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ankiaisreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexism, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Racism, Blood, Xenophobia, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Misogyny, Homophobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Sexual violence, Rape, and Islamophobia
zorhose's review against another edition
2.0
With a cover and title like this, I was hoping for stories that would feel me empowered and hopeful that we can create change. The stories inside did not match up. Most of them were incredibly dark and depressing and while I don't mind a few of those, certainly pointing out the freedoms that still don't exist is vital, it did seem to be the majority.
Furthermore, most of the stories seemed uninspired. They depended solely on the shock factor and awfulness of their material and neither the writing nor the story itself were creative. A great counter example from this collection is "The Invention of Peanut Butter"; I loved the folktale feeling and the visualization of capitalism which it provided, but sadly it was of the few stand outs.
Considering how many stories in this dealt with racism and the fact that this is made in support of Amnesty International, I was shocked at how few PoC writers were a part of this (unless I missed someone, there are four). The stories from white people about racism or islamophobia often seemed like they just learned about the issue or that now that they were invited to write about freedom they could bring out some real bummers to show how socially aware they are. I didn't like it.
I also would've appreciated trigger warnings for each story. Some tw just within the first few stories would've been: pedophilia, suicide, rape, homophobia, etc. (during the first few stories I tried to rate them individually and I also noted down trigger warnings for myself but I got lazy). Going into these stories without knowing any of what was gonna happen made me feel physical ill at times, and again I don't think that's due to author's writing talent in many cases.
Last, but not least. I don't want to leave you guys feeling depressed, so here's the list of stories I actually liked:
Dulce et Decorum Est, Chibundu Onuzo
The Invention of Peanut Butter, Matt Haig
Black/White-Amy Leon
Darling, Amy Leon
Robot Killers, Tim Wynne-Jones
Harmless Joe, Tony Birch
The Importance of Screams, Chrisitie Watson
Push the Week, Jackie Kay
Graphic: Suicide, Pedophilia, Homophobia, Trafficking, Rape, Islamophobia, and Racism
carrotchimera's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Trafficking, and Xenophobia