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elliereads97 's review for:
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages
by Saundra Mitchell
this was by FAR my favorite anthology i've ever read!! although my ratings (below) vary across the board, my overall experience was one of pure joy that an anthology like this exists. i'm adding this to my imaginary list of "if only i had had this in my preteen years" books.
what i liked: SO many wonderful queer girls my heart is full; good mix of stories with fantasy/fabulist elements vs. realistic fiction stories; most of the stories are thoroughly researched and historically accurate
what i wish there was more of: diversity in sexuality -- more visibly bisexual characters, more trans* characters, more ace/aro characters; diversity in setting -- most of the stories take place in europe/america; diversity in race -- again with the eurocentricism
here are my detailed reviews of each story below!!
~ "Roja," by Anna-Marie McLemore / ★★★★★
beautiful, badass, lovingly-told fairy-tale about a mexican girl and a trans boy who are outlaws in love. i want more from these characters stat!!
~ "The Sweet Trade," by Natalie C. Parker / ★★☆☆☆
pretty forgettable, kinda boring, but points for lesbian pirates
~ "And They Don't Kiss at the End," Nilah Magruder / ★★★★★
UNDERRATED FAVE. made me cry on a train ride. wonderful ace rep and 70s roller rink aesthetic
~ "Burnt Umber," Mackenzi Lee / ★★★★★
expected nothing less from queen mackenzi. perfect, fluffy, hilarious, what else is new, mackenzi lee could write the phone book and i would both laugh AND cry,,,,
~ "The Dresser and the Chambermaid," Robin Talley / ★★☆☆☆
this was...fine. i found most of the side characters, as well as the ending (), to be corny and unrealistic, but the normalization of queer ppl and relationships within servant communities was spot-on and refreshing
~ "New Year," Malinda Lo / ★★★★☆
y'all know i'm a malinda lo stan. i'm SO UNBELIEVABLY hype that this is an excerpt from an upcoming piece. rly cool details about chinese-american culture and gay/drag subculture of the 1950s. I N E E D M O R E
~ "Molly's Lips," Dahlia Adler / ★★★★☆
so cute!! so 90's!! girls kissing!! yay!!!
~ "The Coven," Kate Scelsa / ★★☆☆☆
weird as hell and also gertrude stein is there?
~ "Every Shade of Red," Elliot Wake / ★☆☆☆☆
so i...hated this one? i personally really disliked the writing style, and i know this is an own voices trans man story, but i found the plot "twist"/reveal of a character's trans* identity to be lazy at best.
~ "Willows," Scott Tracey / ★★★☆☆
another weird one that took a while to get into. the fantasy concept was a little too large for a short story to adequately take on, but it was unique and interesting nonetheless.
~ "The Girl with the Blue Lantern," Tess Sharpe / ★★★★★
another underrated fave omg??? simple and straightforward, but beautiful and had me crying for no reason other than it was beautiful. give me more lesbian naiad stories
~ "The Secret Life of a Teenage Boy," Alex Sanchez / ★★☆☆☆
the age difference between mc's made me uncomfy but go off
~ "Walking After Midnight," Kody Keplinger / ★★★★☆
~ "The End of the World As We Know It," Sara Farizan / ★★★★☆
both of these were really cute lesbian contemporaries and i'm gay as hell!!!!!!!
~ "Three Witches," Tessa Gratton / ★★★☆☆
kind of bizarre and the ending didn't make sense, but the romance was like....reeeeeeeallllllly hot? whew.
~ "The Inferno and the Butterfly," Shaun David Hutchinson / ★★★★★
gay magicians in victorian london. how the fuck did shaun david hutchinson find my diary what the fuck who let him --
~ "Healing Rosa," Tehlor Kay Mejia / ★★★★★
this anthology started and ended with heart-wrenching queer mexican love stories fuck me ALL the way up. give me brujería and lesbians and you know i'm already throwing my money
what i liked: SO many wonderful queer girls my heart is full; good mix of stories with fantasy/fabulist elements vs. realistic fiction stories; most of the stories are thoroughly researched and historically accurate
what i wish there was more of: diversity in sexuality -- more visibly bisexual characters, more trans* characters, more ace/aro characters; diversity in setting -- most of the stories take place in europe/america; diversity in race -- again with the eurocentricism
here are my detailed reviews of each story below!!
~ "Roja," by Anna-Marie McLemore / ★★★★★
beautiful, badass, lovingly-told fairy-tale about a mexican girl and a trans boy who are outlaws in love. i want more from these characters stat!!
~ "The Sweet Trade," by Natalie C. Parker / ★★☆☆☆
pretty forgettable, kinda boring, but points for lesbian pirates
~ "And They Don't Kiss at the End," Nilah Magruder / ★★★★★
UNDERRATED FAVE. made me cry on a train ride. wonderful ace rep and 70s roller rink aesthetic
~ "Burnt Umber," Mackenzi Lee / ★★★★★
expected nothing less from queen mackenzi. perfect, fluffy, hilarious, what else is new, mackenzi lee could write the phone book and i would both laugh AND cry,,,,
~ "The Dresser and the Chambermaid," Robin Talley / ★★☆☆☆
this was...fine. i found most of the side characters, as well as the ending (
Spoiler
really? king george?~ "New Year," Malinda Lo / ★★★★☆
y'all know i'm a malinda lo stan. i'm SO UNBELIEVABLY hype that this is an excerpt from an upcoming piece. rly cool details about chinese-american culture and gay/drag subculture of the 1950s. I N E E D M O R E
~ "Molly's Lips," Dahlia Adler / ★★★★☆
so cute!! so 90's!! girls kissing!! yay!!!
~ "The Coven," Kate Scelsa / ★★☆☆☆
weird as hell and also gertrude stein is there?
~ "Every Shade of Red," Elliot Wake / ★☆☆☆☆
so i...hated this one? i personally really disliked the writing style, and i know this is an own voices trans man story, but i found the plot "twist"/reveal of a character's trans* identity to be lazy at best.
~ "Willows," Scott Tracey / ★★★☆☆
another weird one that took a while to get into. the fantasy concept was a little too large for a short story to adequately take on, but it was unique and interesting nonetheless.
~ "The Girl with the Blue Lantern," Tess Sharpe / ★★★★★
another underrated fave omg??? simple and straightforward, but beautiful and had me crying for no reason other than it was beautiful. give me more lesbian naiad stories
~ "The Secret Life of a Teenage Boy," Alex Sanchez / ★★☆☆☆
the age difference between mc's made me uncomfy but go off
~ "Walking After Midnight," Kody Keplinger / ★★★★☆
~ "The End of the World As We Know It," Sara Farizan / ★★★★☆
both of these were really cute lesbian contemporaries and i'm gay as hell!!!!!!!
~ "Three Witches," Tessa Gratton / ★★★☆☆
kind of bizarre and the ending didn't make sense, but the romance was like....reeeeeeeallllllly hot? whew.
~ "The Inferno and the Butterfly," Shaun David Hutchinson / ★★★★★
gay magicians in victorian london. how the fuck did shaun david hutchinson find my diary what the fuck who let him --
~ "Healing Rosa," Tehlor Kay Mejia / ★★★★★
this anthology started and ended with heart-wrenching queer mexican love stories fuck me ALL the way up. give me brujería and lesbians and you know i'm already throwing my money