Title: Foreshadow.
Edited by: Emily XR Pan and Nova Ren Suma.
Format: E-ARC (Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley)
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers.
Page count: 350.
Release day: October 20th 2020.
Genre: YA, anthology.
Rating: 3 stars.
What is it about? (Summary from GoodReads)
Thirteen Short Stories from Bold New YA Voices & Writing Advice from YA Icons
Created by New York Times bestselling authors Emily X. R. Pan and Nova Ren Suma, Foreshadow is so much more than a short story collection. A trove of unforgettable fiction makes up the beating heart of this book, and the accompanying essays offer an ode to young adult literature, as well as practical advice to writers.
Featured in print for the first time, the thirteen stories anthologized here were originally released via the buzzed-about online platform Foreshadow. Ranging from contemporary romance to mind-bending fantasy, the Foreshadow stories showcase underrepresented voices and highlight the beauty and power of YA fiction. Each piece is selected and introduced by a YA luminary, among them Gayle Forman, Laurie Halse Anderson, Jason Reynolds, and Sabaa Tahir.
What makes these memorable stories tick? What sparked them? How do authors build a world or refine a voice or weave in that deliciously creepy atmosphere to bring their writing to the next level? Addressing these questions and many more are essays and discussions on craft and process by Nova Ren Suma and Emily X. R. Pan.
This unique compilation reveals and celebrates the magic of reading and writing for young adults.
My thoughts:
I’m reminded again why I’m not a fan of anthologies.. The stories are just too short for my liking.. (This won’t influence my review, because that is on me, not the book!)
I have never reviewed an anthology before, so I’m not really sure how to do this. Because there are 13 stories in this book, but they are too short to review individually, and they are not related to each other, so it is not really possible to do an overall review I guess?!
There are of course some stories that I enjoyed more then others! Some that I really liked were:
- Princess by Maya Prasad
- Fools by Gina Chen
- Monsters by Adriana Marachlian (I think this one was my favourite!)
What I think was really special about this anthology is that this one is really focussed on aspiring authors. So after each story either Emily XR Pan or Nova Ren Suma discussed an aspect of the story. Things like Character connection, Worldbuilding and Building the romance. After some stories there were also story prompts like Fleshing out the world and Opening the door. Which would help you practice your writing I guess.
I think this is a really interesting anthology for people who want to write, I think they can learn something from the discussions after each story!
Since I do not want to write, I don’t think I’m the right audience for this book. But as I said I did really enjoy the majority of the stories, and I do think it would be a great read for aspiring writers!