Out Now: Queer We Go Again is a new anthology featuring 17 short stories written by queer YA authors. From names you may recognize if you're a YA fan (Julian Winters, Meredith Russo, Caleb Roehrig, Mark Oshiro) and names I wasn't familiar with, these stories run the gamut from tales of romance, friendship, and self-acceptance, to fantasy, sci-fi, and folklore, all with an LGBTQ+ angle.
My favorite stories in the collection included: "What Happens in the Closet" by Caleb Roehrig, when vampires attack a high school prom and a gay student tries to better understand his nemesis; "Star-Crossed in DC" by Jessica Verdi, featuring the president's daughter who is ready to make a stand; "One Spell Too Many" by Tara Sim, about a teenage girl and kitchen witch, whose penchant for weaving spells into her baked goods has chaotic consequences; "Refresh" by Mark Oshiro, which tells of the frantic moments leading up to a blind date for two boys who met online; "Lumber Me Mine" by CB Lee, about two students who become enamored of one another during woodshop class; "Follower" by Will Kostakis, in which a social media influencer meets one of his fans; and perhaps my favorite story, "Victory Lap" by Julian Winters, in which a young man in search of a date to a school dance finds an unlikely ally in his search.
I tend to like stories that are a little simpler; there were a few stories in the collection that were science-fiction- or fantasy-based, and those didn't appeal to me as much. But for me, ultimately, the mark of a good story is one I'd love to see expanded into a longer form or even a full-length novel. All of the above stories, plus several others I didn't include in my list, definitely piqued my interest, and I'm going to explore the work of many of the authors featured in the collection.
The path to love and attraction, to connecting with someone you're interested in, to accepting who you are and/or working with family and friends to do the same, is different for every person. The stories in Out Now: Queer We Go Again didn't try to make their characters fall into predetermined patterns. While not every story was completely realistic, there's probably a story in here that almost everyone can identify with in one way or another.
Apparently Out Now is a follow-up to an anthology called All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages, also edited by Saundra Mitchell. I'll definitely be checking that out as well.
I was fortunate to be part of the blog tour for this book. NetGalley and Inkyard Press provided me with an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!
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