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A review by kittyg
Kaleidoscope: Diverse YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories by Alisa Krasnostein
4.0
I started reading this anthology waaaaaay back (so far back I can't even remember when) and then in the middle of reading I totally forgot that I owned it and so I took a good few months 'off' before rediscovering it and continuing with the stories. What I enjoyed most about this was that the title is explicit and the content follows the title really well, this DOES have diverse characters and SFF stories in YA and I really, really enjoyed seeing them and seeing such a range of people, characters, authors and plots being recognised and represented.
I'm going to talk a little bit about each of the stories below as with any collection or anthology there were some I liked more than others:
* Cookie Cutter Superhero by Tansy Rayner Roberts - A really enjoyable and fun so far and I have to say I liked this idea of people becoming heroes. This reminded me a little bit of Wicked + Divine. 4*s
* Seventh Day of the Seventh Moon by Ken Liu - Beautiful imagery about lesbian lovers and ancient stories. Love the blend of sci-fi and fantasy within these, a 3.5*s
* The Legend Trap by Sean Williams - This one wasn't as good as the first two for me. Still interesting and definitely had some diverse elements but I didn't love the idea and therefore it just wasn't as fun. Pretty average, 2*s
* End of Service by Gabriela Lee - Again not really my thing. A bit too odd and short with the twist coming a bit too abruptly and suddenly for my liking. Still well written but just not a brilliant talk 2.5*s.
* Chupacabra's Song by Jim C. Hines - An interesting story for sure. Kind of hinted at attention deficit disorders and yet in a very cool way. The story was short and sweet but some nice ideas were shown and I think it could even have been pushed a bit further into a longer book. 3.5*s
The Day the God Died by Alena McNamara - Not my thing at all, very short, very dull, not even a real story - 1*
* Signature - A very cool little story about a book shop and the people who work there. Our main character is fun and strong-willed, but equally resourceful, and when problems take a supernatural turn for the shop, she steps in. 3.5*s
* The Lovely Duckling by Tim Susman - A wonderfully written story about a girl who cannot escape her father and just wants to fly free... Beautiful, moving and definitely a story I think people can relate to! 4*s
* Kiss and Kiss and Kiss and Tell by E.C.Myers - About a strange new drug that gives vision of possible futures when you kiss another. Weird yet interesting 3.5*s
* Vanilla by Dirk Flinthart - I really liked this as it was about inclusion and alien races. Very good messages and well written too! 4*s
* Careful Magic by Karen Healey - About witches and their powers and also deals a little with bullying and OCD. Likeable, but not so memorable 2.5*s
* Walkdog by Sofia Samatar - Not my thing at all, just dull for me 1*
* Celebration by Sean Eads - Interesting mix of topics. Not sure quite how well it worked in my mind but it was a likeable and easy-to-follow story :) 3*s
* The Truth About Owls by Amal El-Mohtar - A strange story. I liked the metaphors back tot he Owls, but I'm not sure I fully 'got' this one. It was late at night when I read it. 2*s
* Krishna Blue by Shveta Thakrar - This one I liked a lot, it's about a girl who discovers an awful power she can't control, absorbing colours. Cool idea, nice execution. 4*s
* Every Little Thing by Holly Kench - This one was certainly focused on friendship coming first and I liked that idea a lot. Nicely written, and the characters realise what's important at the end. 3.5*s
* Happy Go Lucky by Garth Nix - I loved this one and I am happy to say that as I have enjoyed a fair amount of Garth Nix's books and I wanted to try out his shorter fiction. This focuses on a world where Luck is everything and society is based on it. When our main character's family is tested for their Luck things change, not in a great way. 4*s
* Ordinary Things by Vylar Kaftan - This one focused on OCD tendencies and an abusive relationship and I have to say it was a little moving at times seeing through the eyes of a character so stuck in a rut. 4*s
* Double Time by John Chu - This focused on figure skating (something I love to watch) but it wasn't really my thing in terms of where the story went and ended up. 2*s
* Welcome by William Alexander - I really liked the idea of sailing from the Moon to Earth and between the two on one special night of the year. The ideas within this would have translated really well to a longer story in my opinion. 4*s
I'm giving this one a 3.5-4*s out of 5 becuase a lot of the stories within this were really good. Although I didn't have one which totally blew me away there are certainly a few which I will remember and I will be on the look out for more fiction from some of these authors. Definitely an anthology I would recommend trying out!
I'm going to talk a little bit about each of the stories below as with any collection or anthology there were some I liked more than others:
* Cookie Cutter Superhero by Tansy Rayner Roberts - A really enjoyable and fun so far and I have to say I liked this idea of people becoming heroes. This reminded me a little bit of Wicked + Divine. 4*s
* Seventh Day of the Seventh Moon by Ken Liu - Beautiful imagery about lesbian lovers and ancient stories. Love the blend of sci-fi and fantasy within these, a 3.5*s
* The Legend Trap by Sean Williams - This one wasn't as good as the first two for me. Still interesting and definitely had some diverse elements but I didn't love the idea and therefore it just wasn't as fun. Pretty average, 2*s
* End of Service by Gabriela Lee - Again not really my thing. A bit too odd and short with the twist coming a bit too abruptly and suddenly for my liking. Still well written but just not a brilliant talk 2.5*s.
* Chupacabra's Song by Jim C. Hines - An interesting story for sure. Kind of hinted at attention deficit disorders and yet in a very cool way. The story was short and sweet but some nice ideas were shown and I think it could even have been pushed a bit further into a longer book. 3.5*s
The Day the God Died by Alena McNamara - Not my thing at all, very short, very dull, not even a real story - 1*
* Signature - A very cool little story about a book shop and the people who work there. Our main character is fun and strong-willed, but equally resourceful, and when problems take a supernatural turn for the shop, she steps in. 3.5*s
* The Lovely Duckling by Tim Susman - A wonderfully written story about a girl who cannot escape her father and just wants to fly free... Beautiful, moving and definitely a story I think people can relate to! 4*s
* Kiss and Kiss and Kiss and Tell by E.C.Myers - About a strange new drug that gives vision of possible futures when you kiss another. Weird yet interesting 3.5*s
* Vanilla by Dirk Flinthart - I really liked this as it was about inclusion and alien races. Very good messages and well written too! 4*s
* Careful Magic by Karen Healey - About witches and their powers and also deals a little with bullying and OCD. Likeable, but not so memorable 2.5*s
* Walkdog by Sofia Samatar - Not my thing at all, just dull for me 1*
* Celebration by Sean Eads - Interesting mix of topics. Not sure quite how well it worked in my mind but it was a likeable and easy-to-follow story :) 3*s
* The Truth About Owls by Amal El-Mohtar - A strange story. I liked the metaphors back tot he Owls, but I'm not sure I fully 'got' this one. It was late at night when I read it. 2*s
* Krishna Blue by Shveta Thakrar - This one I liked a lot, it's about a girl who discovers an awful power she can't control, absorbing colours. Cool idea, nice execution. 4*s
* Every Little Thing by Holly Kench - This one was certainly focused on friendship coming first and I liked that idea a lot. Nicely written, and the characters realise what's important at the end. 3.5*s
* Happy Go Lucky by Garth Nix - I loved this one and I am happy to say that as I have enjoyed a fair amount of Garth Nix's books and I wanted to try out his shorter fiction. This focuses on a world where Luck is everything and society is based on it. When our main character's family is tested for their Luck things change, not in a great way. 4*s
* Ordinary Things by Vylar Kaftan - This one focused on OCD tendencies and an abusive relationship and I have to say it was a little moving at times seeing through the eyes of a character so stuck in a rut. 4*s
* Double Time by John Chu - This focused on figure skating (something I love to watch) but it wasn't really my thing in terms of where the story went and ended up. 2*s
* Welcome by William Alexander - I really liked the idea of sailing from the Moon to Earth and between the two on one special night of the year. The ideas within this would have translated really well to a longer story in my opinion. 4*s
I'm giving this one a 3.5-4*s out of 5 becuase a lot of the stories within this were really good. Although I didn't have one which totally blew me away there are certainly a few which I will remember and I will be on the look out for more fiction from some of these authors. Definitely an anthology I would recommend trying out!