A review by bluebirdsongs
The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Volume 13 by Garth Nix, Vandana Singh, Tade Thompson, Elizabeth Bear, Ursula K. Le Guin, N.K. Jemisin, Alyssa Wong, Dave Alden Hutchison, Yoon Ha Lee, Zen Cho, Naomi Novik

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 Really excellent collection of stories. I came away from this with a much better idea of what types of SFF stories appeal to me, particularly on the SF side. It's always been a pretty hit-or-miss genre for me, but now I can definitively say dystopian applications of current or near-future technologies pluck the chord of fear in me more effectively than any thriller.

Highlights for me included (starting from most favorite):
“If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again” - Zen Cho
“A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies” - Alix E. Harrow
“Okay, Glory” - Elizabeth Bear
“The Storyteller’s Replacement” - N K Jemisin
“Intervention” - Kelly Robson
“Field Biology of the Wee Fairies” - Naomi Kritzer
“Nine Last Days on Planet Earth” - Daryl Gregory
“The Rose MacGregor Drinking and Admiration Society” - T. Kingfisher
“The Secret Lives of the Nine Negro Teeth of George Washington” - P Djeli Clark
“Mother Tongues” - S. Qiouyi Lu
“The Woman Who Destroyed Us” - SL Huang