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Hurricane Heels

Isabel Yap (Goodreads Author)

3.97 · Rating details · 95 ratings · 34 reviews

Five ordinary girls discover magical powers in this new series of interconnected short stories from Isabel Yap

When Alex, Ria, Aiko, Natalie and Selena met at summer camp, they never expected the goddess would ask for their help, enlisting them as soldiers to protect the world from the forces of darkness. Gifting them each with a different object of power—a bracelet, a rin ...more

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ebook, 190 pages

Published December 6th 2016 by Book Smugglers Publishing

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Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Queer Female Authors of Color

103 books — 35 voters

Interracial Lesbian Fiction

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3.97 ·

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· 95 ratings · 34 reviews

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Nov 29, 2016 TheBookSmugglers added it

Shelves: book-smugglers-publishing

We did this! *\o/*

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Dec 16, 2016 Mel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: genre-sff, protagonists-lesbian, protagonists-bi-pan, poc

And this is how you write a book full of diversity and not think this will be enough for people to like it. Wow. This is really awesomely done.

First, Hurricane Heels isn’t actually about diversity, it’s just inherently diverse. This book is about growing up, about friendship, about women and diverse characters fighting for a better world.

But as you might have noticed by looking at the tags, there are two Asian characters. Two different Asian characters. One from Manila in the Philippines and ano ...more

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May 30, 2017 Quartzen rated it really liked it

This was an enjoyable New Adult magical girl story told from the perspective of the five girls that make up the team, interleaving a present day storyline leading up to the wedding of one of them and flashbacks of how they got their powers and significant events early in their lives. Overall, the characters were enjoyable and the climactic battle was satisfying- definitely recommended if you like this genre.

One note- my ebook copy, an EPUB from Kobo, duplicated almost the entire third section, s ...more

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Dec 26, 2016 Rana rated it it was amazing

Absolutely fucking brilliant. On the surface, it's just a regular story about girls fighting monsters. But it's really about the transformative power of friendship and knowing one's self. We are all magic girls, with the power to fight evil.

This is also perfectly diverse, in that it is diverse without calling attention to it. It's just no big fucking deal. Amen.

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Apr 17, 2019 Japunkt rated it it was amazing

Five interconnected short stories, each told by a different woman In a group of friends with "magical girl" type powers. The book is currently out of print, but the individual short stories are available on the Book Smugglers' blog.

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Feb 20, 2018 Olivia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: lgbtqia, positive-lgbtqa-representation, favorites

A stunning series of short stories about love, hope, and enduring hardship. There was intense action and nuanced emotions and when I finished my heart felt so, so full. It also felt incredibly REAL and made me want to get together with my best friends for the biggest hug ever!

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Jul 27, 2017 Marianne (Boricuan Bookworms) rated it really liked it

Shelves: bisexual, asian-rep, black-rep, cover-love, cute, diversity, f-f, family, friends-to-lovers, funny

Magical girls, friendship, diversity, feels, action... need I say more? Full review to come but I really enjoyed this one ♡♡

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Feb 14, 2017 Jessica Strider rated it it was amazing

Shelves: urban-fantasy

Pros: diverse and multi-layered characters, great world-building, excellent storytelling

Cons: minor confusion at times

Five thirteen year old girls are chosen by the goddess to help fight the Grey, an entity created from terror, rage, and destruction. Now 25, Alex, Ria, Aiko, and Natalie help Selena prepare for her upcoming wedding. As the big day approaches, they reflect on their past as magical girls and wonder how long they’ll have to keep fighting.

Hurricane Heels is a a collection of 5 interc Pros: diverse and multi-layered characters, great world-building, excellent storytelling

Cons: minor confusion at times

Five thirteen year old girls are chosen by the goddess to help fight the Grey, an entity created from terror, rage, and destruction. Now 25, Alex, Ria, Aiko, and Natalie help Selena prepare for her upcoming wedding. As the big day approaches, they reflect on their past as magical girls and wonder how long they’ll have to keep fighting.

Hurricane Heels is a a collection of 5 interconnected stories. Each one is told from the point of view of a different girl.

This is a novel for adults who love magical girl stories like Sailor Moon, who are interested in what real life for such girls growing into women would look like. The author clearly explains why no one in the larger world knows what’s going on in the fight between good and evil and how the girls heal after their battles. But these are women who swear, drink, go to a strip club (it’s a bachelorette party), and hold day jobs around their monster battles.

I loved the juxtaposition of these young girls getting magical powers and being given decidedly earthy weapons. When you think of magical girls you think glittery magic weapons, light weight, deadly because of their magical attacks. But these girls get an ax, a chainsaw, double swords. There’s no way to avoid the solid brutality of these as weapons and the death and gore of their battles against the Grey.

Each chapter begins with a black and white illustration of the girl whose point of view that chapter is from. Unlike the Sailor Moon characters, these aren’t thin waifs. They’ve got some weight on them and some curves. They look like real women, chosen to do great things.

At one point I tried to see what the main thrust of each story was - love, power, etc. Each character has a colour, a different piece of transformation jewelry, and a primary weapon, surely they each have an attribute they embody as well. A few of them seem to on the surface, but when you consider each character - and each story - more carefully, these aren’t simplistic portrayals. These are multi-layered characters who are scared of their new responsibilities and powers in different ways. They also try to hide their frailties from their friends, not realizing that they all have similar doubts. They fight because they need to, because the world needs them to. It’s amazing how well you get to know each girl, despite how short the book is.

I did find the scene in Ria’s story where she moved from the Philippines to the US a bit confusing. I had to read it twice to realize that’s what happened. There was also a formatting issue in the first story. In two places necessary page breaks, showing where one scene ended and another began, were missing. Because each story jumps between places and times so often, the page breaks are needed to help the reader reorient themselves. It was very confusing going from the end of a fight scene to the girls grabbing a drink with no indication that the location or time had changed. It was even more confusing jumping from a post fight conversation to a strip club scene.

This is a brilliant book. If you like magical girl anime - and even if you just enjoy well told stories about women trying to find their places in the world while battling evil to save it - this book is for you. ...more

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Feb 24, 2017 Maria rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, memorable-favorite

AMAZING!

Currently road tripping so this will be short, but I am so happy I decided to read this set of stories. I grew up with Sailor Moon and magical girl stories. I liked that in this book, the magical girls were growing up and dealing with young adult stuff and all the emotions that are normal and kind of finding/affirming their own identities. SO MANY FEELINGS

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Aug 06, 2017 Sameena Jehanzeb rated it liked it

Shelves: diversity, fantasy, lgbt, feminism

Ach, Magical Girls. Seit ich das erste Mal Sailor Moon im TV erblickte – das ist jetzt auch schon 20 Jahre her – bin ich den Sailorkriegerinnen verfallen. Junge Frauen, Mädchen, die gegen das Böse kämpfen, die nicht nur der sexy Sidekick irgendwelcher männlichen Helden sind, die emotional dargestellt werden, aber nicht wie unfähige Jungfrauen in Nöten. Sailor Moon und ihre Freundinnen haben die Welt gerettet und endlos Hintern verkloppt. Die eindeutige Heldin meiner Jugend in einem verkorksten E Ach, Magical Girls. Seit ich das erste Mal Sailor Moon im TV erblickte – das ist jetzt auch schon 20 Jahre her – bin ich den Sailorkriegerinnen verfallen. Junge Frauen, Mädchen, die gegen das Böse kämpfen, die nicht nur der sexy Sidekick irgendwelcher männlichen Helden sind, die emotional dargestellt werden, aber nicht wie unfähige Jungfrauen in Nöten. Sailor Moon und ihre Freundinnen haben die Welt gerettet und endlos Hintern verkloppt. Die eindeutige Heldin meiner Jugend in einem verkorksten Elternhaus. Mädchen sind stark, das habe ich damals gelernt und es hat auch mir den Hintern gerettet. Als ich nun Hurricane Heels von Isabel Yap bei Read me at midnight entdeckt habe, hüpfte mein Sailorkriegerrinnenherz vor Freude auf und das Buch wanderte sofort in meinen Einkaufskorb.

Während Bloggerin Aentee das Buch nun so richtig klasse und beeindruckend fand, hält sich meine Euphorie leider etwas in Grenzen. Es ist nicht schlecht, aber die Erwartungen hat es für mich nicht erfüllen können. Erzählt wird die Handlung in fünf Episoden, jede Episode aus Sicht einer der Magical Girls. Dabei wird die Handlung mit jedem Abschnitt weiter voran getrieben und liefert gleichzeitig Einsicht in das Leben der einzelnen Kämpferinnen und Rückblicke in die Zeit, als sie gerade erst zu den Kriegerinnen der Göttin ausgewählt wurden. Inzwischen sind Ria, Aiko, Alex, Selena und Natalie mitte Zwanzig und seid zwölf Jahren im Dienst der Göttin. Sie haben unzählige Greys bekämpft und ebensoviele Wunden überlebt. Im Grunde finde ich die Idee spannend darüber nachzudenken, wie es den Magical Girls ergeht, die langsam zu Frauen heranwachsen und ein normales Leben aufbauen müssen, neben ihrem Dasein als unbesungene Heldinnen. Denn auch das Konzept des Magiesystems in Hurricane Heels klärt über so manche Frage auf: Warum tragen Magical Girls keine Rüstung? Warum scheint niemand von ihrer Existenz zu wissen, auch wenn ganze Stadteile in Schutt und Asche gelegt werden? Warum werden die unmaskierten Frauen nicht erkannt? Warum stellt niemand Fragen über ihre teils horrenden Verletzungen? Wie kann es sein, dass immer nur der Ort angegriffen wird, an dem sich zufällig die fünf Kriegerinnen befinden, während die Welt doch so groß ist?

Spannende Fragen und kluge Antworten finden sich in diesem Büchlein. Auch eine Menge Vielfalt hinsichtlich der unterschiedlichen Herkunft der Figuren und ihrer sexuellen Orientierung. Im Grunde ist alles da, was die Zutaten für ein tolles Buch ausmachen würden und trotzdem bin ich nur so halb glücklich. Denn Hurricane Heels ist im Grundton irgendwie depressiv. Die Heels wirken alle ausgebrannt, keine scheint so richtig stolz darauf zu sein was sie leistet und auch die Freundschaft zwischen den Heels ist bei mir nicht als solche angekommen. Die Texte vermitteln eher den Eindruck, dass sie gezwungen wurden zu Freundinnen zu werden und jetzt keine andere Wahl mehr haben, weil sie nur untereinander über ihre magische Aufgabe reden können. Nope, nope, nope. Das sind keine Magical Girls wie ich sie kennen und lieben gelernt habe.

Obwohl Hurricane Heels also selbst mehrfach die Referenz zu Sailor Moon zieht kann ich das Buch nur mit Vorbehalt empfehlen. Dieses Buch lässt zu viele Feinheiten vermissen, die Sailor Moon ausgemacht haben. Hurricane Heels ist eine interessante Geschichte mit einer erwachsenen Perspektive, aber sie ist nicht zu vergleichen mit der Liebe, dem Zusammenhalt und der weiblichen Tapferkeit, die in den Vorbildern für dieses Buch vorherrscht.

Fazit:
Man kann dieses Büchlein gut weglesen, darf aber nicht zu viel nostalgischen Zauber erwarten. Hurricane Heels liest sich mit einer eher desillusionierten Sichtweise. ...more

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Jun 05, 2018 Louise rated it liked it

Shelves: bisexual, protagonist-of-colour, queer, sapphic, short-stories, standalone, superheroes

Hurricane Heels is a collection of five interconnected short stories. Together, they tell the formation of a group of five ‘magical girls’ (Sailor Moon, Puella Magi Madoka Magica etc.) and their lives now that they’re in their mid-20s and one of the girls is getting married.

It was really fun and interesting to read about this kind of character years after we would usually be with them. We do see how they get their powers through flashbacks, but there's much more emphasis on the girls reflecting
Hurricane Heels is a collection of five interconnected short stories. Together, they tell the formation of a group of five ‘magical girls’ (Sailor Moon, Puella Magi Madoka Magica etc.) and their lives now that they’re in their mid-20s and one of the girls is getting married.

It was really fun and interesting to read about this kind of character years after we would usually be with them. We do see how they get their powers through flashbacks, but there's much more emphasis on the girls reflecting and their thoughts on the downsides of their powers. The girls wonder about whether they each have too much power for one person and the responsibility this forces upon them. They worry about having to watch their friends and/or innocent bystanders be injured. They feel lonely and they wonder if this is what will happen for the rest of their lives. It's very much a quarter-life crisis -- the kind of things people worry about in their mid-twenties like careers, college and familial obligations -- rather than teen anxieties around hormones and school -- but there's also some cool monsters and badass weapons, such as magical swords and chainsaws.

Each short story is told by a different girl, and although I enjoyed them -- and thought it was great that there was a good variety of representation -- I didn't think that the voices were particularly distinct, and that something that made it a little difficult to connect to the characters. There is a lot of heart to the story, and a really great dedication between the five girls, but occasionally the battle scenes felt a little jumbled, and the flashbacks could be a little confusing.

I would love, love to see Hurricane Heels adapted as a graphic novel. I definitely recommend it for anyone that's a fan of magical girl anime or manga, or anyone who’s a little older but still interested in this type of story, as they’ll probably see a lot of themselves represented in these characters.

Find more of my reviews at foxesfairytale.wordpress.com ...more

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Aug 15, 2017 Liz rated it liked it

(Kindle copy needs better copy editing and you can tell it's bad if *I* noticed.)

That out of the way, I'm really enjoying the upsurge of superhero narratives in book form that ask all these interesting questions about saving the world and what it means to be chosen and to fight. Yap's book is less interrogative than some of the others that have come out the Book Smugglers' initiative: she's not interested in the moral complexity of super powers or in the way that good and evil are handled, she c ...more

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Jul 25, 2017 Claire rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017

(I forget who recced this, so apologies for not tipping my hat yr way.) This has a really great range of characters (we get a pov section from each) and is an interesting take on the Magical Girls trope/how that interacts with growing up.

I think I was expecting a little more of the romance between two of the girls than we actually got in the book, but the balance of detail with all the characters and their relationships was very even throughout so that wasn't anything the book promised without ...more

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Jan 01, 2019 Annie Chen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sff

This was great! It looks at what would happen if five regular girls became magical girls but still had to deal with real life. It deconstructs the magical girl genre (nowhere near as dark as Madoka though lol), but it also reminds you why the genre is great--it's fundamentally about female friendship, and how it can overcome any obstacle, even the dimensional war between the forces of light and dark, good and evil.

It's told via five interconnected first person stories. My favorite was Aiko's.

If ...more

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Dec 15, 2016 Frida rated it liked it

Shelves: novella, read-2016

You only get to be a hero to the people who know, which isn’t very many, and on the hard days you start to wonder how much is too little, while your scars pile up in places others can’t see.

Not very interested in the world and all the monster fighting but ALWAYS very into girl gangs. Especially when they're 25 and it's more quarter-life crisis than teen angst.

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Dec 26, 2017 Nicole rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2017

Gritty magical girl stories are my fave. I loved everything about this but think the writing could’ve been a bit tighter, there were quite a few typos and the transitions into flashbacks were kinda sharp. But really great reflections on growing up as a woman, gaining new powers, and maintaining friendships.

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Jan 13, 2018 Angel rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-digital, 2016-releases, favorites, diverse-reads, filipinx

Sweet baby Jesus, I love this book. It’s a fantastic exploration for the magical girl and friendship and connection, and I had the best time reading it. I also really appreciated the Arashi reference, bless you Isabel.

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Mar 04, 2017 Miss Susan rated it really liked it

Shelves: lgbtqia, poc-author

i did not know that what my heart needed above all else was a story about magical girls as adults and all the little bits of life and growing up you go through in your twenties alongside the burden of fighting evil but indeed it did. ty isabel yap

4 stars

p.s. the ending is perfect

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Sep 18, 2018 C.L. Marr rated it it was amazing

Shelves: related-books

I loved this collection of stories. At first it feels like it's just a set of interesting stories about these women, but it all comes together in a great way!

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Mar 18, 2017 Sonia rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017-priority

3.5 stars.

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Dec 30, 2016 Cat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: sapphiction, type-free-online, representation-asian, authors-of-colour, representation-bi-pan-etc, representation-black, genre-fantasy, representation-lesbian, representation-lgbt, audience-new-adult

"...when you’re asked to save the world, can you say anything but yes? When you hear her song and see her tears, will you turn away? Or will you be like us—take up arms, and fight?"

Sapphicathon: Interracial

This can be read for free online here.
Alex, Ria, Aiko, Natalie and Selena met at summer camp when the goddess gave them magical girl powers to assist her in the fight against the evil Grey and his greystones. They're now in their early twenties, preparing for Selena's wedding, yet the evil for "...when you’re asked to save the world, can you say anything but yes? When you hear her song and see her tears, will you turn away? Or will you be like us—take up arms, and fight?"

Sapphicathon: Interracial

This can be read for free online here.
Alex, Ria, Aiko, Natalie and Selena met at summer camp when the goddess gave them magical girl powers to assist her in the fight against the evil Grey and his greystones. They're now in their early twenties, preparing for Selena's wedding, yet the evil forces are still out there.

The story is split into five chapters, one narrated by each girl:

Hurricane Heels: We Go Down Dancing - Alex gives a brief introduction of the history between the goddess and the Grey. Then it's time for Selena's bachelorette party and some really beautiful moments of female friendship, which is the number-one strength of this book. It's also the core of the magical girl genre that this is inspired by - relationships between women are so powerful they can save the world. Alex questions how Selena being married will affect their friendship and their mission. Of course, when you're a magical girl the enemy is never far away...

White Lie Sympathy: We're Under Control - Ria recalls the day they first became magical girls and how they felt at the time, not knowing where it would lead. She also visits her family and has a solo fight with a monster.

Fist With A Kiss: We Earned These Scars - Aiko's story begins with a flashback to when Selena told her friends about her engagement. The rest of the story covers Aiko visiting relatives in Japan and meeting another magical girl. This chapter was one of my favourites due to more female friendship and the fact that Aiko is into photography/filmmaking, so certain parts of her chapter are told in script format. Gotta love scriptwriting!

Only Fools Fall: We Earned This Strength - Natalie's story was my favourite and it was completely unexpected. I knew I would love Hurricane Heels for the magical girls and the lady friendships (and lady romance). I wasn't expecting the most relatable abusive father storyline and most relatable realising you're into girls storyline within one character. Natalie discusses how it wasn't one specific girl that made her realise, how she felt alienated when other girls talked about their male crushes, how she was afraid to fall in love because of the way her father treated her mother and how she worries that her magical powers will cause her to hurt the people she loves. Aka some of the most relatable things I've ever read. Also Natalie and Alex are super cute <3<3

Kaleidoscope Heart: We Walk On Always - Selena's wedding finally! I won't spoil the ending, but the story comes to an amazing conclusion :)

Representation: Alex is bisexual. Ria is Filipino American. Aiko is Japanese American. Natalie is a Black American lesbian.
Ownvoices/Author info: Isabel Yap is a Filipino American bisexual woman.

Content warnings: domestic violence/abuse, alcohol, genitals mention, q slur reclaimed, drugs mention, lesbophobia (called out), injuries, descriptions of body horror, weapons, violence, descriptions of blood, misogyny (called out), sexual harassment (called out). ...more

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Feb 06, 2017 Miss Bookiverse rated it liked it

Shelves: f-ebook, ge-paranormal, loc-new-york, x-not-enough, t-lgbtq, t-friendship, x-shouldve-ended-differently, x-why-did-nobody-edit-this, xx-diversity, read-in-my-20s

2.5 stars

Noch lange vor Pokemon und Digimon schlug mein zartes Teenagerherz für Sailor Moon. Freundschaft, Liebe, Gerechtigkeit und nicht zu vergessen ästhetische Verwandlungsszenen (die könnte ich mir stundenlang anschauen)! Soweit ich weiß, gab es dieses Genre bisher nur in Mangas und Animes. Das ganze mal komplett zu verschriftlichen, klingt ein bisschen nach Wunschfanfiction. Isabel Yap hat sich dieser Aufgabe gestellt und alles mit einer Portion Diversity gekrönt (POCs, Homosexualität). Auß 2.5 stars

Noch lange vor Pokemon und Digimon schlug mein zartes Teenagerherz für Sailor Moon. Freundschaft, Liebe, Gerechtigkeit und nicht zu vergessen ästhetische Verwandlungsszenen (die könnte ich mir stundenlang anschauen)! Soweit ich weiß, gab es dieses Genre bisher nur in Mangas und Animes. Das ganze mal komplett zu verschriftlichen, klingt ein bisschen nach Wunschfanfiction. Isabel Yap hat sich dieser Aufgabe gestellt und alles mit einer Portion Diversity gekrönt (POCs, Homosexualität). Außerdem wurden die Herzchenzepter gegen brutalere Waffen wie Äxte und Kettensägen eingetauscht. Die Geschichte besteht aus 5 Parts, die sich jeweils auf eine der 5 Freundinnen konzentrieren und zusammen die Haupthandlung vorantreiben. Die Geschichte schafft es gleichzeitig seinem Vorbild Sailor Moon Respekt zu zollen und auf Aspekte einzugehen, die SM zu seiner Zeit schmerzlich vernachlässig hat, allen voran der offene Umgang mit Homosexualität, aber auch die Frage nach anderen Kriegerinnen auf der Welt und die ständige psychische Belastung durch eine immerwährende Bedrohung, kein absehbares Ende und fehlende Antworten.

Der Nostalgie-Spaßfaktor geht also voll auf. Was dabei auf der Strecke bleibt, ist der Schreibstil. Er liest sich ganz gut weg, aber er ist nicht besonders anspruchsvoll, kommt manchmal geradezu plump daher. Auch die Art des Erzählens hätte eleganter sein können. Natürlich war der Platz beschränkt, aber man muss die erste Geschichte nicht mit einer Zusammenfassung des “Magicial Girls vs. Dämonen” Konflikts beginnen. In manchen Geschichten wird zwischen Erinnerung und Gegenwart hin und her gesprungen, was durch doppelte Absätze gekennzeichnet ist. Ging auf meinem Kobo leider verloren und hat mich des öfteren verwirrt. Von diversen Tippfehlern will ich gar nicht erst anfangen.

Komisch fand ich außerdem die explizite Erwähnung von Sailor Moon. Das hat mich in Fangirl schon irritiert, wo mit Simon Snow eindeutig auf Harry Potter angespielt wird, der gleichzeitig im Fangirl Universum neben Simon Snow existiert. Diese Nebeneinanderstellung von zwei Geschichten, von denen eine die andere persifliert, kommt mir immer unstimmig vor. ...more

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Feb 19, 2017 Mitya rated it it was ok

Shelves: format-print, gen-urban-fantasy

I'm sorry, a chainsaw? what sort of weapon is that? Nobody actually goes to war with a chainsaw unless they have no choice.

But my biggest problem with this book is that all the voices sounded exactly the same. Each story could have been the same narrator, there was absolutely nothing that separated them from each other. And it was all boring, there was nothing innovative or creative here at all.

Zodiac Starforce and Agents of the Realm are much better variants on this.

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Dec 07, 2016 Amanda rated it really liked it

So Book Smugglers hooked me up with an ARC of Hurricane Heels by Isabel Yap, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. If you’re into a dark re-imagining of Sailor Moon with great representation of POC and LGBTQ folks, this is the book for you. Prepare yourself for a lot of wedding talk, bachelorette parties, and monster guts.

The concept behind this book is pretty straightforward at first blush. It is a “magical girl” novel, following tropes of the anime genre that gave rise to such classics as Sai
So Book Smugglers hooked me up with an ARC of Hurricane Heels by Isabel Yap, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. If you’re into a dark re-imagining of Sailor Moon with great representation of POC and LGBTQ folks, this is the book for you. Prepare yourself for a lot of wedding talk, bachelorette parties, and monster guts.

The concept behind this book is pretty straightforward at first blush. It is a “magical girl” novel, following tropes of the anime genre that gave rise to such classics as Sailor Moon and Madoka Magica. That said, this is not a fluffy book. There are some serious moral questions raised about the prospect of being a child, as these girls generally are, gifted with powers and expected to fight unnameable evils, risking their lives for the good of humankind and some nebulous promise of victory. There’s also some good delving into PTSD and the psychological pressure associated with a life of endless battles.

The book follows five girls who have all been selected to fight evils called Greystones. Like an RPG, each Greystone releases a glass heart, which contains energy that allows their divine benefactor, the goddess (otherwise unnamed) to gain power. The story takes place primarily in the weeks leading up to the wedding of one of the five, Selena. Simultaneous flashbacks show the group’s history together, building their characters and making you care about them. Yap manages the timelines adeptly in each chapter, building a whole out of fragmented moments. The structure of this book actually reminded me of Sparrow Hill Road by Seanan McGuire, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes Seanan McGuire’s work.

In addition, the book references its anime inspiration with some great drawings of the viewpoint characters at the beginning of each chapter. My only wish was for a drawing of all of the girls together at the beginning, since it would have helped me to keep them apart in my head better. I found the earliest chapter hard to follow as I assigned names to personalities and histories, but I don’t know if that was due to me reading it on my phone (quite possible). The cover does show all of them together, so that helps, but I didn't get to see the cover until after I read the book!

...more

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Feb 11, 2017 Jeremy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

A fun read with a lot of heart. I've enjoyed Isabel Yap's short fiction and this is no exception. I kind of hope she may revisit this universe some day. Give it a shot if your interested.

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Dec 20, 2016 Debbie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016, ebook, short-stories, anthology-or-collection, urban-fantasy

This was fantastic. Yap explores what happens when a magical anime girl grows up in this series of five linked short stories. The women who had gained magical powers and the duty to fight the Grey for the Goddess when they were 13 are now 25. One is on the verge of getting married. They're holding down jobs, trying to have relationships, and are pretty tired of fighting.

Yap explores duty, loyalty, friendship, and family in these stories. And she does so masterfully, in a world where magical girl ...more

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Dec 10, 2016 mayday rated it it was amazing

Shelves: philippine-lit, new-adult

"The problem with slaying the forces of evil as a high schooler? You didn’t get to put saving the world in your extracurricular activities; you didn’t get to include it in your college essays. You couldn’t tell your mom about narrowly avoiding a snapped neck, and you had to deal with her asking why your jeans were always crusted with dirt. You only get to be a hero to the people who know, which isn’t very many, and on the hard days you start to wonder how much is too little, while your scars pil ...more

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Dec 11, 2016 Jennie rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2016

It was okay. I feel like the book would have been better had it not been a short story and not focused around the wedding of one of the girls. It could have been amazing to even just read a straight up short story about how magical girls feel about being magical girls 10 years after they first gained their power. It was really just okay.

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Dec 18, 2016 Jasmine added it

Shelves: book-smugglers-publishing, short-fiction

I enjoyed the set-up more than the ending. I think I'm just not that into magical girl mythos?

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Jan 03, 2017 Eafiu rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I can't stop crying!!!!!!!!

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About Isabel Yap

Isabel Yap

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Isabel Yap writes fiction and poetry, works in the tech industry, and drinks lots of tea. She grew up in the Philippines, and spent the last few years in the California Bay Area.

In 2013 she received her degree in Marketing from Santa Clara University, and also attended the Clarion Writers Workshop. Other interests include manga, ugly dogs, sweet food, videogames, art, and travel.