School Library Journal Review
Gr 10 Up--This follow-up to the All Out anthology is an assortment of 17 short stories and vignettes by a diverse slate of LGBTQIA+ authors. As a unit, the stories serve to highlight and to normalize different queer perspectives. They range in scope and style, from short reflective pieces that feel more like essays ("Player One Fight!") to quirky magical realism ("One Spell Too Many") to reimagined folktales ("Once Upon a Seastorm"). One delightful characteristic of the collection is the inclusion of stories centering on discovering and exploring orientation, labels, and identity, alongside more action-driven ones. But despite the appeal of individual stories in the collection, the range of styles and tones may lose readers looking to sink into longer narratives with a stronger sense of cohesiveness. VERDICT This is unique in the diversity and intersectionality of the contributors, and would be useful where LGBTQIA+ and #OwnVoices stories are in demand.--Erin Downey, Boise School District, ID
Kirkus Review
Queer prose anthology filled with diverse characters, experiences, and identities. Dedicated to "every queer kid out there," this volume includes contributions from 17 writers, including editor Mitchell, who share stories starring LGBTQIAP teens. The authors are a varied group (both international and multicultural), and their fiction reflects this. The anthology covers a range of genres and narrative styles--from realistic fiction to paranormal to fantasy--and no two are quite the same. Standouts include a piece that balances the need for control in "Kick. Push. Coast." by Candice Montgomery, about a skateboarder determined to land a new trick and talk to a pretty girl despite their label not feeling right; the hilarious and moving vampire saga about coming out, "What Happens in the Closet" by Caleb Roehrig; C.B. Lee's pitch-perfect "Lumber Me Mine," about a lesbian reclaiming herself post-breakup and falling for a classmate in woodshop who is ace; Mark Oshiro's entry that tackles dating as a big, Latinx gay man in the catfishing-gone-wrong "Refresh"; and Julian Winters' story tenderly exploring a father-son relationship, "Victory Lap." Common themes emerge: questioning and exploring self, identities, and labels; family pressure; the desire to be seen and loved; and courage. This is a wonderful addition to queer lit for teens. Readers will find affirmation and see themselves--maybe for the first time--in this collection. (contributor biographies) (Anthology. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
A teenage alien attempts to save his boyfriend from the government agents that have tracked him down. A girl is visited by a ghost who helps her deal with missing her girlfriend. This is the follow-up to the queer anthology All Out (2018), and it's just as sweet and charming. With a variety of genres on display from science fiction to fantasy to contemporary, and more important, a wide range of queer identities explored from nonbinary gender identities to asexuality, this collection is essential reading for anyone who loves queer YA. There are times when the narratives get lost when too much time is spent defining and explaining a certain queer label, rather than using the story to explore that queer experience, but it's obvious this collection is there not just for readers who have been devouring the ever-more-nuanced and intersectional queer YA lit that's come out in the last decade; it's also for young readers who are just beginning to understand who they are.
