A Universe of Wishes: A We Need More Diverse Books Anthology edited by Dhonielle Clayton
I would like to thank Titan for a copy of this anthology in exchange for a fair and honest review
Publisher – Titan
Published – Out Now
Price – £8.99 paperback £4.68 Kindle eBook
Anything is possible.
From We Need Diverse Books fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice.
Alucard and Prince Rhy’s relationship in V.E. Schwab's Shades of Magic series is finally revealed, Anna-Marie McLemore gives “Cinderella” a trans retelling, while letters supernaturally cross borders between Gaza and California in Tochi Onyebuchi's “Habibi”.
Close your eyes. Make a wish. The universe is yours for the taking.
YA Fantasy and Science Fiction in the last few decades is going through as many fascinating changes as it’s adult counterparts. Stories don’t all need to be about white male perfect heroes. Now we see a much greater range of authors reflecting their own worlds at last and increasingly not having a white lead character, now having queer or even disabled lead is becoming normal as it always should be. Fiction needs to ensure that everyone is welcome and reminding us how varied our own world is. Showcasing this powerfully in A Universe of Wishes: A We Need Diverse Books Anthology edited by Dhonielle Clayton
Among the many stories I enjoyed were: -
A Universe of Wishes by Tara Sim – A young man is going to an undertakers taking magic from the bodies of the dead. He is discovered by the son of the owners. He asks for safety in exchange for giving wishes. Despite the grim premise this does have a sweet blooming romance between the two leads but also captures a sense of grief and a fantastic idea for magic and what we use it for. Loved the world that this tale creates
The Silk Blade by Natalie C Parker – Three warriors compete for becoming a royal consort. This is a tale of action, sweeping fight scenes and yet also an attraction between two of the warriors who know they also need to focus on becoming powerful royalty. Parker’s narration through our warrior paints this whole world and inner turmoil beautiful. It’s a tale of passion that really captures you.
Cristal Y Ceniza by Anne-Marie McLemore – this was one of my favourites taking the tale of cinderalla and missing it with ideas of gender identity and equality. A woman goes to the palace to plead to royalty to aid against a world that condemns same sex partnerships. In the process she attracts the attention of the attention of the royal prince who is trans. A brilliant tale about love and acceptance – doing the right thing is always the best course of action. Loved this one’s approach
Liberia by Kwame Mbalia – another of my favourites covers a starship on a mission to start a new colony. Kweku is the botanist in charge of the new plant supplies and gets into constant conflict with the young ship’s Captain over his devotion to the plants but then disaster strikes and Kweku has to act against the odds. As well as offering a tense space adventure this tale explores family ties and the bonds of history in a really unique and refreshing way.
A Royal Affair by V.E. Schwab – this tale is set within the wider Shades of Magic series ad this explores the early romance between the characters Rhy Maresh and Alucard Emery. Lovely to return to this world and gives backstory without giving the future plot away yet also does make you want to find out what happened next. A tale of lust, love, and loss which I loved the high speed through the relationship while also we got answering a few questions too.
The Takeback Tango by Rebecca Roanhorse – is a rather brilliant heist tale set in a future piece of space where our ace thief Vi sets to liberate some indigenous items from a museum for the wealthy. Offering great character narration; action and a poignant point about respecting other cultures this is a whole lot of fun and I hope one day I hear more of this character!
Wish by Jenni Balch – a genie arrives in the future near Venus and discovers a girl very keen to find out how this all works. It has a disabled lead character but does not go into magic cure territory but instead looks at accessibility. I really liked this approach and the characters and setting all come together really well.
Unmoor by Mark Oshiro – this sad story explores the end of relationships with Felix using a witch to remove all memories of his boyfriend Arturo. The tale gives us the highs and lows of the relationship and does this idea ff Felix’s makes sense. The ending is suitably ambivalent but the emotional hurt Felix carries is really well written
Habibi by Tochi Onyebuchi – this tale is of two prisoners writing pen letters to each other. A young black man in a US state prison experiencing solitary confinement and a Palestinian man who is on hunger strike. I loved the distinct voices used for the letters and more importantly the way these two bond over common experiences thousands of miles apart giving each a reason to carry on. A tale of hope in dark places really works to wrap up this great collection.
A Universe of Wishes is a brilliant showcase of what YA delivers. Easily dismissing the silly arguments that it is only about love triangles nor contains complex storylines. A varied and wonderful collection that should offer something to anyone and also hopefully help some more readers se themselves in this amazing genre. Highly recommended!
