I think this is a great read for anyone who really likes mythology! For me personally, some of the stories in the anthology hit and some didn't so it just felt middle of the road overall.

I was so intrigued by the idea of a YA anthology, and so excited to have the opportunity to read it! As a teacher, I often think that younger students don't get to engage with short stories written specifically for them, and these do a great job of it. This book is a celebration of South Asian storytelling. It explores many mythologies, and each story hooked me in its own way. As with any anthology, some of the stories resonated with me more than others, but I think it has something for everyone.

Unfortunately I have a hard time rating Magic Has No Borders, as I enjoyed some of the stories and I didn’t enjoy others. Particularly, I really loved Sabaa Tahir, Tanaz Bhathena, Sona Charaipotra, and Nikita Gill’s contributions. Overall, it was an interesting magical read.

Like in any collection, the pieces aren’t equally good, but I liked this overall and learned some new myths!

I think this would go well with a standard version of the myths in a classroom, and would be doubly enjoyable for those familiar with the stories already.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

I love anthologies and getting introduced to new authors. I loved this collection it was such an incredible array of interesting stories.

Totally forgot to review this one while meanwhile I've been praising it to teens all over the place!
My tween readers love all these anthologies.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- a powerful group of authors coming together to write intriguing, detailed, and engaging stories based on South Asian folklore. stories of different genres, characters of versatile personalities and backgrounds, and prose that left me swooned, this is an anthology that you don't want to miss!

I’ll read anything written by Sabaa Tahir but the rest of the stories in this books were magical and I can’t recommend it enough.

The concept was truly brilliant, an anthology focusing on South Asian cultures and myth, by South Asian/diaspora authors. I tried to read several stories but it just didn't grip me, IDK. I picked this book because of Sabaa Tahir and even her story couldn't attract my mind.

I believe this is the first anthology I've ever read, and I was really intrigued by this one. But I found myself not enjoying it like I hoped I would. I found some stories by some authors more enjoyable and interesting than others but a lot of them just fell majorly flat for me.

I have only read a few of the writers that took part in this anthology and was very excited for Sabaa Tahir.

The thing that drew me into wanting to read this book was that this anthology would be very diverse due to the writers, and it explores South Asian folklore. I love seeing different cultures in different books so I thought I would really love this.

I think a major problem for me, and it is a me problem was that I could not connect with the characters. This could be because I am not educated about the culture, or it could be because I literally could not find any connection due to how short each story is.

Some of the stories felt rushed and other stories felt like there was so much info dumping.

I do believe a lot of people will highly enjoy Magic Has No Borders and will find the South Asian folklore interesting with each of the told stories.

I’ve had this anthology on my TBR since it was announced, so I was excited to get to read it. However, after finishing it, my main impression is how violent it all was. I loved the little bits of magic sprinkled throughout, but there was extreme violence in almost all of the stories (war, burning alive, decapitation, etc.). I did enjoy it overall, but I think anyone who is interested in it should check out the content warnings first!

(Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change upon final publication.)

Thank you, Net Gallery, for the advanced copy of this book. This is a collection of stories from Asian folklore told by modern writers. The writers create new twists and new endings to many of the tales. Some were quite endearing. I enjoyed this book.

One of the most beautiful covers this year.

Anthologies can be so difficult to rate. Each story is individual, and yet these stories add up to one book, where editors have the final say: Do these stories encapsulate the category I am trying to highlight?

This collection of South-Asian fantasy and sci-fi teen stories is a bit lackluster. Individually, the writing is lacking in many of the stories, which is a shame because they are clearly important tales to each of these writers. I also think some of this falls onto the editor of this anthology. Why not ask for more from the writer?

I've read a number of books from these authors, so I am familiar with their work, and this did not feel in line with the work that they normally produce. The short form is not their strong suit.

As a whole the anthology is pretty average, with the majority of the stories receiving 2-3 stars at most. The only exception is the one by Sabaa Tahir, which had the strongest writing of the bunch.

I always enjoy these sort of collections, they introduce me to different authors and I like the short stories. In this particular one I felt like I was skimming over more than I typically do, but I'm glad it exists.

I've always loved anthologies and I think this one does a lot of great things. I know next to nothing about a lot of South Asian folklore and such which made me excited for this book. While I wouldn't say each story was a 10/10 for me, they each kept my attention and were enjoyable.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this anthology!

This was my first anthology, and so I struggled somewhat to handle the flow of moving from story to story, especially when some of them didn't draw me in as much as others. However, I enjoyed learning about the various Southeast Asian myths and deities that inspired each entry, as well as the words each author offered at the end to shed light on their thoughts and inspiration. I'm unable to rate each story individually, but I would say most of the stories were 3-4 stars with a few standouts deserving a 5 star such as: Infinite Drift by Olivia Chadha, Dismantle the Sun by Sangu Mandanna, and Mirch, Masala, and Magic by Nafiza Azad.

I'm certainly interested in checking out more anthologies thanks to this one, especially ones that explore settings and themes inspired by or drawing from under-represented cultures and written by authors from those cultures!

Magic Has No Boarders
Novellas & Short Stories - Sci Fi & Fantasy - Teens & YA

Magic Has No Boarders is a collection of magical South Asian Tales by amazing authors. The cover of this book caught my attention, the colors and images jumping off the cover are stunning.

Each of the 14 stories has it's own pros and cons. I was not overly thrilled with each one, I am not 100 % what I was expecting with this book but it didn't hit the mark for me.

My least favorite story is Kiss Me Goodbye by Tracey Baptiste - 2/5. The story felt rushed, and the characters didn't come together nicely. The entire story felt like it was missing something to bring it all together cohesively.

My favorite story was What the Winds Stole by Sabaa Tahir 4/5. It is such a great story all around. The writing style and storytelling caught my attention and the characters in the book felt well rounded.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's Books for the eARC.

Absolutely an amazing love letter to South Asian mythologies and lores. Beautifully written, like a masterclass in storytelling.

Magic Has No Borders
⭐⭐⭐⭐/4
🌶️/4

Magic Has No Borders is an anthology of 14 different short stories all written by Asian authors. The tales are all inspired by South Asian culture, lore, and history. The stories range from stories about gods to everyday life with just a touch of magic. Each story is fiction, with just a touch of real life inspiration.

Before this book, I think I've only ever read one anthology before. I'm not a huge short story fan, because I always want more. The same goes for this collection of stories. Some of them were just alright and I felt satisfied with what they offered. Others though, I would have loved to have more. More background, more content, further relationship building, etc. I really loved how this was so representative of Asian culture. There were quite a few things I had to look up, because I'm not as familiar with that culture, but I found that enjoyable in itself. I loved the authenticity of it, and I felt like I learned a lot while still enjoying a story. Some of the stories also had an author's note giving a little background to the story! If I had to pick my favorites, they'd be as follows:
1. What the Winds Stole by Sabaa Tahir
2. Dismantle the Sun by Sangu Mandanna
3. She Who Answers by Shreya Ila Anasuya
4. Infinite Drift by Olivia Chadha

This book is a great collection of South Asian stories, and I really recommend it to anyone and everyone!