A review by irasobrietate
Queers Who Don't Quit by Zoe Brook, G Benson, Ashton LaViolette, Nyri Bakkalian, Eve Morton, Ayelet Enisman, Addy Long, Elna Holst, Cal Benitex, Tabitha O’Connell, James Penha, A.P. Raymond, Aila Alvina Boyd, Cameron Van Sant, Alexis Ames, Evie Riojas

4.0

This was an empowering collection of stories featuring queer people who persevere, survive, and thrive in all manner of situations, large and small. By and large the collection is bittersweet, as many of the characters have to contend with various forms of queerphobia and violence, which is never going to be easy or wholly enjoyable reading. But ultimately, the feeling that suffuses these stories is hope. The strength of community and the loving support each character finds reminds us that we are not alone; we can share our struggles, our successes, and our failures with the wider queer community and find our own resolve to not quit, to keep going no matter what. This was probably one of the best queer collections I've every read in terms of range of identities present. I've often found that even when a collection claims to be about queer experiences generally, they focus on gay, lesbian, and bisexual romance. This collection truly runs the gamut of queer experiences and identities, and really didn't have a focus on romance at all, which was really refreshing to read. On a truly personal note, the last story, "Traveling Companions" had me feeling all kinds of things because Kat's experiences as an enby aroace hit so close to home for me. I'm definitely going to have to look up some of the authors who contributed to this collection because I'm very interested in reading more.