My dear bookish friends!
Today’s second review on the blog is for Foreshadow – Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA, edited by Nova Ren Suma and Emily X.R. Pan – an anthology of 13 short stories which are accompanied by essays that give a deeper insight into the world of Young Adult literature – and short stories to be precise. What makes it possible for a short story – a short story – to project emotions as well enough as a long novel? How can you write the characters in short stories in such a way that the reader likes them and can identify with them, even in a much shorter time? These and many more questions are tackled in the essays here, and when you’re a reader OR writer of Young Adult stories – short and long – this anthology is for you!
Big thanks to Algonquin Books (especially Amanda) for my ecopy of this book – and now let’s get straight into the synopsis and then my review!
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 Review
“Stories offer the best kind of spell in the world.”
This collection of short stories is more than just the regular short story anthology. Not only do you get 13 amazing YA short stories – from romance, to heartache, to fantasy, to horror and more – each story comes with an accompanying essay that gives you a lot more insight into the story writing and what makes each story special. How to build characters, how to build suspense (and keep it!), how to build a story arc are only a few of these tips.
“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.”
In this wonderfully insightful anthology we get to hear the voices of new writers, but also long-time famous professionals! They tell us why YA is as impactful, as popular and as important a genre as it is, and share their knowledge about this most special form of storytelling with us.
“Tell the blank page a story, and it will tell you who you are.”
This book is the perfect companion to first-time-writers of YA, but I also recommend it to all the readers of the genre. It explains to you why the stories are built the way they are, and why you react to them the way you do. You will have many ooh! and aah! moments reading this, and you will close the book feeling enriched and smarter than before, and on top of that you will have read 13 diverse stories by voices you will want to hear more from, authors you will hope are working on their next, maybe novel-size, stories already.
“After all, what’s the point of storytelling magic if it isn’t shared?”
This is a read you don’t want to miss, trust me on that. Definitely different from your usual end-of-your-day down-time read, but oh so worth it!
5 stars from me!
Thank you all so much for reading!
xoxo
