I read Toil & Trouble, the witch-themed anthology, and mentioned that I ordered these books, too, yet I never reviewed them. Of course, I also barely reviewed Toil & Trouble, so I may revisit that.
So we've got 15 authors writing 15 stories set in different historical times. They're in chronological order. I'm going to give this my usual anthology treatment and list off each story and a brief impression.
Mother Carey's Table: 1710, British North America. A 16-year-old black pirate girl disguised as a boy. She knows of Mother Carey, wife of Davy Jones, and the birds that are the souls of sailors who escaped her. This one frustrates me, but not all these stories are happy.
The Journey: 1723, The Great Land (Alaska). A young Inuit girl learns the ways of both daughters and sons from her parents, and these teachings help her survive when shitty white traders attack their village. A good, emotional story.
Madeleine's Choice: 1826, New Orleans. A gens de couleur libre girl struggles with being interested in a forbidden rich white man and receiving a proposal from a hard-working black man. The white man could never marry her but could give her a life of leisure, while the black man could be her husband, though in not as rich a life. Special guest star: Marie Laveau!
Los Destinos: 1848, Southwest Texas. The Fates are reborn as young Tejano girls.
High Stakes: 1861, Boston and Natchez. An assassin is hired by a warlock who is his faction's player in their game to determine which faction will control the US behind the scenes. The six different factions are: warlocks/witches, fairies, werewolves, goblins, vampires, and necromancers. The assassin character is an unknown type of creature, though it's pretty obvious pretty quickly. Not going to spoil it here, but this is a unique take on that particular mythical creature. I liked this one a lot and would read more in this universe.
The Red Raven Ball: 1862, Washington DC. A socialite acts as a spy for the Union while attending her domineering grandmother's fancy ball. She's searching for a Confederate spy and outing them will change her life.
Pearls: 1876, Chicago and Cheyenne. A young woman is raped by her suitor and instead of being on her side, her father is an utter dick. She escapes to be a schoolteacher in a small town outside Cheyenne. Loved the ending for this one.
Gold in the Roots of the Grass: 1877, Deadwood, Dakota. A Chinese-American girl who can talk to ghosts is approached by one she knows, a boy that was nice to her. I liked this one a lot.
The Legendary Garrett Girls: 1898, Skaguay, Alaska. Two sisters who own a saloon are forced out of their business by a conman, but they go out their own way. I love this.
The Color of the Sky: 1926, Jacksonville and Dallas. A young black girl wants to talk to Bessie Coleman and ends up a witness to her sad death. She travels to Dallas to return the satchel of the mechanic who also perished in the accident and meets people who help her see she has a future after all.
Bonnie and Clyde: 1934, Indiana. A teen girl dresses as a boy to rob banks during the Depression.
Hard Times: 1934, Washington. A teen hobo and the unrelated 12-year-old boy she's looking after tell some of their stories to a reporter while riding the rails to Seattle.
City of Angels: 1945, Los Angeles. A riveter meets the new girl at work, a mouthy, braggy wannabe actress and ends up falling for her. She loses the girl when the girl's boyfriend returns from the war. She loses her riveting job when the GIs come home. But she gains the courage to be herself and writes scripts for a lesbian nightclub with plans to write more for the studios.
Pulse of the Panthers: 1967, California. A rural California girl is introduced to the world of the blank Panthers when her father has some of them over for a few days.
The Whole World Is Watching: 1968, Grant Park, Chicago. A black college freshman girl is at a war protest with her friends when things turn violent. It's the violence that makes her realize she needs to stop being afraid to be herself and be out alongside her girlfriend.
My favorite was definitely High Stakes, but all of these stories are pretty great.
And we're back with more in this sequel.
Daughter of the Book: 1838, Savannah. A Jewish teen wants to learn more about her faith and secretly meets with a boy who teaches her. This one is quite good, though I disagree with her final choice.
You're a Stranger Here: 1844, Nauvoo, Illinois. The Mormon prophet Joseph Smith is killed and this is one girl's reaction. This one was boring except for learning how much persecution the Mormons faced.
The Magician: 1858, New Mexico along the Colorado. A teen orphan girl has grown up disguised as a boy. When she takes a job on an expedition, she risks revealing her secret. Somehow this was boring, too.
Lady Firebrand: 1863, Charleston. A Northern teen in a wheelchair and her free black maid team up to become Lord Firebrand, an outlaw who blows up Southern shipments. This one was good.
Step Right Up: 1905, Tulsa. A seventeen-year-old girl who wants to be a high wire walker suffers physical abuse at the hands of her deadbeat father's half-brother while her mother stands by and does jack shit. She runs away to the circus. Also, she likes girls. I like this one, aside from wanting to kill the asshole uncle.
Glamour: 1923, Los Angeles. A Mexican girl uses a glamour to make herself look like a pale blonde, something sought after in Hollywood. She meets a boy with a permanently injured leg on set and after an encounter where she has to flee or reveal her true appearance, she ends up bringing him home with her for Easter. She intends to make a wish to turn permanently into the blonde, but after learning the boy was born a girl in body, she learns a lesson in accepting herself.
Better for All the World: 1927, Washington, DC. A mentally ill girl (diagnosis is never specified) wants to be a lawyer and follows the Carrie Buck sterilization case closely, because she can relate to Carrie. She meets a young man with similar interests and dealing with him, in both positive and negative ways, helps her gain the courage to start following through on her dream.
When the Moonlight Isn't Enough: 1943, Oak Bluffs, MA. A black family somehow coats jars with their blood and uses them to trap moonlight, which they drink once a month to remain alive. It's an unusual method of being immortal. The girl is 16 and tired of never growing up and never getting to DO anything. Her parents are a doctor and nurse, but they want nothing to do with the war effort, which frustrates the daughter.
The Belle of the Ball: 1952, Brooklyn. Mom wants girl to be a debutante. Girl wants to write comedy scripts.
Land of the Sweet, Home of the Brave: 1955, Oakland. A girl with a Chinese father and a half-Japanese mother auditions to be the new Sugar Maiden, who's featured on the bags of sugar for that brand. She's sabotaged by your typical white, blond bitch, but comes through well in the end.
The Birth of Susi Go-Go: 1972, Queens. When she was four, Susana left Cuba with her parents. Now a teen, she struggles with wanting to feel American but having more Cuban ideals pressed upon her.
Take Me With U: 1984, Boston. An Iranian refugee living with her aunt, uncle and 6-year-old cousin discovers the joy of music, makes friends with a bunch of cool American girls and joins their band, and finds strength in herself.
This book is different than the first. The first one has every story being decent, but only a couple that I really loved. This one has a few duds, but the good ones are really good. My favorites were "Take Me With U," "Land of the Sweet, Home of the Brave," "Glamour," and "The Belle of the Ball."
