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A review by sara_m_martins
In Our Words: Queer Stories from Black, Indigenous, and People of Color Writers by Victoria Villasenor, Anne Shade
medium-paced
3.0
Rating based on the average of all stories together.
In Our Words is a collection of short stories that have central queer characters of colour. Most had fantastical elements, but mostly very low-/soft-fantasy, which i prefer.
There were some amazing stories, but the best was Sweet Potato, with a strong runner-up in Granddaughter of the Dragon! I also really enjoyed Depth of Love and Her Mother’s Love, both of which touch on grief, which is something i like to read about.
While most had good concepts, in many the issue i had mainly was the writing style, which affected how i felt about the characters, or the writing pace of the story - a few stories would have benefited from a bit more breathing space. Stories usually deal with the family and/or a romantic partner.
Overall, I think it's worth a read, even if just for a couple of these, because when they are good, they are really good!
Stories I enjoyed: (star rating out of 5; small comment)
In Our Words is a collection of short stories that have central queer characters of colour. Most had fantastical elements, but mostly very low-/soft-fantasy, which i prefer.
There were some amazing stories, but the best was Sweet Potato, with a strong runner-up in Granddaughter of the Dragon! I also really enjoyed Depth of Love and Her Mother’s Love, both of which touch on grief, which is something i like to read about.
While most had good concepts, in many the issue i had mainly was the writing style, which affected how i felt about the characters, or the writing pace of the story - a few stories would have benefited from a bit more breathing space. Stories usually deal with the family and/or a romantic partner.
Overall, I think it's worth a read, even if just for a couple of these, because when they are good, they are really good!
Stories I enjoyed: (star rating out of 5; small comment)
- Sweet Potato - 5. Brilliant, great opener; fierce mother defending their child
- Last Call for Lovers - 4; just a little bit fantastical (creeps up on you/ the story)
- Depth of Love - 4; really good tale about grief, and how to heal after tragic loss
- A Revolution of Masks - 2,5; the plot idea was interesting and could be great if a bit longer - i was just starting to get onboard when it ended
- Her Mother’s Love - 4; another great tale on the subject of grief, now from the mother losing daughter perspective - heart-wrenching.
- Butch Jeans - 4; a heart-touching tale from a man in NYC during the AIDS epidemic age and his relationship with his mother.
- Granddaughter of the Dragon - 5; recommend for fans of Nghi Vo’s Singing Hills Cycle
- Barbara in the Frame - 3,5; interesting supernatural elements that involved food, recommend for lovers of With the Fire on High