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A review by enne
Color Outside the Lines: Stories about Love by Sangu Mandanna
4.0
Overall rating : 3.9 stars
Turn the Sky to Petals by Anna-Marie McLemore - 4 stars
There's always something magical about Anna-Marie's writing that makes me fall in love and this story was no different. I absolutely loved the concept and I loved that this was written in the second person. The only thing was that I found myself sometimes confused by what was going on, but I got used to it soon enough.
Prom by Danielle Paige - 4 stars
Despite the fact that this story was only two pages long, I thought it managed to convey its message very well and it was also absolutely adorable. There's not much else I can say about this, since it was only two pages long, but I did really enjoy it.
What We Love by Lauren Gibaldi - 3 stars
I could not get past the writing with this one. The story on itself wasn't that bad, even if I did find the concept somewhat questionable. But the writing felt really juvenile and repetitive and it really hindered my overall enjoyment of the story.
Giving Up the Ghost by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas - 5 stars
This was such a fun story! Not only was the concept something that I would genuinely read a full length novel on because it was really fun, but the characters added a lot to my enjoyment of this. The dynamics between the main character and his ghost?? I love them.
Your Life Matters by L.L. McKinney - 4.5 stars
I love reading about queer kids of color who are superheroes. In fact, one of my favorite series, The Sidekick Squad, is about queer kids of color who are superheroes. So I was bound to love this story. And I did! I absolutely loved the main character and I loved the relationship and all of it was just so incredibly written and I'm absolutely in love.
Starlight and Moondust by Lori M. Lee - 2.5 stars
I was just not a fan of much about this story. I thought the concept on its own was interesting, but there were parts that I wish the story had focused on instead of focusing on the romance. Also, the writing really didn't do it for me with this one and definitely negatively affected my enjoyment of the story. The ending also felt a bit rushed to me, but that could be just because I'm not used to short stories.
Five Times Shiva Met Harry by Sangu Mandanna - 3.5 stars
I thought this was really cute, but it didn't have much substance beyond that. I did like how it started the discussion on the British colonialism and the way it's not widely acknowledged, especially by white people. I really liked Shiva's character, too.
The Agony of a Heart's Wish by Samira Ahmed - 5 stars
This was one of the most beautiful short stories that I think I've ever read. Samira Ahmed really knows how to tug at those heartstrings and make me feel a million things in the span of twenty pages. I loved this story ended and I loved the message and I loved both of the lead characters so much. Within such a short span of time, Samira Ahmed managed to get me completely invested in their story. This was absolutely delightful.
The Coward's Guide to Falling in Love by Caroline Tung Richmond - 3 stars
I don't have any thoughts about this story because it wasn't bad and it wasn't good, either. For the most part, I was just very indifferent to anything that the main character was going through. I didn't mind the concept of the story and I really appreciated the message that it was trying to send, I just.... did not care.
Death and the Maiden by Tara Sim - 4 stars
I love modern takes on mythology and this one is absolutely no exception. Tara Sim's writing is just as exceptional in this short story as it is in her longer works and I was in love from page one. I loved the concept and I loved the world that was established. And I especially loved the f/f romance!
Faithfull by Karunma Riazi - 4 stars
The way this short story manages to cover so many important topics and somehow gives them all the time they deserve. This is the one story in this anthology that brought me to tears and, to be honest, I'm still impressed. While I wasn't necessarily the main character's biggest fan, I really appreciated the struggles that she went through and the way she dealt with them. I liked how this was about family relationships and friendships and finding a place where you belong. It was an absolutely beautiful story and if you're going to read any story from this anthology, have it be this one.
Gilman Street by Michelle Ruiz Keil - 5 stars
This was?? So good?? I wasn't expecting to be as enamored by it as I was. It takes place around where I live and I loved hearing about a similar setting, but I also really loved the way this was historical fiction. I loved the romance in this and I also loved how it centers around the music scene in Berkeley. Everything about this story was just... Delightful.
"The Boy Is" by Elsie Chapman - 3.5 stars
This is another one of those stories that wasn't very memorable. I really appreciated the way this one had an open ending, but other than that, I didn't really care about anything that happened in it. And the plot wasn't very coherent, to be honest.
Sandwiched in Between by Eric Smith - 3.5 stars
Another one of those not-memorable stories! I think this one tried to do a lot of things and explore a lot of topics in a very short span of a time and as a result of that, a lot of the more basic story elements weren't as developed as they could be. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I was just expecting something different from it. I do appreciate that this explores a very important topic and one that isn't touched on often, though, and I'm grateful that it does.
Yuna and the Wall by Lydia Kang - 5 stars
I don't think I can even articulate why I loved this story as much as I did, but I absolutely fell in love with it from page one. I loved our main character. I loved the world. I loved the relationship that was being set up. I loved the themes that were being explored. And to top it all off, the writing was absolutely gorgeous.
Something Gay and Magical by Adam Silvera - 3 stars
We all know that I love Adam Silvera. But unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy this one as much as I wish I had. I thought it was cute and it sent a nice message, but it didn't have much substance beyond that and I didn't care about any of the characters enough to care about the outcome.
Turn the Sky to Petals by Anna-Marie McLemore - 4 stars
There's always something magical about Anna-Marie's writing that makes me fall in love and this story was no different. I absolutely loved the concept and I loved that this was written in the second person. The only thing was that I found myself sometimes confused by what was going on, but I got used to it soon enough.
Prom by Danielle Paige - 4 stars
Despite the fact that this story was only two pages long, I thought it managed to convey its message very well and it was also absolutely adorable. There's not much else I can say about this, since it was only two pages long, but I did really enjoy it.
What We Love by Lauren Gibaldi - 3 stars
I could not get past the writing with this one. The story on itself wasn't that bad, even if I did find the concept somewhat questionable. But the writing felt really juvenile and repetitive and it really hindered my overall enjoyment of the story.
Giving Up the Ghost by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas - 5 stars
This was such a fun story! Not only was the concept something that I would genuinely read a full length novel on because it was really fun, but the characters added a lot to my enjoyment of this. The dynamics between the main character and his ghost?? I love them.
Your Life Matters by L.L. McKinney - 4.5 stars
I love reading about queer kids of color who are superheroes. In fact, one of my favorite series, The Sidekick Squad, is about queer kids of color who are superheroes. So I was bound to love this story. And I did! I absolutely loved the main character and I loved the relationship and all of it was just so incredibly written and I'm absolutely in love.
Starlight and Moondust by Lori M. Lee - 2.5 stars
I was just not a fan of much about this story. I thought the concept on its own was interesting, but there were parts that I wish the story had focused on instead of focusing on the romance. Also, the writing really didn't do it for me with this one and definitely negatively affected my enjoyment of the story. The ending also felt a bit rushed to me, but that could be just because I'm not used to short stories.
Five Times Shiva Met Harry by Sangu Mandanna - 3.5 stars
I thought this was really cute, but it didn't have much substance beyond that. I did like how it started the discussion on the British colonialism and the way it's not widely acknowledged, especially by white people. I really liked Shiva's character, too.
The Agony of a Heart's Wish by Samira Ahmed - 5 stars
This was one of the most beautiful short stories that I think I've ever read. Samira Ahmed really knows how to tug at those heartstrings and make me feel a million things in the span of twenty pages. I loved this story ended and I loved the message and I loved both of the lead characters so much. Within such a short span of time, Samira Ahmed managed to get me completely invested in their story. This was absolutely delightful.
The Coward's Guide to Falling in Love by Caroline Tung Richmond - 3 stars
I don't have any thoughts about this story because it wasn't bad and it wasn't good, either. For the most part, I was just very indifferent to anything that the main character was going through. I didn't mind the concept of the story and I really appreciated the message that it was trying to send, I just.... did not care.
Death and the Maiden by Tara Sim - 4 stars
I love modern takes on mythology and this one is absolutely no exception. Tara Sim's writing is just as exceptional in this short story as it is in her longer works and I was in love from page one. I loved the concept and I loved the world that was established. And I especially loved the f/f romance!
Faithfull by Karunma Riazi - 4 stars
The way this short story manages to cover so many important topics and somehow gives them all the time they deserve. This is the one story in this anthology that brought me to tears and, to be honest, I'm still impressed. While I wasn't necessarily the main character's biggest fan, I really appreciated the struggles that she went through and the way she dealt with them. I liked how this was about family relationships and friendships and finding a place where you belong. It was an absolutely beautiful story and if you're going to read any story from this anthology, have it be this one.
Gilman Street by Michelle Ruiz Keil - 5 stars
This was?? So good?? I wasn't expecting to be as enamored by it as I was. It takes place around where I live and I loved hearing about a similar setting, but I also really loved the way this was historical fiction. I loved the romance in this and I also loved how it centers around the music scene in Berkeley. Everything about this story was just... Delightful.
"The Boy Is" by Elsie Chapman - 3.5 stars
This is another one of those stories that wasn't very memorable. I really appreciated the way this one had an open ending, but other than that, I didn't really care about anything that happened in it. And the plot wasn't very coherent, to be honest.
Sandwiched in Between by Eric Smith - 3.5 stars
Another one of those not-memorable stories! I think this one tried to do a lot of things and explore a lot of topics in a very short span of a time and as a result of that, a lot of the more basic story elements weren't as developed as they could be. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, I was just expecting something different from it. I do appreciate that this explores a very important topic and one that isn't touched on often, though, and I'm grateful that it does.
Yuna and the Wall by Lydia Kang - 5 stars
I don't think I can even articulate why I loved this story as much as I did, but I absolutely fell in love with it from page one. I loved our main character. I loved the world. I loved the relationship that was being set up. I loved the themes that were being explored. And to top it all off, the writing was absolutely gorgeous.
Something Gay and Magical by Adam Silvera - 3 stars
We all know that I love Adam Silvera. But unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy this one as much as I wish I had. I thought it was cute and it sent a nice message, but it didn't have much substance beyond that and I didn't care about any of the characters enough to care about the outcome.