Review: 1968

1968: Today's Authors Explore a Year of Rebellion, Revolution, and Change

edited by Marc Aronson & Susan Campbell Bartoletti

Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: September 11, 2018

A historical nonfiction anthology might not be for everyone, but if that sounds just as intriguing to you as it did to me, you’re sure to love 1968: TODAY'S AUTHORS EXPLORE A YEAR OF REBELLION, REVOLUTION, AND CHANGE. Edited by Marc Aronson and Susan Campbell Bartletti, 1968 explores its titular year through the lenses of just about everyone. A man reflecting on his youth in Southern California. A Southern woman recalling how she broke free of her family’s racism. A young Chinese American researching the effects of Mao’s regime, and the true nature of the Red Guard. 

If you’re interested in history beyond the facts and dates and memorizable tidbits, reading an anthology like 1968 is a real treat. It gives you insight into more than just the landmark events of the year; rather, it showcases what it was really like to live through it. Experiences varied vastly— depending on age, location, race— but 1968 does its best to highlight this, providing multiple perspectives.

Each story is riveting in itself, and I hope you’ll enjoy catching a glimpse into what life was like in 1968. CW for violence.

Review: Life Inside My Mind

Life Inside My Mind
Edited by Jessica Burkhart

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: April 10, 2018

LIFE INISDE MY MIND is an essay anthology focused on YA authors’ personal experiences with mental health. Each “chapter” is a story written by a different author, and each has a vastly different focus: the topics ranged from anxiety to depression to OCD to Alzheimer's. While some of the stories were deeply personal, some were more of a reflection on societal issues and the stigma around mental health. This book was different from any I had ever read. At first, it was hard for me to make the constant switch in tone as the authors shifted, but eventually, I was able to adapt to the format, and I’m so glad I did! This book offers some incredible insights, and I really appreciated the fact that so many of the authors emphasized that there is no one “right way” to manage mental illness. 

My personal favorite essay was written in a poetry format called “This Is How You Unravel” by E.K. Anderson, which told the story of a girl living with bipolar disorder. I loved this chapter in particular because of its ability to genuinely portray the negative aspects of mental illness while offering a hopeful message. There were many essays that had a profound impact on me, though, not just this one! Even though I was skeptical about this collection at first, I would highly recommend this collection to anyone, regardless of whether they have personally experienced any of these conditions. Although I personally haven’t, I was still able to relate to all of the authors because of the honest, candid emotions that they shared with readers. Because of frequent references to suicide, addiction, abuse and violence, this book is probably best suited to older teens.

Review: Rookie on Love

Rookie on Love
edited by Tavi Gevinson

Publisher: Razorbill
Publication Date: January 2, 2018

Tavi Gevinson founded Rookie, an online magazine, in 2011. ROOKIE ON LOVE is an anthology featuring essays, comics, and poetry ­­– each with a focus on the subject of love. The pieces in both the magazine and anthology are all either written by teenagers, or adults who are writing to teenagers. Coupled with this unique detail, ROOKIE ON LOVE presents a diverse look at the different ways of defining and thinking about love. With such a wide range of styles and angles included in the anthology, readers will be able to relate and connect to at least one of the 46 pieces (and likely many more than that). They say not to judge a book by its cover, but as a fan of Rookie magazine and the Rookie yearbooks, I expected a lot from the cover art of ROOKIE ON LOVE; I was not disappointed. While I recommend reading the entire anthology, some of my favorite essays included “On Love and Associated Leavings,” “Karma,” “Memory is an Angel Who Can Fly No More,” and “The Most Exciting Moment of Alma’s Life.”

Review: Meet Cute

Meet Cute
edited by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
Publication Date: January 2, 2018

MEET CUTE, a romantic anthology with contributions from top YA authors, tells the stories of 14 different couples, starting and ending at their beginnings. From the classic to the creative, each author takes his or her own spin on the infamous "meet-cute", or the way in which two people meet. A wide range of settings and characters are represented, including sci-fi worlds, typical high school environments, unlikely pairings, and several LGBTQIA+ relationships. The outcomes faced by the couples differ from romantic to sorrowful, as many of the authors are aware of the cheesiness and impossibility of actual meet cutes, and choose not to have a happy ending, which is surprisingly refreshing and grounding. New twists on old tropes make these stories exciting and unique, and there are definitely a few shocks in store.

I really enjoyed this short story collection, and would highly recommend it to any YA reader. There wasn't one story that I didn't like, and they were diverse enough to stay interesting. The only problem I had was with how short some of them were and how abrupt the endings could be, but that was the premise of the collection (in a way) so I was already expecting that to be the case. I'm a big anthology fan in general, and this one was no exception. Even the stories that didn't have the most fairytale type endings were still uplifting, making this a perfect light--yet still meaningful--read.

Review: Three Sides of a Heart

Three Sides of a Heart: Stories About Love Triangles
edited by Natalie Parker

Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication Date: December 19, 2017

THREE SIDES OF A HEART, a short story anthology, has a variety of stories with one thing in common- they all incorporate the popular YA trope of the love triangle. It’s difficult to pin this book down because of the very divergent topics, genres and characters used in each story. Sci-fi, historical fiction, fantasy, magical realism; murderers, magicians, knights, zombie-fighting slaves, astronauts-- you name it, this book’s got it. Because of the diversity of types of stories, some I found interesting and others less so. 

One characteristic shared by each story is how unlike each love triangle is from the others. Many of the authors took great creative liberty, keeping the stories from becoming monotonous and producing some really inventive and delightful stories. One of them being Vega by Brenna Yovanoff which depicts the main character in love with a boy and a city. The characters in this short story are vibrant and original, each action they take prompts a reaction from the reader. The writing is beautiful and descriptive, exploring conflicted emotions and heartbreaking decisions with just 26 pages. Another story that I really enjoyed was Work in Progress by E. K. Johnston. It focuses on three people within three different realities, one on a spaceship, one during summer at a lake house, and one in medieval times. The reason this story struck me is that there is no “love” involved. The three characters simply are together, whether hiding in a space ship vent, sleeping in a bunk bed, or battling a dragon. The things they feel for each other are beyond physical affections or even saying the words “I love you”. Johnston does an amazing job of creating these feeling without flat out stating them- something not many authors attempt to do. Overall this short story anthology was fun and original, if you’d like to explore different genres and writing styles, this would be a great book to read.