A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology edited by Dhonielle Clayton - September 5th 2021

[Dannii]

From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes a young adult fantasy short story collection featuring some of the best own-voices children’s authors, including New York Times bestselling authors Libba Bray (The Diviners), Victoria Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic), Natalie C. Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).

In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.

AUTHORS INCLUDE: Samira Ahmed, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, Victoria Schwab, Tara Sim, Nic Stone, and a to-be-announced debut author/short-story contest winner

[Dannii]

I'm so excited for this! It has been a while since I last read a short story anthology. I've heard of all of these authors before but have only previously read from three of them - Tessa Gratton, Tara Sim, and Victoria Schwab.

I'm just starting with the first story now :)

[Dannii]

A Universe of Wishes - rating 3.5/5 stars - (view spoiler)[This was as sweet as it was sad. Thorn and Sage were both soft boys and I loved that they got together and then returned to each other as the story closed. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

The Silk Blade - rating 3.5/5 stars - (view spoiler)[I was so ready to be swept off my feet by a sweet sapphic love story and then so ready to read of a brutal and bloody challenge to become consort but the story ended with only delivering the latter. I'm not a fan of open-ended stories and so loved all of this one bar its lack of a conclusion. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

The Scarlett Woman - rating 3/5 stars - (view spoiler)[This was a Gemma Doyle story and was worried I wouldn't understand it as I haven't read the series yet. It was, however, the story I most enjoyed. I loved reading of these unique and feisty women and the historical mystery. There was absolutely no conclusion though so I'm not sure what I was meant to take away from the story as nothing was resolved. (hide spoiler)]

[Dannii]

Cristal y Ceniza - rating 3.5/5 stars - (view spoiler)[I enjoyed this Latin American tale and had fun looking up all the Spanish words I discovered in it. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

A Universe of Wishes seems fairly standard wish fulfilment. Magic as a metaphor for love? All seemed rather quick.

[Karen]

Dannii wrote: "A Universe of Wishes - rating 3.5/5 stars - [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ I can appreciate it's meant to have us rooting for them, but it all felt so fast. Sage wasted his wishes initially, but the final one was a nice touch. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

The Silk Blade was a nicely presented dilemma. Shame she didn’t feel she had any alternative though to the course of action prescribed at the start.

[Karen]

Dannii wrote: "The Silk Blade - rating 3.5/5 stars - [spoilers removed]"

Agreed, it set up for a much more interesting concept than we got. It felt as though our main character was restricted by convention and expectation - she recognised her feelings but didn't act on them. Wonder why.

[Karen]

Dannii wrote: "Cristal y Ceniza - rating 3.5/5 stars - [spoilers removed]"

Was this a retelling of Cinderella? (view spoiler)[ Did like the rather different ending though. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Third quarter. An odd assortment of stories.
(view spoiler)[ The concept of weighing a heart and analysing it to check suitability for love is odd. The visiting of past haunts to erase someone from your memory if they've hurt you isn't anything new. The idea that your most heartfelt wish might be to experience what everyone else does seems rather at odds with the idea of celebrating diversity. (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

Finished. Didn't really appeal in the way I hoped it would. Review on home page.

[Dannii]

Sorry, I put this book down for a while but will continue on with the stories and catch up with your thoughts today :)