A wonderful collection of queer writings that blends fiction and form well to create a tapestry of story that is both harrowing at times and hopeful. The writers inside don't shy away from addressing sexuality and pronouns as part of their narrative, and I could see this as a great fictional primer for those coming out who want to see stories of themselves that are often hard to find for a younger crowd.

This collection wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. While a lot of the stories had amazing potential, they still seemed to fall sort of flat or seemed as though they were missing something. The representation definitely made up some of the ground though.

I loved the subtitle Queer We Go Again!, that brought a lot of joy. I really enjoyed reading this book, each story was really good,

I'm not usually a huge fan of short story collections, since I usually like some of the stories way more than others, but this was a pretty solid collection. My favorite stories were Caleb Roehrig's "What happens in the closet," Julian Winters's "Victory lap," and Katherine Locke's "Seditious teapots."

This is a fun analogy of inclusive stories, they range in emotion from sadness to happiness, while others capture a sense of wonder and excitement.

Unfortunately, there were only one or two stories in this anthology that stood out to me. The rest were quite forgettable, though I can't say any of them were particularly badly written. I think it's just a matter of preference and this anthology just didn't do it for me. I do love anthologies in general, hence why I was so eager to pick this one up, but I never got the magic that I usually do when I read one that seriously blows me away. However, if you're a fan of Meet Cute, I feel like you'd really enjoy this. That anthology I felt very similarly about so yeah! I wish I could've felt better about this because I did appreciate all of the representation, it just wasn't my cup of tea.

A lovely selection of stories that are each fresh, vibrant and unique. Short stories aren't usually my thing, but I really enjoyed these.

I think this is an anthology that needed to exist. Not all of the stories were to my liking, but I loved the ones that were.

OUT NOW continues with the great range as ALL OUT. I enjoyed the range of identities represented in these stories so much that I bought my own copy to share with my creative writing students. It's inspiring to see them respond so enthusiastically to seeing themselves on the page!

This is a collection of queer short stories. They were funny, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. There were a variety of genres, including contemporary, fantasy, and science fiction.

These stories all have the same themes of being queer and coming out, yet they were all so different. Some of the characters knew exactly who they were, while others had to discover it in the stories. They were all different but most of them had a positive outlook.

One of my favourite stories was called What Happens in the Closet, which was a story about Vampires invading a party. Another favourite of mine was Victory Lap, where a boy tries to find the best way to tell his dad that he’s gay, but his dad already knows. One Spell Too Many tells the story of a girl who mixes up two magical pastries, giving a love spell to the wrong person. These stories were so different in genre and plot, yet they all had the same themes, so they fit into the collection.

I loved this collection of queer stories.

Thank you HarperCollins for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This anthology of short stories has come at a time when many are struggling with their identity as well as others who are struggling to learn how to interact. The stories ranged from fun to emotional and like most anthologies some resonated more than others. Having different genres in one anthology was also quite delightful to find some new genres that I didn't think I actually liked. This collection wold be great for everyone, no matter how you identify!

I have no words for how fantastic and extraordinary this collection of stories were. Because of this book I've discovered multiple brilliant authors that I didn't even know were out there, hustling and making stories that we as queer people deserve. Thank you to every single person who contributed. You were an absolute delight!

I'm not entirely sure what I thought about this anthology, but I don't think I found it quite as strong as the first one. According to a calculator, my ratings for the stories average out to 3.625 stars, but I have to admit I was tempted to round my 3.5 stars down to 3 stars instead of up to 4, even though the technical average amount was closer to four

However, I appreciate the fact that this is an anthology dedicated to uplifting queer voices, and although a lot of the stories fell flat for me I genuinely do recommend this book, because some of the stories were truly amazing, and honestly it's worth it just for those.

And now that we have my rambly general thoughts out of the way, let's get onto the story by story breakdown:

Kick. Push. Coast.
3 stars

I thought this one was pretty solid, but it wasn't really my thing. I thought it pulled off second person okay (and I usually hate second person), and the questioning rep was good. I just wasn't engaged, is my main problem.

Also the line "symptoms of demisexuality", which is uhhhh questionable because it's?? not an illness?? and as far as I remember that wasn't used on any of the other identities mentioned?? so uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
(it was an arc so maybe it changed, idk. I hope so)

What Happens In the Closet
3 stars

This was fun, but just sorta cheesy and stupid and honestly not very well written if you ask me. Also there were a few weird generalizations and stereotypes that I didn't love?? But like it was pretty fun.

Player One Fight
1 star

This is the single stupidest story I have ever read and the main character was an entitled prick and I hated it.

Literally the entire thing was just his internal monologue about how much his "boyfriend" loved him, but like . . . they weren't even together??? the main character was just determined he would win the poor dude over??? and the poor guy was just like trying to go about his life?? and the main character was just like blah blah blah he loves me so much blah blah blah he's gonna be my boyfriend blah blah blah he just doesn't realize it yet

Lumber Me Mine
5 stars

One of my absolute favourite stories in the anthology. It was so fluffy and sweet but it also had so much too it, about moving on from a bad relationship and learning to love yourself outside of a relationship that was your entire world (but also it had a cute sapphic romance that I adored haha), and just jkhjfgfjkhghffd it was SO GOOD!! And it had ace rep!!

Also like . . . it made me so happy that I cried. It was so pure and sweet hjfgdghfg

Follower
4 stars

This was exceptionally dumb and not really anything special, but I greatly enjoyed it anyways and it put a smile on my face, and like . . . it was just fun af.

Refresh
4 stars

I sort of have the same thoughts on this one as I did the last one: it was good, it was fun, it was sorta stupid, it was absolutely not memorable. It was worth the read tho, for sure.

Victory Lap
4.5 stars

THIS WAS THE CUTEST SHIT also I would do anything for Luke's dad like wow he was the best person ever and I love him kjhjfgdghgfdjghfg

This one definitely made me desperately want to read more from Julian Winters and also just jghfhjhfg I loved it ahhh

A Road of One's Own
4.5 stars

This was so good!! I loved seeing the main character come to terms with her sexuality, and it was just very soft and sweet and also made me laugh

Honestly my only complaint with this one was that the side characters weren't very well developed

Seditious Teapots
5 stars

This story was one of my favourites and I just!! it was so good!! I fell so absolutely in love with the whole cast of characters, and I'm always soft for reading about characters who are just discovering they're queer and also just jkhjfgfhjghffd this was so funny and sweet and I loved it so much!!!

Star-crossed in DC
5 stars

This was hands down the best story in this anthology and I loved it so much and like honestly the whole anthology is worth it just for this, Seditious Teapots, and Lumber Me Mine.

This story . . . wow. This was about the daughter of a republican president who is in love with the daughter of the democrat candidate, and her having to come to terms with the fact that her family is really not great, and learning to stand up for what she believes in and also question her beliefs to better herself and hkjfgdghkhjgfghjghfd it was SO fucking good I loved it so much!!!!!

Floating
2.5 stars

This was like..... beautifully written but way too weird for me. I feel like this one will be really hit or miss for people though, because I think it's very much just a matter of whether or not you connect with it, and I REALLY didn't. (like it's a short story and yet I considered DNFing it so uhhhhh coming from someone who rarely DNFs......... that's not a good sign)

The Soft Place
3.5 stars

I didn't looove this one, because it was just a smidge too weird for me, but it was really unique and well-written and I genuinely really did like it.

A Pound of Flesh
2 stars

This one was so disappointing, because the premise was so excellent, but the execution just . . . didn't work. Honestly this one didn't work very well as a short story at all, but also I didn't love the writing style so I probably couldn't have read it as a whole book either.

One Spell Too Many
4.5 stars

I really don't have anything to SAY on this one, just that it was fun af and I loved it a lot

Far From Home
3.5 stars

This was so bizarre, but also really fun!! It wasn't my favourite thing ever, but it was quirky and enjoyable and sweet and that was enough to make it worthwhile.

Once Upon A Seastorm
3 stars

I literally do not know what to make of this one but I like?? vaguely enjoyed it??? when I wasn't contemplating DNFing it??? idk it was weird but like good but like weird af and tbh I just didn't click with the writing style

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

So we are...a wee bit late for Pride month with this review, but no matter! The hilariously and aptly titled Out Now: Queer We Go Again! is the second short story collection edited by Saundra Mitchell, and the spiritual successor to 2018’s All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout the Ages. But where its predecessor focused on short stories about queer teens in the past (in scenarios both real and slightly fantastical), Out Now exclusively features stories set in contemporary times. Which also run the gamut from realistic to fantastical: there’s a story in this collection about two boys falling in love while hiding out from a vampire attack, which is immediately followed by a story about two girls falling in love in their high school wood shop class. Some readers might find this tonal difference jarring, but I personally didn’t have a problem with it. It made for an odd assortment of stories, but to me, that just made things more fun.

Another thing I noticed about this book in comparison to All Out was that I recognized a lot fewer of the authors in this book. Which, again, wasn’t a problem—it was nice to get some exposure to new authors. I also observed that there seemed to be a lot more trans representation in this book compared to All Out, which was awesome. But as with any collection of short stories (especially featuring multiple authors), it was a mixed bag: some really good and entertaining stories and a couple that just didn’t land for me. However, the good far outnumbered the bad, and I would go so far as to say that, overall, Out Now impressed me more than All Out did.

I love that Out Now is an anthology of LGBT+ stories, because these are always needed. They touch on a lot of different identities too from being lesbian to being non-binary (or as one story calls it, ‘not cisgender’). Unfortunately, I didn’t find myself loving a ton of the stories throughout. There are a lot of different styles and genres, so that could be it, but it’s always a bummer when you don’t enjoy one of the stories included. However, there were some that I definitely loved, so I’d still recommend giving this one a browse!

Some of the stories I enjoyed:

“What Happens in the Closet” by Caleb Roehrig

“Star-Crossed in DC” by Jessica Verdi

“Lumber Me Mine” by CB Lee

“Victory Lap” by Julian Winters

A very well done collection of queer stories. Overall, this anthology was a delight to read, and I’ve found authors included in this collection that I’m eager to read even more from!

This book was just what I needed. The short stories allowed me to only focus for a little bit at a time, so I was able to do other things in between stories. Normally this is not something that I do, but I have been unable to focus on reading lately.
Some of the stories were better than others, as with most anthologies. Overall, the stories were well written and interesting. I think I enjoyed this even more than the first book. I wasn't sure if this one was historical fiction or contemporary, but I was not disappointed by the contemporary stories.

This absolutely blew me away. Most of the selections in this anthology made me weep. Incredibly cathartic and the writing was mostly beautiful all around.

Overall rating: 3.5

There were a couple of misses for me, a couple that were just eh, but mostly everything was pretty solid with a few stories that I really loved and that really resonated with me but here's a breakdown of what I thought about each story:

KICK. PUSH. COAST - 3
There wasn't anything wrong with this one I just did not care about all the skateboarding terms and it took me out of the story because of it.

WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CLOSET - 2.5
Honestly disliked how this was written and some aspects came off as childish and because of that it had me rolling my eyes a couple times.

PLAYER ONE FIGHT -2.5
Similar to Kick. Push. Coast. I just didn't get this one and didn't feel for the metaphor and how the story was written.

LUMBER ME MINE - 5
One of my favorites, made me really soft and feel a lot of things which is good considering it's a short story. One of the only ones I wish would be made into a full length book.

FOLLOWER - 3
This one wasn't long enough for me to really care about but I liked the writing and the story itself was fine.

REFRESH - 4
This was cute and well written and I liked how it ended.

VICTORY LAP - 4
Oh, this was very good. I loved how supportive Luke's dad was, it just made me feel really good.

A ROAD OF ONE'S OWN - 4
I'm a sucker for a road trip story and this one was no different. I liked the diversity and what was said and how the story was handled. Everything was very solid.

SEDITIOUS TEAPOTS - 5
Not gonna say much about this one but I cried while reading this and it made me feel a lot of things. Out of all the stories I related to this one the most and am so glad I got to read this. I will say I think the fact I read this as an arc messed up the formatting so some of it was hard to read but still understandable so it wasn't that big of a deal.

STAR-CROSSED IN DC - 4
Very cute with an interesting twist. Not much else to say other than that but I would love to see this as a full length book.

FLOATING - 3
I'm gonna be honest and say that I didn't really get this at all and didn't really enjoy it but I understand what it was trying to do (at least I think) which is why I gave it a 3.

THE SOFT PLACE - 4
Truly did not like this at first until I realized what was happening halfway through and was suddenly really glad I got to read it. Really enjoyed the past meeting the present and the message that was stated and I think it was a really interesting way to tell the story.

A POUND OF FLESH - 3
I think too much was happening for this to fit in a short story and would've done better as a novella. Things kind of blurred together and the story got lost in the shortness. But still, ended up pretty solid.

ONE SPELL TOO MANY - 5
This was so soft and cute and just made me feel really good. I would love to see this world and these characters expanded in a longer story but with a different plot because everything wrapped up nicely.

FAR FROM HOME -4
This was really interesting and I wish it was a full length story because a lot was happening and I wanted to see more. I think the story fell flat in the way it jumped around a little with the timeline, but that's mostly because world-building and explaining backstory in a short story is difficult so I got it.

THE CORONATION - 3
This has a 3 star because I like the very overall message of the story but I really didn't understand a thing that was going on which is a shame because I liked the idea. I don't know if I'm just not big brained enough to understand this, if the storytelling was just off or if it's something that I need to go back and reread but it didn't entirely click with me and was very confusing.

ONCE UPON A SEASTORM - 3
This was fine but not my favorite. I think I got lost in trying to figure out if everything was just a metaphor or if there was actually something magical going on.

After LOVING All Out so much, Out Now was unfortunately a bit of a disappointment for me. I ended up with a lot of mediocre 2-2.5 stars and middle-of-the-road 3-3.5 stars, with only a couple short stories that I really enjoyed. My average rating across the board was 2.94 stars. My favorites were "A Road of One's Own" by Kate Hart, "Starcrossed in DC" by Jessica Verdi, and "Far From Home" by Saundra Mitchell.

I was also surprised because I apparently never read the synopsis for this anthology. Since All Out was all historical fiction, I assumed that this collection would be all contemporary fiction. But quite a few of these short stories have speculative elements like vampires, aliens, selkies, and witches. Which was fun, but unexpected. There also does seem to be more of a diverse range of representation in this anthology compared to All Out, which is great to see!

Full review available at: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2893871417