Foreshadow: Stories to Celebrate The Magic of Reading & Writing YA

Hey book lovers! I’m here with a book review for Foreshadow: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading & Writing YA, a serial YA anthology edited by Emily X.R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma. It’s not just a collection of fantastic short stories, this also provides practical writing advice and even prompts. They were originally released on an online platform called Foreshadow. I received a digital arc from Netgalley.

About The Book 📚

Publication Date: Oct 20, 2020

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Suggested Reader Age: Young Adult

Genre: Short Stories, Fantasy, Romance, LGBT, Writing

“Stories offer the best kind of spell in the world. There’s nothing like cracking open a book and being magicked away to a different time and place, giving your heart over to characters who will live forever in your mind.” – Emily X. R. Pan

About The Author

Learn more about the editors and contributors here: https://foreshadowya.com/masthead

My Review

› Flight by Tanya S. Aydelott ★★★
A selkie tale in New York City.
‘Bodies are cages already,’ Mama said, something dark and pained in her eyes. ‘There’s no need to see cages inside cages.’

›Risk by Rachel Hylton ★★★★
“Risk is a jaw-dropping, powerful story of transformation. I raced through it on the first read, stunned by Rachel Hylton’s imagination.” – Laurie Halse Anderson, author of Shout
I loved the author’s note: “…I wanted the feeling of being in the wonderful, fearful, intimate center of a girl group, looking out at the one who isn’t afraid. We will always need that person more than she needs us, and isn’t that frightening?”

›Sweetmeats by Linda Cheng ★★★★★
“Sweetmeats is Grimm’s Hansel and Gretel’s flavored with Guillermo del Toro and a dash of Miyazaki, all wrapped up in a modern-day setting and served with a distinct and compelling voice.” – Heidi Heilig, author of For a Muse of Fire

›Glow by Joanna Truman ★★★★★
Author’s Note: “I knew I wanted to write a story about two girls who could unmake the world, but only if they wanted to. Girls are magic, after all. They are powerful, electric, can create and destroy, can love and hurt and save each other all in the same breath.”

›Escape by Tanvi Berwah ★★★★
“Escape is a mesmerizing account of love, loss, and revenge, entwined with a mythic family history. It’s all spikes and rising oddity, a sharp-toothed thing that nods to Helen Oyeyemi and Kelly Link, but does its own thing.” – Melissa Albert, author of The Hazel Wood

›Pan Dulce by Flor Salcedo ★★★★★
“Pan Dulce is a glimpse into the split-screen reality that is adolescent life in America. The back and forth across the border from El Paso, Texas, to Juárez, Mexico, is the same duality knocking around in young Rosa’s mind – her conscience serving as border patrol – as she navigates her friendships, boys, and all the recklessness that comes along with being a teenager, coupled with the harsh reality of what’s at stake.” – Jason Reynolds, author of Look Both Ways

›Solace by Nora Elghazzawi ★★★
“It’s a lovely story of new love, recovery, and a magical garden.” – Nicola Yoon, author of The Sun is Also a Star

“Because this water might’ve stolen my brother, might’ve drowned what was dearest in my heart, but I’ve taken so much more from myself. Water isn’t cruel for cruelness’s sake.”

›Princess by Maya Prasad ★★★
Leela, an artist, has a tumour. She’s travelling to the same planet her mother ran from when she was pregnant with Leela seventeen years ago. This planet was built by AI and an algorithm called Deva controls the Grid, a network that connects all of the citizens. Deva and the Grid control every decision; their jobs, relationships, food, and hobbies. In order to save her life, Leela must be connected to the Grid, which her mother doesn’t want to happen. This was a 3 star for me, but the world-building achieved in such a short period of time is inspiring.

›Fools by Gina Chen ★★★★★
Endearing, and emotional, Fools has incredible imagery.
“We all leave when a story calls to us.”

The story calling Fanny features a half-demon in search of a bride.

›Monsters by Adriana Marachlian ★★
This is about a girl who started seeing monsters when she moved to the U.S. It was interesting, but I just didn’t really enjoy it all that much.

›Break by Sophie Meridien ★★★★★
Break is a romantic story about the children of immigrants, Kastov (mother is from Korea) and Kikade (rhymes with cicada). I love how their relationship revolves around spin-the-bottle.

I think this is my favourite story in the collection.

›Resilient by Mayra Cuevas ★★★★
“There’s just a limit to how long you can live in the dark when it means living in despair.”
A Puerto Rican teen gets a job in South Dakota cutting up turkeys for twelve months. It’s cold, gross, and physically exhausting, but at least they get to live in a motel with hydro. This story was heartbreaking, yet it is about hope and showed the resilience of Puerto Ricans after the devastation of the hurricane.

›Belly by Desiree S. Evans ★★★★
When she was five-years-old, Jaima’s family was killed by a great flood, and no one knows how she managed to survive. Now she’s seventeen, still afraid of the water. She has to learn how to face her fears and stand up for herself.

Average ★★★★

My Rating ★★

› Final Thoughts
• With practical writing tips, Foreshadow is an outstanding collection of YA stories that are emotional, romantic, magical, and inspiring. Highly recommend!