With a focus on the weird and eerie forces that lurk beneath the surface of ordinary experience, Kate Folk’s debut short story collection is perfectly pitched to the madness of our current moment. A medical ward for a mysterious bone-melting disorder is the setting of a perilous love triangle. A curtain of void obliterates the globe at a steady pace, forcing Earth’s remaining inhabitants to decide with whom they want to spend eternity. A man fleeing personal scandal enters a codependent relationship with a house that requires a particularly demanding level of care. And in the title story, originally published in “The New Yorker,” a woman in San Francisco uses dating apps to find a partner despite the threat posed by “blots,” preternaturally handsome artificial men dispatched by Russian hackers to steal data. Meanwhile, in a poignant companion piece, a woman and a blot forge a genuine, albeit doomed, connection.

Prescient and wildly imaginative, Out There depicts an uncanny landscape that holds a mirror to our subconscious fears and desires. Each story beats with its own fierce heart, and together they herald an exciting new arrival in the tradition of speculative literary fiction.

This collection of stories was a wild ride. Part dystopian part sci fi, it would likely appeal to anyone who loves the weirdness of shows like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. Also, as someone who loves Shirley Jackson, some of the stories in here definitely had tones of similarity to some of her more out there stories as well. I listened to the audiobook personally and really enjoyed the varying narrators who changed depending on the story and protagonist. There were definitely some stories that didn’t exactly appeal to me, but the majority of them were really captivating and interesting.

Happy reading!

From debut author Andrew Duplessie, a terrifying collection of teen short horror stories–and accompanying videos–that will keep you up long into the night! Perfect for fans of Five Nights at Freddy’s.

A garbage disposal that feeds on flesh . . .

A beloved stuffed rabbit that cooks up your parents . . .

Roses that require human blood to bloom . . .

From blood-chilling horror to supernatural scares, this collection of short stories from debut author Andrew Duplessie offers something to stoke anyone’s fear factor. But that’s only the beginning. In a first-ever twist, each story also comes with a pulse-pounding video that deepens the horror. Point your phone at the QR code and be prepared to scream! Maybe even share it with your friends, if you dare.

Ready or not, Too Scared to Sleep will answer the question: How brave are you, really?

I love short story collections and I really feel when it’s horror short stories it’s even better. There’s something that is very “Are You Afraid of the Dark?” when it comes to horror anthologies, especially those centered on tweens or teens – there’s a lot of nostalgia there for me before I even start reading. I found a lot of the stories in the anthology to be enjoyable, some of them not so much – but that’s common with any anthology. I did really enjoy the differing formats and little additions within the anthology. All in all this is a great compilation, a fast read and thoroughly enjoyable for spooky season.

Happy reading!

This modern, groundbreaking YA anthology explores the complexity and beauty of interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships where differences are front and center.

When people ask me what this anthology is about, I’m often tempted to give them the complicated answer: it’s about race, and about how being different from the person you love can matter but how it can also not matter, and it’s about Chinese pirate ghosts, black girl vigilantes, colonial India, a flower festival, a garden of poisons, and so, so much else. Honestly, though? I think the answer’s much simpler than that. Color outside the Lines is a collection of stories about young, fierce, brilliantly hopeful people in love. —Sangu Mandanna, editor of Color outside the Lines

I was so excited when I saw this anthology because as someone in an interracial relationship it’s sometimes hard to find representations or normalizing of it. It was far more than I expected because so many of the stories contained important conversations not just about interracial or LGTBQ+ relationships, but also conversations about the issues that are current when discussing those relationships, race and culture in general. I certainly enjoyed some stories more than others, but there weren’t any stories that I disliked.

Turn the Sky to Petals by Anna-Marie McLemore – 4 stars
Prom by Danielle Paige – 3 stars
What We Love by Lauren Gibaldi – 4 stars
Giving Up the Ghost by Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas – 4 stars
Your Life Matters by L.L. McKinney – 4 stars
Starlight and Moondust by Lori M. Lee – 5 stars
Five Times Shiva Met Harry by Sangu Mandanna – 3 stars
The Agony of a Heart’s Wish by Samira Ahmed – 3 stars
The Coward’s Guide to Falling in Love by Caroline Tung Richmond – 3 stars
Death & the Maiden by Tara Sim – 3 stars
Faithfull by Karuna Riazi – 3 stars
Gilman Street by Michelle Ruiz Keil – 3 stars
“The Boy Is” by Elsie Chapman – 4 stars
Sandwiched in Between by Eric Smith – 5 stars
Yuna & the Wall by Lydia Kang – 3 stars
Something Gay & Magical by Adam Silvera – 4 stars

Happy reading!

Be transported into dystopian cities and other-worldly societies. Be amazed and beguiled by a nursery story with a reverse twist, a futuristic take on TV cooking shows, a playscript with tentacles – and more, much more. Plunge in and enjoy!

A collection of sci-fi and fantasy writing, including six graphic stories, showcasing twenty stellar writers and artists from India and Australia: Isobelle Carmody, Penni Russon, Justine Larbalestier, Margo Lanagan, Lily Mae Martin, Kuzhali Manickavel, Prabha Mallya, Annie Zaidi, Kate Constable, Vandana Singh, Mandy Ord, Priya Kuriyan, Manjula Padmanabhan, Samhita Arni, Alyssa Brugman, Nicki Greenberg and Amruta Patil. 

After reading the concept of this anthology and some of the things that contributed towards it I was really excited to pick it up. Many of the stories did tackle important issues such as how girls/women are treated and viewed, climate change and what it could do to our planet, death and more. While there were no stories in this anthology that I disliked, there weren’t any that blew me away either. Many of them were impactful and fun, with clear purpose. I did also really enjoy the stories told in graphic form that were sprinkled into the collection as it was nice to have a bit of a mixed media feel to it.

Cat Calls – 4 stars
Swallow the Moon – 3 stars
Little Red Suit – 3 stars
Cooking Time – 4 stars
Anarkali – 3 stars
Cast Out – 4 stars
Weft – 4 stars
The Wednesday Room – 3 stars
Cool – 3 stars
Appetite – 3 stars
Mirror Perfect – 4 stars
Arctic Light – 4 stars
The Runners – 3 stars
The Blooming – 2 stars
What a Stone Can’t Feel – 4 stars
Memory Lace – 3 stars
Back Stage Pass – 4 stars

Happy reading!

This exceptional and powerful anthology explores the joys, heartbreaks and triumphs of immigration, with stories by bestselling and beloved YA authors who are themselves immigrants and the children of immigrants.

WELCOME

From some of the most exciting bestselling and up-and-coming YA authors writing today…journey from Ecuador to New York City and Argentina to Utah, from Australia to Harlem and India to New Jersey, from Fiji, America, Mexico and more… Come On In.

With characters who face random traffic stops, TSA detention, customs anxiety, and the daunting and inspiring journey to new lands, who camp with their extended families, dance at weddings, keep diaries, teach ESL, give up their rooms for displaced family, decide their own answer to the question “where are you from?” and so much more, Come On In illuminates fifteen of the myriad facets of the immigrant experience.

I was really excited when I saw this one pop up and felt that the subject matter was very timely – especially with certain political issues in the US. This collection contains perspectives from a wide range of cultures and races regarding what immigration looks and feels like for them. It really explores what people are forced to consider, the risks they are forced to take and more when attempting to enter a new country, or when living as an immigrant. Some stories also tackled some race issues which add further layers to the conversation.

I found this collection very poignant, even if I didn’t “love” every story. Each one had something important to say and that really was the impact of the collection. My personal ratings of the stories is below – but I want to emphasize that even though each story may not have been for me, I felt all of them were important.

All the Colors of Goodbye by Nafiza Azad – 4 stars
The Wedding by Sara Farizan – 5 stars
Where I’m From by Misa Sugiura – 4 stars
Salvation & the Sea by Lilliam Rivera – 3 stars
Volviemdome by Alaya Dawn Johnson – 3 stars
The Trip by Sona Charaipotra – 4 stars
The Curandera & the Alchemist by Maria E. Andreu – 4 stars
A Bigger Tent by Maurene Goo – 4 stars
First Words by Varsha Bajaj – 4 stars
Family Everything by Yamile Saied Mendez – 5 stars
When I was White by Justine Larbalestier – 3 stars
From Golden State by Isabel Quintero – 2 stars
Hard to Say by Sharon Morse – 5 stars
Confessions of an Ecuadorkian by Zoraida Cordova – 4 stars
Fleeing, Leaving, Moving by Adi Alsaid – 4 stars

Happy reading!

An entertaining mix of biography, imagery, and humor written in a fresh, young, and riotous voice, this thoroughly researched exploration salutes these awesome women drawn from both historical and fantastical realms, including real life, literature, mythology, and folklore. Each profile features an eye-catching image of both heroic and villainous women in command from across history and around the world, from a princess-cum-pirate in fifth century Denmark, to a rebel preacher in 1630s Boston, to a bloodthirsty Hungarian countess, and a former prostitute who commanded a fleet of more than 70,000 men on China’s seas.

I really enjoy the trend of books coming out that specifically calls out extraordinary women, or women who took charge of their lives in a time that they were not expected to. This was the first of those books I had seen, so I was excited when I received it as a gift. It’s the perfect type of book to pick up and read a story here or there, which is how I read most of it.

I really appreciate the fact that each story comes with content warnings which are explained at the beginning of the book. Not only specific warnings of types of content, but each story has a maturity level. This is great if you might be sharing some of the stories with children.

Also of note are the footnotes, some of which are serious and a good info dump and some of which are hilarious. I really felt this collection was a great introduction to some rebellious women in the past and the author’s writing style perfectly fit the stories he was telling.

Happy reading!