I'm no stranger to anthologies; I devoured "My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories", "Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories" and "Meet Cute: Some People Are Destined to Meet", which were, for the most part, cute and fluffy and atmospheric.

Up All Night: 13 Stories between Sunset and Sunrise is a fun addition to my anthology collection! Like all of these types of books, it had some stories I loved, some I didn't, and some that bored me. I've made some verrrry rudimentary notes on each story, and have included my personal star rating.

Never Have I Ever - Karen McManus
3.5 Stars
- good plot twist

Like Before - Maureen Goo
2 Stars
- a bit boring. sad.
- friends can grow apart but not sure why Alma and Britt were making Pepper feel bad about trying to fix their friendship?

Old Rifts and Snow Drifts - Kayla Whaley
4 Stars
- so dang cute.
- wheelchair rep!! bi lead!!

Con Nights, Parallel Hearts - Marieke Nijkamp
4 Stars
- so sad and lovely. loved the friendship.
- a bit jarring but once I understood what was happening, it was so sweet

Kiss the Boy - Amanda Joy
4.5 Stars
- LOVE.
- Actually made me nostalgic for hs?? somehow??

Creature Capture - Laura Silverman
3 Stars
- super cute but felt incomplete

Shark Bait - Tiffany D Jackson
3 Stars
- poignant and very sad.

A Nice Place to Start - Nina LaCour
3.75 Stars
- really cute.
- loved the new-sibling dynamic (ngl thought it might get into gross lovey territory)

When You Bring a Dog to Prom - Anna Meriano
3.5 Stars
- cute but wanted more. that’s the romance lover in me

Missing - Kathleen Glasgow
3 Stars
so creepy. started slow but ended up very intrigued!

What About Your Friends - Brandy Colbert
3 Stars
- not the most exciting of all the stories

Under our Masks - Julian Winters
5 Stars
- lovveeeddd this one. got the tingles.

The Ghost of Goon Creek - Francesca Zappia
3.5 Stars
- nice story of perceptions and new friendships. hopeful

I was expecting a few more romance focused stories, given the title and cover - looks so gorgeous!! Wish there had been a few more. I can think of plenttyyyy of lovey-dovey things that happen between sunset and sunrise. But LOVED how diverse every single story was. It was so seamless. Honestly, would love to see a few of these as full-length books!

I really enjoyed each story in the collection (for the most part; there was one that left me feeling meh, but I'll not dwell on that). And, rather than hamper the authors with a "gimmick", it's often hardly noticeable that each of the stories takes place overnight. I feel like this collection would be a fine addition to a classroom, and might even lend itself well to different explorations of setting affecting plot/theme.

This lovely YA anthology holds thirteen stories all taking place during the magical hours between dusk and dawn when just about everything can happen. It was such a sweet, well-written and wonderfully inclusive collection of stories, with characters that were non-binary, bi, gay and lesbian, disabled or dealing with mental health issues and problems like how to come out when you are a superhero. It was a very solid collection with stories that were all highly entertaining, yet all very different, and all with added depths or twists and with a wonderful flow.

I really liked the unique angle to focus on a specific time for all stories, and how they all managed to give you that feeling of being the only people in the world, the magic when the familiar drops away and how the night is a time for romance and adventure. As in all anthologies there were stories that I enjoyed more than others, but they were all very well written and added something unique. I especially appreciated the diversity of the stories and how they were all so different from one another, but how they all had some angle of queer or POC representation, disabilities or mental illness. Sometime as the main part of the story, but more often as a side detail or description of the characters without making a big deal of it, which I really found refreshing. My favorites were Creature Capture by Laura Silverman, When You Bring a Dog to Prom by Anna Meriano and Under Our Masks by Julian Winters.

Creature Capture by Laura Silverman was such a sweet story about the fear of making new friends, of showing your true self and taking chances. It had such a great friendship between Abby and Curtis without any hidden feelings. A boy and a girl really can be just friends. And I loved the important message about being true to who you are and not let anyone make you feel embarrassed for not wanting the same thing as everyone else.

When You Bring a Dog to Prom by Anna Meriano was such a sassy second chance story about how “heteronormative bullshit” like proms can be the perfect kind of different and make dreams come true for real. Great queer representation and a wonderful non-binary character with an emotional support dog.

Under Our Masks by Julian Winters was the cutest of them all! It was such a sweet story about how superheroes get crushes too and feel vulnerable about coming out. “I’m Raven but I’m also a boy with a crush who’s scared to disappoint his family or end up alone.”

I also really enjoyed Never Have I Ever by Karen McManus, it was such an addictive story with a twist I never saw coming, Kiss the Boy by Amanda Joy, which was a delightful story about finally being brave enough to go after your all high school crush, and the cute second chance story Old Rifts and Snowdrifts by Kayla Whaley with its strong and lovable disabled bi main character.

I also want to mention Con Nights, Parallel Hearts by Marieke Nijkamp for being such a gripping story about the scars from child abuse, about friendship and found families and about the empowerment of sharing your darkest secrets and leave them behind. I only felt that I’d wanted a little more flow in the writing style for it to be fully as gripping as it could have been.

Another story with wonderful representation that deserves a special mention was A Place to Start by Nina LaCour. This was a story about new families, with non-binary and lesbian characters, and about how something you don’t think you want could turn into the best thing when Claude’s and Jamie’s mothers get married.

All in all, this was such a delightful, fun and sweet collection of YA stories that each had their distinct flavor and were all full of surprises, adventures, twists and with amazing representation and relatable characters! Highly recommended!

4.5 dazzling stars rounding up to 5!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC and Algonquin Young Readers for the blog tour invitation for this wonderful book! All opinions are my own and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This has a fun premise, tapping into that delicious teenage thrill of being up all night. As with all collections of short stories, I connected with some more than others. But there's literally something for everyone, from ghosts - both real and imagined - to prom to superheroes, with a widely diverse cast of characters among the stories.

These four stories stood out as my favorites:

Missing by Kathleen Glasgow: This was so deliciously creepy, it literally made me shiver at the end! Four teen girls and one much younger sister go exploring in an old insane asylum in search of ghost activity and may get more than they ever dreamed.

Shark Bait by Tiffany D. Jackson: This one took my breath away! A Black girl whose wealthy parents are in the middle of a divorce finds comfort in a boy she meets near their summer home in the Hamptons. This one punches you in the gut, then brings you to an emotional conclusion.

Never Have I Ever by Karen McManus: This has a signature Karen McManus twist at the end. You think you know where it's going, but you really don't. A group of straight A students' tame game of Never Have I Ever gets interrupted by the popular bad boy, who convinces them to spy on a neighbor who lives in a creepy house next door.

Kiss the Boy by Amanda Joy: This one was a sweet, exuberant celebration of young love. A group of friends conspires to create a plan that will lead Ayana to kiss her long-time secret crush, Khalil. But the plan quickly gets off track in the best possible way.

Thank you to Algonquin books, TBR & Beyond Tours and NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I love short stories. I have always loved short stories. So this was perfect. Did I like all of them? No. Did I LOVE some? Yes. The fun thing is discovering you love someone's writing.

This was a fun read, it was nice to sample some authors that I haven't read before. As with almost all short story anthologies, some of the tonal shifts didn't quite work out well, but I loved the theme of stories from sundown to sunup, they all had an almost ethereal quality.

This anthology has a little bit for everyone. Horror, drama, love, friendship, the works! I particularly enjoyed the darker stories because I felt as though they were a different take for the collection. But honestly it's amazing that none of the 13 stories are alike, given that they're all themed around being up all night. This is a great way to get a taste of a new author with little to no commitment, and I've found a few that I want to check out further!

*Thank you to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for my honest review*

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I almost never read anthologies, so this was a fun change for me.

Averaging out my individual ratings for the stories, this one is 3.6/5 stars for me. (Rounding up on Goodreads.)

"Never Have I Ever” by Karen M. McManus
2/5 stars
This one had a plot twist at the end that felt unnecessary, and it also was quite bleak and I didn’t feel that it needed to be. It’s hard to pull off a twist in a short story like this and it didn’t land for me.

“Like Before” by Maruene Goo
5/5 stars
This one starts out predictable but takes a turn, which makes it more realistic and sad. It’s true that sometimes your friendships just don’t work out forever, and I thought it was a mature direction for the story to go and very well-written.

“Old Rifts and Snowdrifts” by Kayla Whaley
3/5 stars
A cute story about getting snowed in with the person you have a crush on. Liked the MC and her love interest. Didn’t like the lack of communication between them. But I ship it!

“Con Nights, Parallel Hearts” by Marieke Nijkamp
2/5 stars
I wasn't digging the same story repeated 3 times. It's pretty cool how fandom played such a big role in the main character's life and I could really identify with that. However, the actual execution of the story fell flat for me.

“Kiss the Boy” by Amanda Joy
4/5 stars
This one is a super cute all-night scavenger-hunt-quest sort of thing, and boy did it bring back all the feelings from my youth group days doing this sort of thing. I remember what it felt like to stay up all night and be around the person you have a crush on. There's so much excitement and longing, and the author captured it perfectly!

“Creature Capture” by Laura Silverman
3/5 stars
There is a serious amount of "not like other girls" syndrome going on here, but I also get it, the feeling like you're too weird to fit in and that nobody will like you unless you hide who you are. I enjoyed the Pokemon Go vibes here and the quest to find the Loch Ness!

“Shark Bait” by Tiffany D. Jackson
5/5 stars
Wow, the ending of this one was such a shock! I definitely want to check out more of this author's writing because this was my first experience with her work, and it sure does pack a punch. This is an awesome story. Asks a lot of tough questions in a short amount of time.

“A Place to Start” by Nina LaCour
5/5 stars
Nina LaCour's writing always gets me in the feels, and this short story is my favorite of the whole anthology so far. It's about two stepsiblings whose mothers just got married, and they are trying to figure out how to interact with each other. Truly wonderful writing.

“When You Bring a Dog to Prom” by Anna Meriano
4/5 stars
Dodge was the most interesting character in this one, and Noemi's jealousy was hard to stomach for the entire story, even though I do get it. I was a teenager once, too. Definitely warning for an anxiety attack that a character has, and I wish there had been more sympathy from the main character toward the person having the anxiety attack. Even though I didn't really like the protagonist, I liked Dodge enough (and their support dog) that I liked the story.

“Missing” by Kathleen Glasgow
3/5 stars
The omniscient narrator here didn't work for me, and everybody was so nasty to Lissy that I didn't like a single one of them. It was nice and creepy, though.

“What About Your Friends” by Brandy Colbert
5/5 stars
This was an emotionally intense story about two girls who get back together after a yearlong break in their friendship. It brought up some interesting and important themes, and I loved the part where they started doing their old dance routine together.

“Under Our Masks” by Julian Winters
3/5 stars
Cute idea, but ended up feeling a bit cheesy. I'm never a big fan of the superhero genre, though, so it could just be me.

“The Ghost of Goon Creek” by Francesca Zappia
3/5 stars
This is another story about how if you want to make friends, you have to put yourself out there. Which is a good message. I couldn't really connect with any of the characters, and I wanted to see a ghost!

As always, I enjoy reading short stories collections to find new authors, but I usually find it difficult to connect to a few of them. I was surprised that in this one I liked most of them, and really loved a few. For sure I’ll be adding this one to my collection and sharing it with my students, it’s a great way to get them interested in specific authors, and create the passion of reading novels!

This anthology is full of diverse characters. Hooray for representation! It had a little bit of everything: LGBTQIAP+, POC, disability rep, superheroes, friendship, mysteries, ghosts, romance!

Thank you so much Netgalley and Algonquin Young Readers for an Advanced Reader Copy. This book was full of adventures and I loved it!

I enjoyed this collection of short stories. There were a few stories that after reading a little bit, I could tell I just wasn't interested, so I skipped those. There were other stories that were really good and I wanted more of it! My 2 year old son has been waking up loads lately at night so I read a lot of these at night which was kind of neat and in theme with the short stories. Very talented authors.

Great collection of short stories by some of my favorite young adult authors. I found myself wanting a little more after a few of the stories, which is the biggest compliment I can give!

Up All Night is a collection of short stories that take place almost entirely between sunset and sunrise. They cover a variety of genres, including thrillers and a lot of contemporaries, and are written by an awe-inspiring selection of popular YA writers.

I loved everything about this collection. The stories were completely unpredictable, and the plot-twisty contribution by Karen McManus (the queen of YA thrillers) to start got me completely hooked. I really enjoyed being unable to tell where each story was going or what the next one would be about, and becoming gripped by each individual story, be it a contemporary about a high school prom or a thriller about an abandoned asylum.

The diversity in this collection was incredible, and there was LGBTQ+ rep in almost all of the stories included. This was done tastefully and sensitively by all authors and it was so wonderful to see such a representative group of stories across so many different genres.

I intended to read this collection one story at a time, but the stories were all so enjoyable that I ended up reading them one after another and finishing the book in a matter of hours (a couple of my favourites were ‘Never Have I Ever,’ ‘Creature Capture’ and ‘Missing’). It was a quick and entertaining read overall and I would definitely recommend if you’re looking for something a little different, or something short to help you out of a reading slump.

To anyone who isn't familiar with this book, it's a collection of 13 short stories from various YA authors. There isn't really much that connects the stories except for the fact that they are all set during the night and I absolutely loved that theme. This is a perfect book for all the night owls who like to stay up all night. And of course, I really recommend reading this at night.
I usually strongly dislike short story collections, because the quality varies hugely throughout the book (especially when it's written by multiple authors), but I am really happy to say that this book was an exception because I really enjoyed each and every one of the stories included.
To be honest, I requested this on Netgalley because I am a huge fan of Karen McManus and when I saw she contributed to this collection I knew I had to read it. And I am so glad I did because I discovered so many great authors and it has inspired me to read more of their work.
Like I said, all of the stories were great but I have to point out my favourites which were Karen McManus's story (obviously) and then Laura Silverman's and Julien Winters's.
I loved the genre and theme variety of the stories because it kept me entertained and I was always excited to read the next story. There were sweet and lighthearted stories but also hard-hitting and very important ones. I also very appreciated the inclusivity, because I have never read a story with non-binary characters before.
Overall this was a really pleasant read and I recommend this to everyone, especially to those like me, who want to give short story collections another shot.
And I want to thank Netgalley and Algonquin Young Readers for providing me this ARC, it was a pleasure to read and review this amazing book.

This book was very different from the styles that I generally read and it was a fun experience. It’s really fun how most of these are happening somewhere between the midnight, hence giving it the name ‘Up All Night’. There were some stories that I liked more than the others, especially the last one. I liked how diverse (including queer, POC) these stories were and how different they were. Overall, it was a fun experience.

I dont usually read anthologies but I am glad that I picked this one up! This was so much fun and exciting!

All the short stories that we get here tackle something or the other with a great sense of sensitivity while also offering a unique blend of what we readers want - romance, adventure, action and some magic!

Honestly, some of the stories in here were really good and quite unputdownable. My favourite was Kiss the Boy by Amanda Joy and Creature Capture by Laura Silverman.

When I first got this book from the title and blurb, I thought this was a collection of short stories that would have ghosts! This is one of the reasons why I was not very keen on picking it up straightaway but thank god that I did.

Really enjoyed this one!

What a great anthology. I loved every single one of these stories. They were so diverse and obviously written by and for teenagers of all different walks of life, of different skin colours, sexualities, gender identities, experiences and much more. I think me loving this anthology and loving the diversity is one of the reasons why I was really saddened by seeing a Harry Potter reference in Laura Silverman's story. It could've just as well been a Lord of the RIngs marathon or even Star Wars. Seeing gender diverse people represented in this book and then putting a Harry Potter reference in there felt a little tone deaf to me and I for one have some trans and non binary friends who I know would absolutely adore this book but I will also have to give them a trigger warning which will lead to them leaving Silverman's story out. Which is a shame because it is SO GOOD. Maybe you would reconsider. I hope you reconsider. It could be so easily changed and would mean a lot to so many.

Otherwise, I can only repeat myself: I. loved. this. I couldn't even pick a favourite story because they're all different, all unique and have different genres and that is fantastic. It's brilliant to see what people can come up with with one single prompt.

This was a great mix of short stories. I had the opportunity to interview the author and it was a lot of fun learning where the authors got the ideas for their stories. Definitely one for the library collection.

I’m a huge fan of anthologies. Flying Lessons, Hungry Hearts, Once Upon an Eid, Black Enough, Color Outside the Lines, It’s a Whole Spiel – I love reading a wide array of stories and getting a taste of an author’s vision and creativity with the anthology’s central and shared theme.

Up All Night offers thirteen stories that all take place between sunset and sunrise. I was intrigued by this hook; the time after midnight is a mysterious, sometimes mystical, sometimes wondrous time where the extraordinary happens. Most of the stories in Up All Night are contemporary stories – some are romantic, some are about friendship, one has supernatural elements, and one even has superheroes. Though, as a whole, I liked Up All Night well enough, I found myself loving and enthralled by some stories but unfortunately disappointed or bored by some.

Never Have I Ever by Karen M. McManus
I can see why Never Have I Ever was the first short story in the anthology. The story follows a group of teens who play the game ‘Never Have I Ever’ and the night goes awry when the resident bad boy in town shows up and plays – leading the teens to discover something horrific. I was intrigued to see where this story was going, but did not enjoy the sudden tonal shift and the surprise ‘twist’ at the end. But that’s just me, someone who is tired and not interested with twists where ‘privileged white girl is bad, actually’ stories. This story will probably work if you actually have expectations of character tropes to subvert. Me? I unfortunately felt bored and unsurprised.
Content warning for: death, blood mention

Like Before by Maurene Goo
Oh, I loved this and this short story actually made me cry. This story follows a Korean-American teen who invites her two friends to a slumber party and scavenger hunt, to rekindle their strained friendship. This was a funny yet bittersweet illustration of friendship in a landscape of change, and I felt so connected to the Pepper’s desperation to hold onto and mend her friends’ relationship. The direction of the story goes to a place that I absolutely did not expect – yet, I think the direction it went was perfect and real and very needed – and I was left heartbroken by the end. A brilliant and heartbreaking story.

Old Rifts and Snowdrifts by Kayla Whaley
Set in a snowstorm, this adorable story felt like a warm pillow and hot chocolate that melted my heart. This story is about a white disabled teen who uses a wheelchair and is stuck at work with her estranged friend that she no longer speaks to amidst a blizzard. It’s about mending an old rift in their friendship, due to a miscommunication and misunderstanding, and I loved how tender and gentle this story was. I also love the pure and gorgeous disabled joy in this story.

Con Nights, Parallel Hearts by Marieke Nijkamp
I was intrigued by the unique format, where the story’s characters’ (one whom is nonbinary) favourite TV show about exploring parallel universes and time travel, is integrated in the story itself. The story follows three teens waiting outside at a con, discussing their day ahead. When an opportunity presents itself for one of the teens to open up to her friend, the story diverges, presenting us with three ‘timelines’ of how their conversation goes. The story explores how fandom can be more than fandom; it can be an anchor and a way to escape. The story does touch upon domestic abuse, and it is sensitively handled. I like stories that explore alternate timelines and how our lives look like if we had made a different decision, so I enjoyed this story.
Content warning for: discussion of abuse

Kiss the Boy by Amanda Joy
This was a cute story about three Black best friends who made a pact to kiss their crushes before they graduate. Taking place during their last night at high school where a scavenger hunt is planned, the story is about one teen’s last attempt to kiss her crush. There’s nothing surprising about this story, which gives it its charm; it’s an unsurprising, predictable, yet absolutely sweet, and lovely story about finally confessing to your crush.

Creature Capture by Laura Silverman
This was one of my favourite stories in the anthology because it reminded me so much of the joy and sense of community during the height of Pokemon Go. This story is about a teen and her best friend who venture into a lake to find the Loch Ness monster in a mystical creature collectathon mobile app game. It’s about insecurity, being afraid to make new friends, and connecting with others who love the same thing as you. I love how this story just captures the joy of playing Pokemon Go and the camaraderie of meeting people who play the same game and scary yet exciting experience of making new friends.

Shark Bait by Tiffany D. Jackson
I love Tiffany Jackson’s work, but Shark Bait didn’t quite work for me. This story is about a Black teen, who moved to a new town with her mother following her father’s infidelity. When her father offers her a chance to move in with him, giving her a chance to study at Yale, she goes out with her biracial white-passing boyfriend to the beach while grappling with the decision ahead of her. The story explores anti-Blackness and being a token, and has a twist at the end, which, I think was supposed to show how fragile and fleeting life can be, didn’t work for me.
Content warning: death, accident, infidelity, racist anti-Black slur used

A Place to Start by Nina LaCour
This is quite a ‘quiet’ story in comparison to the others, and I liked it. It’s about two teens – one nonbinary – whose mothers marry and whisk themselves away on their honeymoon, leaving the new step-siblings to grapple with change. I enjoyed the portrayal of how understated and anticlimactic change can become, how the two step-siblings make changes to their new home to better adjust and to feel more at home. This was a gentle story about change and adjustment that I liked.

When You Bring a Dog to Prom by Anna Meriano
This story stood out to me and I really enjoyed it! The story follows a group of friends who go to prom and the night that follows when the main character’s crush goes to prom with someone else. This was such a sweet and fun story that centered friendship, secret crushes, grappling with jealousy while also trying to be a supportive friend, and shenanigans when the prom date’s comfort dog accidentally runs away. I felt that this story subverted my expectations in a fun and gentle way, and it was a comfort to read.

Missing by Kathleen Glasgow
Readers who love ghost stories and creepy settings, rejoice! This story is about a group of girls who go into an abandoned women’s asylum to record the happenings therein, only to find that the asylum isn’t as abandoned as they thought. The story explores historical sexism and how women were incarcerated for being ‘progressive’, grief, and also portrays the toxic relationships between the girls. Atmospheric and sure to stand out in the anthology, but the story also didn’t really leave any sort of impression to me,

What About Your Friends by Brandy Colbert
This was a sweet yet bittersweet story about two Black friends who drifted apart but meet once more at a dance marathon in college. The story explores friendships and how they just sometimes drift apart, and how the void of closeness, leaving awkwardness, often leads us to say the wrong things. It’s also about how some things don’t change, even when people do, and how the main character’s gap year is cut short due to a racist experience. I liked this; liked the unique setting, enjoyed the depiction of friendship here, and the ending gave me some hope.

Under Our Masks by Julian Winters
Another favourite in the anthology! This story has superheroes and how a Black teen (who is also the vigilante, Raven) does a stake out with his friend/crush, a South Asian teen, on the lookout for Raven himself. This story reads very ‘slice of life’; there’s no action or villain-butt-kicking, but I liked how extraordinary moments that can change our lives can happen in the quiet moments at night. This was down to earth and really sweet. I hope Julian Winters can write about teen superheroes one day; I’d welcome such a story with open arms.

The Ghosts of Goon Creek by Francesca Zappia
This was a lovely story about friendship and judgement! It follows a teen who is the school’s resident outcast and expert on local ghost stories, who is asked to be interviewed about the ghost of Goon Creek. When others join the adventure, for what was assumed to be an awkward outing turns into an adventure among growing friends. I really liked this, and how sometimes the barriers to making friends is sometimes, well, you. It was a nice closing to the anthology and a soft and lovely finish.


Up All Night features an array of creative stories for a simple premise. All of the stories are well-written – and if you love the writing styles and previous works of the authors in this anthology, then you will probably love their story – but some of the stories will resonate, whereas others may not. Though this isn’t the strongest anthology I have read, it is a solid anthology nonetheless and there will be a gem in here for everyone.

Thirteen stories set in the depths and darkness of night are delivered up in the YA anthology, Up All Night. This anthology holds a good mix of entertaining stories, and altogether is a pretty solid compilation. I personally loved the theme of setting the stories in the middle of the night when most of the world is asleep. That premise gifted these tales a unique angle, as most of us don’t know what goes on in the world after we lay our head down to sleep at night. Up All Night answers that question.

Never Have I Ever by Karen McManus (5 Stars)
A tame game of Never Have I Ever turns sinister when the resident bad boy turns up at the band geeks’ late night party and changes all the rules.
I naively didn’t see the twists and turns coming in this suspenseful tale, earning Never Have I Ever a solid 5 stars. On the other hand, I should have expected this with a short story coming from renowned YA suspense author Karen McManus.

Like Before by Maureen Goo (3 Stars)
In a last ditch attempt to bring her childhood friends back together, a high school senior plans a night of scavenger hunting for memories.
Like Before will hit home with anyone who has watched their friendships drift apart and fade away as people got busy with their lives and went down different paths. For its intended teenage readers, it’s a portent of things to come as they prepare to leave the bubble of high school. Like Before earns 3 stars for trying to cram too much information into a short story format and not giving readers enough back story on the girls’ friendship to create a sense of caring and connection.

Old Rifts and Snowdrifts by Kayla Whaley (4 Stars)
An unexpected monster snowstorm in Atlanta causes two former best friends turned enemies to be snowed in overnight at the florist shop where they work.
Old Rifts and Snowdrifts is the first story in this anthology that can be categorized as a romance. This story, featuring diverse backgrounds, abilities, and sexualities, is cute and engaging. What’s more romantic than be snowed in with your crush?

Con Nights, Parallel Hearts by Marieke Nijkamp (2 Stars)
While waiting in line at a Con to meet the writer of her favorite TV show, a teenager debates three different endings to telling her best friend her darkest secret.
I wasn’t a fan of this story, not because it dealt with heavy subject matter, but rather because the writing was stilted and disengaging. Furthermore, the formatting of this story was confusing and the plot repetitive. None of the three endings varied greatly enough from each other to stand out or be memorable.

Kiss the Boy by Amanda Joy (4 Stars)
A teenage girl attempts to complete a pact she made with her best friends at the start of high school by kissing the boy of her dreams during Senior Game Night.
This story is a cute and fun rom-com set amid the thrill and excitement of the end of senior year. What better way to kick off your newfound freedom and explore future possibilities than by kissing the guy you’ve had your eye on?

Creature Capture by Laura Silverman (5 Stars)
A self-proclaimed nerd scours her town’s lakes with her best friend in the hopes of capturing a Loch Ness Monster in a Pokémon Go-inspired fantasy game.
I loved Creature Capture’s idea of venturing out into the night on a “quest” in search of an elusive Loch Ness Monster. This story was a lot of fun and I was filled with anticipation right alongside the characters as we hunted for Nessie.

Shark Bait by Tiffany D. Jackson (3 Stars)
A wealthy black teenager evaluates her current situation and reconsiders her future during the last night of the summer with her boyfriend on Martha’s Vineyard.
Shark Bait started off strongly for me, but took a turn when the exposition began moving too quickly and confusingly between past and present, and Jackson utilized stereotypes to push her main character in a certain direction.

A Place to Start by Nina Lacour (4 Stars)
Two stepsiblings rearrange their family’s new home decor on the night of their mother’s’ wedding, while learning more about each other.
I appreciated the moments of sibling bonding shared in A Place to Start. The idea of two teenagers making a big, empty house a home was intriguing and fun to read about.

When You Bring a Dog to Prom by Anna Mariano (2 Stars)
A group of friends determined to have a perfect prom are in for a wild night that none of them saw coming.
This story was just okay for me. I found it to be a bit boring, scattered, and outlandish. We are also introduced to too many characters for a short story - it made it difficult to keep track of everyone.

Missing by Kathleen Glasgow (3 Stars)
A group of girls go on a ghost hunt in an old abandoned mental asylum.
Ghost/paranormal stories are one of my least favorite genres, so I didn’t really enjoy Missing, but I think it could be a lot of fun for people who are into this sort of thing. I also had a hard time keeping track of the characters, which lessened my enjoyment.

What About Your Friends by Brandy Colbert (5 stars)
Black best friends, tired of being the “only ones” at their high school, find their plans to attend the same college derailed after one takes a gap year traveling in Europe, and the other joins a sorority to fill her friends absence.
I really liked this story because the friendship between Eleanor and Michaela felt genuine and true to life. How often do friendships end after high school, often because people become apathetic or just get busy with their own lives?

Under Our Masks by Julian Winters (4 Stars)
While on the lookout for Atlanta’s superhero Raven, two teenage boys share what’s in their hearts.
I appreciated this story for the unique novelty of it. I’ve never read a piece of fiction featuring superheroes, so the change of pace and theme was intriguing.

The Ghost of Goon Creek by Francesca Zappia (3 Stars)
When the “weird” girl at school gets invited to lead a ghost hunting expedition, the group discovers more than they bargained for.
The Ghost of Goon Creek is solid, but not the most interesting story. It’s a good tale about not assuming you already know what everyone thinks about you and that’s why they act the way they do.

This was a great collection, a mix of contemporary stories that all center around the idea of the characters having to stay up all night. Like many short story collections, there seems to be something for everyone within these pages, and even the stories that weren't my favorite were definitely enjoyable. Highlights for me included "Never Have I Ever" by Karen McManus (thriller/mystery), "Con Nights, Parallel Hearts" by Marieke Nijkamp (three different versions of the same night, "Under Our Masks" by Julian Winters (superheroes fall in love too!), and "A Place to Start" by Nina LaCour (how to create a new home with new family).

I think the thing that I enjoyed most is that each story really felt different. There was the linking factor of the premise (being up all night), but the stories feel distinct and separate without feeling like they don't belong in the same book. Not all of the stories were happy, which is okay too (there's a particularly creepy story by Tiffany D. Jackson). Highly recommended.