Author: Elise Bryant, Elizabeth Eulberg, Leah Johnson, Anna-Marie McLemore, Marissa Meyer, Sandhya Menon, Julie Murphy, Caleb Roehrig, Sarah Winifred Searle, and Abigail Hing Wen
Publication Date: 4 January 2022
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Page Count: 320
Reading Method: E-book
Dates Read: Jan 11 – 12
Category: ARC [Thank you to the publisher!]
Review
A lovely collection of short stories that takes worn out tropes and gives them a twist! With an impressive list of authors behind the collection, it’s not hard to find something to love for everyone.
I’ve never been a huge fan of short stories. It always feels as though we ~just~ scratch the surface before it’s time to move on to the next tale. But that’s kind of the point, right? To give you a little taste and then move on. I’m not even sure what the best way to review a collection of short stories is, so I think I’m just going to give a mini review of each story.
BYE BYE, PIPER BERRY – Julie Murphy
(The Fake Relationship)
Fake dating is one of my favorite tropes and Murphy starts us off strong. Best friends Piper and Gabe fake a relationship to get back at Piper’s cheating ex-boyfriend, who also happens to be Gabe’s best friend. I liked this little story and thought the way it ended was cute.
ANYONE ELSE BUT YOU – Leah Johnson
(Stranded Together)
This was probably one of my favorites. Enemies Perry and Jada get trapped together in a store after hours and have to survive the night together. Super fun f/f relationship that ends with a romantic gesture at a dance. Loved the fire between these two!
THE IDIOM ALGORITHM – Abigail Hing Wen
(Class Warfare)
I don’t understand this story at all. The idioms were fun, but the story made very little sense. Tan and Rebecca have been dating for a while and then all of the sudden, her parents whisk her away without a trace. Tan keeps looking for her by putting together an algorithm and when he finds her, it’s not what he expects. It just felt overly dramatic and unrealistic.
AULD ACQUAINTANCE – Caleb Roehrig
(The Best Friend Love Epiphany)
Ope, loved this one too. Garrett and Ollie are besties who are planning to ring in the new year at a lock-in. If they can’t find someone to kiss, they plan to kiss each other. But when Ollie overhears Garrett’s crush talking about kissing him at midnight, Ollie takes matters into his own hands. Ollie and Garrett were precious and I want a whole book about them. Please and thank you. M/m relationship.
SHOOTING STARS – Marissa Meyer
(One Bed)
I am a huge sucker for the one bed trope. On a class trip, Misty and Roman keep finding themselves in one bed situations and it was everything one could hope for. I really liked this one!
KEAGAN’S HEAVEN ON EARTH – Sarah Winifred Searie
(The Secret Admirer)
I’m so glad I had a physical copy because this one was impossible to read on my kindle. This is written as a graphic novel (or, short story). The illustrations were adorable and I liked the overall story, but the writing was a little clunky. Maybe that’s just because of the style?
ZORA IN THE SPOTLIGHT – Elise Bryant
(The Grand Romantic Gesture)
Friendship trio, Jorge, Astrid, and Zora, are on a mission to win Astrid’s ex-girlfriend back with a grand gesture. But when they get to the dance, another individual has grand gestures on the brain, and Zora finds herself the recipient. The secondhand embarrassment in this story is sooo real. And Zora is way too forgiving. But it had a cute ending!
IN A BLINK OF THE EYE – Elizabeth Eulberg
(Trapped in a Confined Space)
I really liked this story! Morgan has been in love with England since she decided as a child she was going to be a princess. On a class trip, she gets stuck in the Ferris Wheel with her best friend’s boyfriend, and nemesis, Tyler. Being stuck together forces them to confront their issues and attempt to work things out.
LIBERTY – Anna-Marie McLemore
(The Makeover)
Ximena has finally made it on the cheerleading squad as a flier. Unfortunately, the squad isn’t overly welcoming and her base teammates are just the worst. Enter Camila. Ximena used to watch Camila’s YouTube makeup tutorials, and now she’s her new base. The two work together to bring out the best in each other and I really enjoyed their relationship.
THE SURPRISE MATCH – Sandhya Menon
(The Matchmaker)
Rosie is her school’s unofficial matchmaker. She’s developed a program that uses the student’s social media accounts to find their perfect match. Her best friend, Easton, asks her to check his match and she’s shocked to learn the system picked her. Now she’s faced with a dilemma because she thinks he had his heart set on someone else. The relationship between Easton and Rosie is so sweet!
Overall, this was a really cute collection of stories. I imagine that no matter who you are, you will have favorites, and others that don’t click as well. None of the tropes are approached in the tradition way, and it was fun to see what kind of twist they would take.
About the Book
From stories of first love, unrequited love, love that surprises, love that’s been there all along, 10 of the brightest and award-winning authors writing YA have taken on some of your favorite romantic tropes, embracing them and turning them on their heads. Readers will fall for this collection of stories that celebrate love at its most humorous, inclusive, heart-expanding, and serendipitous.
