fiction.
I liked things about every story, but personally my favorites were:
Captain's Log - About the kid waiting for their mothership to come retrieve them from Earth. I thought this was a touching universal coming-of-age work. Really, really sweet.
Misirlou - Of the extended metaphor works, this one executed it most elegantly, and with the most nuance. This one most perfectly captured the idea that mixing cultures makes an all new unique thing, and the world is better off for it (but also that its origins shouldn't be forgotten).
U is for Uva - Too cute! About a little girl bringing something to show-and-tell based on the Spanish word for her item, even though the class speaks English. Not the deepest, but it made me very happy!
Lepidoptera - My favorite fantasy one of the book. A simple story about a butterfly/moth telling her sister a fairy tale, but the world was just a really charming, and the myth felt so authentic.
I liked things about every story, but personally my favorites were:
Captain's Log - About the kid waiting for their mothership to come retrieve them from Earth. I thought this was a touching universal coming-of-age work. Really, really sweet.
Misirlou - Of the extended metaphor works, this one executed it most elegantly, and with the most nuance. This one most perfectly captured the idea that mixing cultures makes an all new unique thing, and the world is better off for it (but also that its origins shouldn't be forgotten).
U is for Uva - Too cute! About a little girl bringing something to show-and-tell based on the Spanish word for her item, even though the class speaks English. Not the deepest, but it made me very happy!
Lepidoptera - My favorite fantasy one of the book. A simple story about a butterfly/moth telling her sister a fairy tale, but the world was just a really charming, and the myth felt so authentic.