Reclaim the Stars 17 Tales Across Realms & Space
Reviews
Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space edited by Zoraida Córdova is a collection of fantasy and science fiction short stories. The stories feature a diverse range of characters and authors. This is a book to be savored. I read one story each night before bed. It gave me time to really dive into the world and characters. http://pussreboots.com/blog/2022/comm...
A clever collection. As is typical with anthologies, I liked some stories better than others. The sci-fi ones, Rogue Enchantments, and the final story were my favorites.
Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. To be honest, it's very hard for me to review this book, because I was initially extremely excited for it. Latin American SFF Stories? Sign me up! Then, I went on Goodreads and found out that several authors on this anthology had been anti-Indigenous, and I didn't really know how to rate it after that? Because I don't want this to reflect badly on the other amazing stories that are in this anthology (and trust me, there are amazing stories in this anthology), but I also am not sure I am comfortable supporting those authors? So as far as I know, the ones who have been accused of being anti-Indigenous are Faring, Bowles, and Ibañez. That being said, some of the stories here were extremely charming and enchanting, and dealt with the intersectional identities of being Latin American in beautiful ways. As I'm not Latin American, I cannot speak to how accurate the representation was, but I did love the stories! Some that stood out to me were - Reign of Diamonds, This Is Our Manifesto, and River People. I thought they were beautifully written and very powerful! So, yeah. This is a difficult one to put a rating to, so I'll leave it with that.
wanted to like this so much but i just CANNOT get into collections :(( loved some of the stories more than anything but I’m a novel girl at heart and this just wasn’t my fave, plus some of these stories were awful. It was the only slump I’d been in this year so far because I didn’t want to read it LOL
This is the book I’ll give to the next generation of teens to read. I was hooked from the first story. It brought tears to my eyes. AN analogy of 17 tales so well written, that they will stay in your heart forever. Thank you Wednesday Books for sending me this gift. I’ll cherish it forever.
OH my goodness. This collection of short stories is utterly breathtaking. Goodreads synopsis: Reclaim the Stars is a collection of bestselling and acclaimed YA authors that take the Latin American diaspora to places fantastical and out of this world. From princesses warring in space, to the all too-near devastation of climate change, to haunting ghost stories in Argentina, and mermaids off the coast of the Caribbean. This is science fiction and fantasy that breaks borders and realms, and proves that stories are truly universal. Authors include Daniel José Older, Yamile Saied Méndez, Anna-Marie McLemore, Mark Oshiro, Romina Garber, David Bowles, Lilliam Rivera, Claribel Ortega, Isabel Ibañez, Sara Faring, Maya Motayne, Nina Moreno, Vita Ayala, J.C. Cervantes, Circe Moskowitz, Linda Nieves Pérez, and Zoraida Córdova. As I said, I am astounded by how incredible these stories are. I’m currently taking a creative writing class and writing short stories myself, so I found myself reading critically on accident - and yet, I still fell head-over-heels for these stories, enveloped over and over again into tales of magic, empowerment, magical creatures, sacrifice, mythology, love and loss. I found every story surprising, engaging, and unique; I’ve never read anything like these stories, which I imagine can be at least partially credited to their purpose: to show the world a whole new side of magical tales in ways they’ve never been told before. And that’s beautiful. I’m so honored to have been able to experience these stories and to have learned more about what magic lies in other places on the globe. *I received an e-arc of Reclaim the Stars from Wednesday Books and Netgalley; all opinions are my own. It was published February 15th, 2022.* If you enjoyed this review, you can friend/follow me here on Goodreads or on Instagram and Pinterest @ashton_reads for more bookish content (@ashton.reads on Tiktok)!! If you want, you can give this review a like or comment with your thoughts so I know you've read my review; your support means a lot to me! Happy reading!
Highlights
"Someday, you'll be free from this, but not before understanding that not being able to lie only affects those that wish to deceive."
White Water, Blue Ocean
"I mean, a lot of things could be worse. I think it looks nice." Flor watched a flush roll up his neck and face. She could feel her skin shifting to a shimmering, deep pink, a color she hadn't turned yet. She'd taken for granted the days where her skin was too dark to blush. Now her whole body was a mood ring.
Color-Coded
But I was not concerned with my soul or heaven or redemption. My only concern was, as it ever was, vengeance.
14: Killing El Chivo
My grandmother once told me that the more struggles we face in life, the more beloved we are by our ancestors. For the most beloved of us are given the most trials to face by their ghosts. But I want to be the beloved once because the twins must know more joy than pain, Diary.
13: Moonglow
She had no doubts about this man's identity now. He couldn't drink her mate, prepared with love for her brothers, reverence for the Moon goddess' gift. He was the devil, the enemy of humankind, the collector of souls who relished in making the noblest of them fall and then gathered them in his sack of midnight and sorrow.
12: River People
She sings her pain and loneliness, but also her hope and what little joys she's had, and in return, the glowing thing with the shark's fin leaves her gifts.
11: Sumaiko Y La Sirena
It takes everything in me to not yield. To stay the course. I know what I'm doing, and I won't accept my expulsion from the market lying down.
10: Rogue Enchantments
Maybe then Luz wouldn't have to hide or lock up all the messy parts of herself. She could own her wildness, the words that bloomed in her heart, the power that stirred in her blood. The mystery of it all would be hers to solve instead of bury.
9: Magical Offerings
He's stunned, her speech freezing him as effectively as her magic. "You guys define chivalry as pulling out a girl's chair, but what we actually want from you is a bigger table. We'll pull up our own damn chair."
8: Leyenda
How can I tell her that my sole purpose, like my brother and sister, is to consume the Dark that humans grow inside them like weeds? We keep it from leaking into this world because when it does, it attaches itself to some unwitting fool who has no idea why their lives have changed so dramatically - why their existence has twisted into an unknowable thing, why they yearn for something they can't name.
7: Eterno
"What happens when a god of death and a girl of flesh fall in love?" He spreads his arms wide as if he is conducting a performance. "It breaks the world."
6: Creatures of Kings
The irony is that we are surrounded by technology that can do things indistinguishable from magic. But you use us. We are the solution to your problems. And in a few weeks, when the ships return to Earth, they will be loaded with cargo that will enrich your lives, will make you feel fulfilled, will keep you safe. And you will never know the cost we paid to give it to you.
5: This Is Our Manifesto
There was a time when the rabbit smelled like home. Now it smells like me, and I hate that.
4: The Tin Man
The whole population of Earth is gone. And so is Mama. Grief makes the tiny details into giant, insurmountable cliffs and turns the things that really matter into meaningless afterthoughts.
2: FLECHA
But I did not cower. I stood tall to meet my rain of diamonds. They might crush us both, bury us under a mountain of blue and sparkling rubble, but I would not shrink from my bright wrath.
1: Reign of Diamonds
For many people in Latin America, and those living in the diaspora, science fiction and fantasy is the now. Communities ravaged by climate change. Myths that live in our islands and rivers and seas. Violence that leaves the imprint of ghosts through generations and into the future. And yet, when it comes to our literature, there are a million stories that have yet to be told. Let's start with these seventeen. I hope that Reclaim the Stars is only the beginning. Con amor, Zoraida Córdova