Review by Booklist Review
Love is often boiled down to romance, but this anthology explores the numerous ways it manifests. In a variety of verse styles--some more stylistic and others more narrative-driven--each story focuses on a snapshot of life and how love touches that space. Platonic, familial, self, and (of course) romantic all enter the fray and reveal their assortment of soft underbellies. Self-love manifests in those finding solace in their identities, skills, and survival, while platonic emerges through a variety of friendships and familial relationships. The historical foray is vast too: stories range from the romance of two young nobles in fifteenth-century Mesoamerica to the love of family legacy in a Native family of the 1970s to a twelfth-century mathematician whose love of her family and her agency creates new paths and beyond. In this collection of stories by 12 powerhouse authors, a variety of teen experiences are explored and captured in a neat novel-in-verse format. Great for readers interested in bite-size bits of love and an admiration for the many ways it transpires.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up--From a modern-day U.S. high school to Germany in 1899, from 15th-century Mesoamerica to 12th-century India and back to the present day again, this sweeping collection of short stories in verse is wonderfully varied and unique. Palpable anger and heartbreak in Melanie Crowder's brash and bridge-burning "Not So Sweet (an Anti-Cupid Story)" are balanced by a found circus family's uplifting community love for a kind, driven, bearded girl in "All for Annie" by Robin Gow. In "Love-Bomb," Mariama J. Lockington explores what it costs Jadine to have a mother who can't "reckon with her own wounds" while in Charles Waters's "Rock Steady," Grandma Aggie's steadfast support gives Alonzo the strength to be true to his feelings. A surprisingly cohesive collection despite the wide-ranging individuality of each piece, Wilson's anthology explores 12 specific manifestations of love in the lives of young people. It shows up platonically between friends, in the form of communication struggles and successes with parents, love for animals, romantic connections, and, importantly, love for oneself. Each author's interpretation of the concept of love is creative and well-crafted. An all-star list of poets including David Bowles, Margarita Engle, and Padma Venkatraman tackle the subject in forms that are flowing and expansive, short and staccato, and everything in between. VERDICT Quick, big-hearted, and well-curated, this is an anthology of stories about love, but not love stories.--Allie Stevens
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In an appealing and innovative collection, Wilson (One Last Shot, rev. 3/23) brings together a dozen authors (David Bowles, Margarita Engle, Eric Gansworth, Mariama J. Lockington, among others), each creating a different short story in verse around the overarching theme of love. The tales explore this theme from various perspectives: love that is new, controlling, forbidden, rejected, familial, spiritual, same sex, among friends, and for our pets. The poets each bring their unique storytelling style -- some accessibly conversational, some more layered and narratively complex -- with stories ranging from fantasy to contemporary and historical fiction. Poetic language builds each story: in the heartbreaking but hopeful "Kaleidoscope," for instance, Alexandra Alessandri writes, "I can learn to find beauty in the ashes, / to choose joy in the hard places, / to make art from broken pieces." Each entry stands strongly on its own, while the collection creates a compelling picture of the many dimensions of love. Sylvia VardellMarch/April 2025 p.88 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A celebration of love through 12 unique stories in verse. Beloved and award-winning young adult authors explore different forms of love across time and a variety of places. In Mariama J. Lockington's "Love-Bomb," a queer Black girl must decide between choosing herself by pursuing her dreams or staying close to the mother she loves but resents. A queer, white-presenting woman with a beard learns to believe in herself and her own power in "All for Annie" by Robin Gow. "We Are the Briar," Laura Ruby's retelling of "Cinderella," centers on a Jewish girl who reclaims her strength and love in family. Editor Wilson's "The Bridegroom's Oak" shines: A shopgirl in Germany in 1899 is caught between romance and friendship. Padma Venkatraman takes readers to 12th-century India in "The Water Clock," in which a talented mathematician born under an unlucky star takes charge of her own fate. Alexandra Alessandri deftly handles chronic pain and grief as they haunt a Colombian American girl with fibromyalgia, whose new job leads to community in "Kaleidoscope." Jordanian American Nasrin realizes that unconditional love is forever when she must say goodbye to her beloved dog in Jasmine Warga's "The First, and the Last, and All the In-Betweens." The evocative writing in different verse forms connects the narratives in this timely, relatable collection with a diverse cast of characters. The variety of themes and points of view offers something for every reader. Love wins in this enjoyable, well-executed anthology. (about the authors)(Verse anthology. 14-18) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
