ALL OUT

Oh, now this was a delight. 

From Amazon: "Seventeen young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens."

I'm not going to do any spoilers, but I will list the time periods/topics for the stories. 

-Roja: Mexico 1870, based on a historical figure and Little Red Riding Hood

-The Sweet Trade: Virginia Colony 1717, runaway teen brides

-And They Don't Kiss At the End: Maryland 1976, disco rollerskating scene. I think this is the only one with an asexual character. Also, there's a character named Lori! That's rare! And I don't think she's white! That's...y'know, I don't think I've seen a Lori that wasn't white, so this is extra epic. 

-Burnt Umber: Amsterdam 1638, boys being taught art including life drawing with both female and male models

-The Dresser and the Chambermaid: England 1726

-New Year: San Francisco, 1955. Chinese characters with some historical inspiration.

-Molly's Lips: Seattle 1994. Kurt Cobain's death leads to extra bonding between best friends.

-The Coven: Paris 1924. Gertrude Stein is a character in this. 

-Every Shade of Red: England, late 14th Century. Robin Hood but make it interesting. I was very disappointed in the cliffhanger here! I would read a whole book of this!

-Willows: Massachusetts 1732. Sort of witch hunt-inspired.

-The Girl with the Blue Lantern: California 1849. Gold rush and...a fairy? I'm not sure what she is. 

-The Secret Life of a Teenage Boy: Virginia 1969. Closeted boy tempted by a theater student on the way to NYC when he has car trouble. 

-Walking After Midnight: New York 1952. Former child star stuck in a small town in the wee hours. 

-The End of the World As We Know It: Massachusetts 1999. Y2K with a Turkish lesbian lead. 

-Three Witches: Castile 1519. Forbidden love in a convent.

-The Inferno and the Butterfly: London 1839. Magician's assistants. 

-Healing Rosa: New Mexico 1933. A curandera is struggling to save her best friend's life.

I enjoyed every one of these stories, though always some more than others. But there wasn't a single bad one here. My faves were Roja, Every Shade of Red, and The End of the World As We Know It.

There is a sequel/follow-up to this that is in my reading pile. It's called Out Now, which should have given me a hint. All the stories are set in the modern day. I'm not really excited about reading it because I loved the historical fiction/fairy tale aspect of this one, but I just skimmed the Amazon blurb again and the topics sound interesting. I'll give it a go soon.

UNSETTLED

I have mixed feelings on this one. 

First, I was completely misled by the Amazon page for it. The absolute first thing you need to know about this book is that it's written entirely in free verse. Nowhere is that mentioned in the Amazon main blurb for the book. If you go down to "editorial reviews," there you'll see it mentioned that it's told in verse, but that should be in the Amazon blurb at the top. I was very excited to dive into a standard prose novel written by a Pakistani woman that's writing it semi-autobiographically. Instead, I got free verse. While she does it excellently, it's still less meat than prose. I actually read through the entire 352-page book while soaking in the bathtub. It didn't take me long at all. 

On the other hand, I do love the characters and the world she created. My disappointment in the free verse doesn't really stem from the verse itself. It comes from the fact that I wanted to spend more time with these characters and everything just flies by. 

So I did enjoy this a lot, but it was over quickly. If you don't mind free verse, definitely pick it up, but I'd recommend grabbing it from the library instead of paying for it. 

TBH 1-8

I've seen this set suggested for me several times but finally caved and tried it out. I'm a fan of experimental writing formats. I loved the Lauren Myracle Internet Girls series, for example. So when I saw these books were written mostly in text/chat format (with the occasional email, handwritten stuff and flyer thrown in for good measure), I knew I'd check them out eventually. 

There are eight books in the series, which take place across the course of the entire sixth grade year, the summer after, then the entire seventh grade year and the summer after. 

The main characters are Cecily (smart, mature, coming to terms with being lesbian), Gabby (Jewish, ADD) and Prianka (Indian, poet). Victoria (new girl, very overprotective mom, kinda goofy but also has good insights) also makes her way in there, but she's never as focused on as the main three. Other supporting cast members swirl around the events of each book.

There's typical middle grade stuff. Victoria tries too hard to fit in and her mom raises hell with the school. The girls deal with growing feelings for boys or, in Cecily's case, a girl. I loved how they handled her liking a girl as if it was just another crush. As someone who's been reading for basically 40 years, this is such a nice change to see. I love when things that weren't even talked about when I was a kid are now included like it's no big deal (because it is no big deal). The books try to be diverse, but the non-descriptive nature of just texting and chatting leaves a lot out. There's another maybe lesbian or maybe they're both bi girl. There are a lot of Jewish girls. Prianka has two male friends that are also Indian. But honestly, I can't think of one student that's definitely black. Maybe one of Victoria's friends from Philly? But it's not super clear. No one Asian other than South Asian. So considering the book went on about inclusivity in some places, it wasn't the most inclusive. Other issues include repeated instances of the girls growing apart or branching out into other friend groups. Sometimes that ends well, sometimes not. Bullying. Not all liking the same things. Seriously, just typical middle grade book stuff that's been handled better by other series. 

It was fun though. I got them mostly at different times, but I could easily have banged out all eight of these in a few hours tops. They're fluff more than anything that makes you really care about the characters, but I still enjoyed myself. Sometimes fluff is what you need.