The collectors Stories

Review by Booklist Review

It's a time-honored convention among reviewers of story collections to complain that the book in hand is uneven (trust me, this anthologist reviewer writes from personal experience). Anyway, I hate to spoil the reviewers' dismissive fun, but here is a collection notable for the uniform excellence of 10 of its stories, which come from such distinguished creators as M. T. Anderson, David Levithan, Anna-Marie McLemore, Jason Reynolds, and its inimitable editor, King herself. Collectors and collections are the stuff of this, well, collection: in her introduction King writes that she asked her contributors to toss out conventions, as there were no rules, there was no "normal," and they could be as weird--or not--as they want. Levithan's love story, "Take It from Me," for example, is about a nonbinary teen whose collection contains objects stolen from other collections, while Randy Ribay offers a story with an intriguing title ("The White Savior Does Not Save the Day") that's about a Filipino teen who collects scripts from a canceled superhero show. It goes without saying that King's contributors have not disappointed her and, by extension, her readers, who will revel in this wonderfully genre-defying, offbeat book that is one of the most original of the year.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

---

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

King (Attack of the Black Rectangles) collaborates with nine other writers--including M.T. Anderson, Anna-Marie McLemore, and Randy Ribay--to ruminate on collections, collectors, and storytelling conventions in this quirky anthology. Not all the showcased assemblages consist of physical things, as evidenced by David Levithan's humorous "Take It from Me," which follows a nonbinary teen who amasses items stolen from other people; when they encounter a teen who collects self-doubts, they are confronted with the only grouping they can't pilfer from. Jason Reynolds's meandering selection, "A Recording for Carole Before It All Goes," furthers this notion; employing an introspective narrator to cultivate a recollection of a life lived, this story speaks directly to an aging elder with Alzheimer's who gathers wigs and names that begin with C. Other entries detail collections meant to remind the reader that they are allowed to take up physical space, as in e.E. Charlton-Trujillo's biting "La Concha," in which the protagonist hoards jars containing beach sand, a single piece of their own hair, and "torn-out pages from books my mother read." King proclaims, in an introduction, that "there is currency in weirdness"; by turns darkly cheeky and piercingly perceptive, this moody and existential grouping of stories lives up to the statement. Concluding author bios highlight the contributors' own collections. Ages 14--up. (Sept.)

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

---

Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 9 Up--An astonishingly all-star cast of authors take extremely creative interpretations of the idea of collections and collectors in this volume of strange stories. These are 10 of YA's most beloved writers including King, the anthology's editor. From Anna-Marie McLemore's ethereal, quietly violent collection-inspired fairy tale to Jason Reynolds's heartbreakingly honest, tender, and illuminative entry, which is itself a piece of a larger collection, each of the strong-voiced authors included has distilled the essence of what they do best into something "defiantly creative." The pieces found here are ones of experiences (G. Neri's "Pool Bandits"), things that fit in jars (e.E. Charlton-Trujillo's "La Concha"), things that are created (Reynolds's "A Recording for Carole Before It All Goes"), and things that are stolen (David Levithan's "Take It From Me"). The pieces differ in format, as well--other than prose, there is a screenplay (Randy Ribay) and an illustrated, experimental piece (Cory McCarthy); one is set in 1976 (Neri), one in 2021 (M.T. Anderson). The collectors themselves are all searching for something; some of them find it. Though the stories differ in so many ways, each author brings a sense of reverence for the theme to their entry, resulting in brutally heartfelt moments with incredible emotional depth that feel like a cohesive whole. King's argument in the introduction that all collections are art and collectors are artists certainly holds true here; masterfully collected and worth slowing down to absorb. VERDICT An anthology for every collection.--Allie Stevens

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

---

Review by Kirkus Book Review

Ten acclaimed YA authors explore the artistry and emotion behind the human instinct to collect. This anthology centers around the question: "Why do we collect things?" Each story features a different type of collection, from the tangible (glass bluebirds and fandom memorabilia) to the experiential (skateboarding in empty swimming pools) and the intangible (misery, doubts, dreams, and moments that you wish could last forever). The characters discover strengths and yearned-for connections to themselves and others through what they collect. When men aggressively pursue her beautiful mother, a Latine teen living in white suburbia protects herself and her home in Anna-Marie McLemore's "Play House." In "Take It From Me" by David Levithan, first love makes a nonbinary teen question the purpose and the impact of their collection that's curated from objects stolen from other collections. Randy Ribay's "The White Savior Does Not Save the Day" centers a Filipino and white teen who collects scripts from a canceled superhero show and crosses dimensions, searching for clarity about herself and her absent white mother. Cory McCarthy presents "museum of misery," an emotionally raw, illustrated tour through a museum of trauma and internalized self-hatred. Embracing weirdness, many of the stories defy genre categories, blending reality with fantastical metaphors. Although honest about the weight of complex social themes, including systemic injustice, gun violence, abuse, and self-harm, this anthology balances heaviness with hope. Across the stories, the cast of characters includes a diverse range of identities. An eclectic, poignant, and introspective treasure trove. (Anthology. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

---

Introduction Here is an incomplete list of things one can collect: crystals, lies, math tests, kittens, scraps of paper with things written on them, books, antiques, enemies, punctuation, friends, rumors, cars, feelings, baseballs, stepmothers, trophies, knowledge, joys, earbuds, anger, office supplies, judgments, conquests, opinions, insults, prophecies, dryer lint. Collections are everywhere in human culture. Humans collect a lot of things. But why? Why do we collect things? I woke up from a dream with this question one day in 2021, and it followed me around until I did something with it. I started with research, but then I had to trust my gut. There is science here--­a psychology of collecting that has been studied by industry and academia through the lenses of economics and marketing to anthropology to neuropsychology and social psychology. Science tells us that collecting is ubiquitous, usually harmless, and normal, not to mention profitable. It tells us that a majority of children are collectors, as well as about 40 percent of adults, and it draws lines between healthy collecting and hoarding and other concerning behaviors. When asked, Why do we collect things? the data give us many answers depending on what's being collected, how it's being collected and shared, and in what culture the collecting is taking place. It's all very logical and tidy. But it doesn't feel true. While science is awesome, it lacks the nuance of artistic meaning, and that's part of why I think people collect things. I believe we collect what makes us feel good or what we're attracted to. Collections are beautiful to their collectors. Even the most disgusting collection is a glimpse of magic to the right person. Same as the most boring collection can excite. Essentially, every collection is extraordinary and impossible to duplicate, because even if I have the same exact baseball cards as you do, mine hold a meaning for me that's different from yours. That individual meaning highlights the creative component--­which tells me that collections are art, and the act of collection, artistry. Emotion trumps logic here. If you collect buttons/thimbles/rocks and you don't logically know why, I can tell you. You collect those buttons/thimbles/rocks because you're an artist and they somehow give life an extra layer of meaning for you. They make you happy. I collect weird ideas. I collect weird stories. I collect weird questions. I write them on sticky notes and display them on my walls. For a few months, there was a blue sticky note above my desk. Why do we collect things? Next to it was a note from a year earlier that read, Weird Short Story Collection . You know what came next. You're holding it. There is currency in weirdness that no one told me about when I was a young weird person. There is a freedom in it too. Once an artist can block out any suggestion to conform and let go of their own fear of failure, they have found a new place where dreams can come true. Additionally, when an artist allows themselves to get weird, they give permission to everyone else in the room to get weird with them. This anthology of stories is the result of me asking nine of my favorite YA writers to write me a story about a collection and its collector, and asking them to toss out conventions, as there were no rules, there was no "normal," and they could be as weird as they wanted. There is currency in weirdness, I said. Be defiantly creative, I said. What they've created here is a new, beautiful collection of curiosity and hurting and growing up and healing and loving and living. As you begin your journey through their words, I want to extend the same invitation to you, reader, for living your life and dreaming your dreams. There are no rules. There is no normal. You can be as weird as you want. Be defiantly creative. Make art of your life, especially if you don't consider yourself an artist--­collect all the little pieces of you and make your story. When you look back many years from now, you will see something extraordinary and impossible to duplicate. You will see you . - A.S. King Excerpted from The Collectors: Stories: (Printz Medal Winner) by A. S. King, M. T. Anderson, E. E. Charlton-Trujillo, David Levithan, Cory McCarthy, Anna-Marie McLemore, G. Neri, Jason Reynolds, Jenny Torres Sanchez, Randy Ribay All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

---