Unfortunately after reading 30% of this collection I have realized that I don't think short stories geared toward a young adult audience work well for me and have decided to stop reading this work. Nothing was bad but I could tell that a lot of these stories were going to be just shorter forms of long work, which is not what I love for my short story reading.

This anthology is the most perfect addition to your inclusive, diverse classroom library! I loved this collection and will use them in my classes all year long! 

Follow princesses warring in space, haunting ghost stories in Argentina, mermaids off the coast of the Caribbean, swamps that whisper secrets, and many more realms explored and unexplored; this stunning collection of seventeen short stories breaks borders and realms to prove that stories are truly universal.

Please note that I skipped the stories included by the anti-Indigenous authors.

There were only one or two of these stories that I actively enjoyed listening to or wanted to be longer. The rest of these were not that great, mostly because of the way the anthology was divided. I was constantly comparing the stories within their section rather than just reading them as standalones. I also noted in my update that by having only one audiobook narrator, I found it difficult to separate the stories even with the announcement of which story we were listening to.

I wanted to love this a lot more than I did, but it just wasn't what I wanted from this type of anthology. As with many anthologies, there were some star stories and complete duds. It felt like there were more stories somewhere in the middle of this one.

I would probably just recommend picking up novels by the individual authors instead! Much more satisfying.

A wonderful collection of stories. I loved the variety, yet how they call kind of seemed to go together. This collection will have me seeking out more from many of these authors.

Im not usually a fan of short stories but I really loved this collection. I enjoyed all 17 stories from each author and while I love some more than others, every story is unique and beautiful in its own way. I loved the diverse representation and loved how they all centered around a particular theme or idea. We need more representation in literature and I think this was a great step in the right direction, I will definitely be checking out the authors in this collection to read more of their works.

I’ve taken my time on this book, there has been several stories I’ve liked and some that haven’t kept  my interest hence why it’s taken me so long to finish this. Two stars.

Reclaim the Stars was out of this world! I love short story collections and this one was fantastic! I love how inclusive the stories were and reflected a diverse group of contributing authors!

Like most anthologies, this book had some stories I feel head over heels for, and some that were just okayish. The breadth of these stories is amazing - princesses in space, speculative fic, sirens and ghosts, I am not Latina so I can't speak to the representation, but there were some very interesting perspectives here for me to read about. There is some talk about some of the authors of this anthology being problematic? I do wish there had been more sci-fi in this sci-fi & fantasy anthology, which leans really heavily towards fantasy.

What a great collection of short stories. I rated each one in my head 3-5 stars and ultimately decided that overall it was well worth 4 stars. I had some favorites for sure as well as a couple I could've honestly skipped but I found something in each one that I liked. I liked the Spanish in it but I didn't know the meaning of some of it so I do think that Spanish-speaking youth (the audience intended) would probably appreciate the stories just that much more. But there was not so much that any of my understanding was stumped.

My favorites were probably "This Is Our Manifesto," "Color-Coded," and "Magical Offerings." I gave a short review of each short story here as I did a buddy read for it: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/22174557?page=1

I'd like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-ARC of the anthology in exchange for my honest opinion which I have given.

Anthologies are one of my favorite ARC requests, and this one did not disappoint. Overall this was a really magical/fantastical read and I read the entire collection in one sitting. It was a great variety of stories that brought a diverse range of voices and genres to make a really amazing collection. I think one of my favorites was White Water, Blue Ocean. Looking forward to reading even more anthologies in the future!

These 17 short stories were pretty good. There are some definite hidden gems in there that I'd love to read more of (and really hope I see longer versions of them!). By far, the last one was my favorite and I hope we get to meet them again in a much longer version. The goat was the best.

Anthologies are great for getting you out of reading slumps because they are fast and often times really fun reads. I'm so glad I gave this one a shot.

I read this one with friends and reviewed each story here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

Reclaim the Stars is a collection of science fiction and fantasy Latinx short stories. The compilation by Zoraida Cordova is wonderfully put together and includes stories by a number of well-known Latinx authors. Stories ranged from setting in space to setting in magical realism alternate universes of the Caribbean and Latin America. Claribel Ortega's story of witches killing El Chivo is set in an alternate Domincan Republic during the Trujillo era while others take place in post-apocalyptic space. The stories tell tales of love, magic, power and strength. This was a truly enjoyable anthology.

Gr 10 Up—Justice, prison reform, polyamorous love, feminism, toppling dictators, and other timely topics populate the pages of this collection of short stories set in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, magical realms, and distant planets. While the characters in each of these stories are children coming of age, the apocalyptic and magical settings force them to become wise before their time. "The Tin Man" puts Alida in the desperate position of either remaining on Earth where she has memories of her family or getting into an ark destined for unknown parts and beginning again. In "Killing El Chivo," Yesenia, Zaria, and Milagros are left to fend for themselves under a dictatorship that kidnapped and killed their parents. The teens becoming adults in this short story have to grapple with the difference between justice and revenge, and how both still twist the survivors into something they don't want to be. Yesenia learns that to destroy a monster, one must become a monster as well. "Leyenda" by Romina Garber revisits the domain of werewolves and witches, and in it, the main character, Zaybet, tackles patriarchal systems of oppression. In each of these entries a sacrifice is negotiated in order for the protagonist to evolve into a hero and a survivor.

RECLAIM THE STARS is by far my favorite anthology I've ever read. Sharp, witty stories that made me laugh and pretend I wasn't crying. The most invested I've ever been in short-form writing. 

The unexpectedly strong political themes made for the most incredible reading and the fresh perspectives renewed my first love for science fiction.

Only while reading RECLAIM THE STARS does it occur to me how much people of color have been cut out of science fiction. Inclusion in fantasy has increased, perhaps because we ourselves are exotic, like magic. But science fiction? It is too close to the truth, to our reality or future reality, for us to be included. 

Reading stories that lift up culture and identity reminds us unique perspectives are necessary for truly impactful (and entertaining) narratives.

The writing throughout all the stories was wonderful. Even if I didn't connect with the story, I cannot deny how magical they were. Each author was able to completely engulf me and wrap me up in this whole new world. As with all anthologies, there are some stories that I would have loved to see stretched out a little longer, especially here as these were sci-fi and fantasy stories which sometimes do need a while to build the world and the setting. But, some of them were well rounded out in their shortness. 

Reclaim the Stars is one of the best anthologies that I have read to date and one I'll be returning back too to dive into these worlds all over again.

This is a collection of sci-fi short stories. I was excited to try something new for me, as I don’t usually read short stories or much general sci-fi. 

I had a hard time getting into this collection. I’d tell myself I could just get through one short story a night but even that was a challenge. I found many of the stories confusing and in the end DNF the collection. I think it just wasn’t for me.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms and Space by Zoraida Cordova, 432 pages. SHORT STORIES. Wednesday Books, 2022. $ CENTERING ME LGBTQIA
Language: R (60 swears, 3 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Seventeen stories with protagonists who don’t usually get time in the spotlight. These scifi and fantasy stories go beyond my imagination and include new cultures and ideas to amaze each reader.
The variety of culture and characters and stories included here makes me wish I knew what prompt was given to spark their creation. A lot of Spanish is used in the text, and the usage ranged in stories from being cool to being a little irritating because I don’t know Spanish. I liked over half the stories, but I loved stories 6 and 17 – they are simply beautiful.
True to the mission of the authors, the characters depicted are not White, coming from a variety of backgrounds. The mature content rating is for innuendo, harassment, scary descriptions, partial nudity, abortion, and mentions of sex. The violence rating is for blood, gun use, and murder.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

This one really wasn't for me. I have some issues with some of the authors that have been brought to my attention, and I just couldn't get into it. Not necessarily bad, just not for me.

A very solid anthology with a few fantastic stories. Reclaim the Stars features sci-fi (just a few) and fantasy (mostly this) stories from 17 Latinx YA authors. Overall I had a good time with this collection, though as with most anthologies some stories were more of a hit than others. Some standouts for me were...

- Reign of Diamonds by Anna-Marie Mclemore about fighting space princesses
- White Water, Blue Ocean by Linda Raquel Nieves Perez about a family curse and a non-binary young person seeking acceptance
- Leyenda by Romina Garber (because it's a story set in the world of Lobizona and I'm a huge fan of the series!)
- Rogue Enchantments by Isabel Ibanez about a young woman trying to carve a space for herself in a magical market
- Sumaiko y La Sirena by Vita Ayala about an enslaved young woman who longs to return to the sea and falls in love with a siren
- Tame the Wicked Night by Zoraida Cordova a romantic story with a mythological feel to it

There's a lot of diversity, and (unsurprisingly) a lot of magical realism. If this sounds up your alley give it a try! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Reclaim the Stars is a collection of science fiction and fantasy filled with unapologetically Latine stories!

     I was so excited to read this collection! It was full of so many great story ideas and authors who I’ve been wanting to read from! Sadly, I was disappointed and couldn’t finish this book. 

     First, I just want to say that I really enjoyed the stories The Tin Man by Lilliam Rivera and This is Our Manifesto by Mark Oshiro! I gave both of those stories four stars individually. That being said, I got through eight stories in this collection and those are the only two I enjoyed at all. For the other six I read, I gave them either two stars or below or I just couldn’t make myself finish them. 

     I spent almost every story confused. Nothing was explained. The world building was just not there. I don’t expect the same amount of world building that would be in a 500 page fantasy novel, but I do expect to be able to picture what is going on in the story. Most of the stories I read were just not fleshed out very well at all. I’ve been trying to read this since January and I just don’t think I can try anymore. 

     I am not at all trying to discourage anyone from reading this collection. I think people should at least give it a try because I absolutely love the idea of a collection of SFF Latine stories. The execution wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not for everyone. So give this a try if you don’t mind less explanation  in your stories and more vibes and atmosphere! And don’t forget, I did really enjoy Lilliam Rivera and Mark Oshiro’s stories! I’ll definitely be reading more from them in the future!

1.5 stars rounded up to 2.

Thank you NetGalley and Wednesday Books for this arc. All opinions are my own.