All Out, The No-Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout The Ages. Edited by Saundra Mitchell, Published by arrangement with Harlequin TEEN, 2018

All Out, The No-Longer Secret Stories of Queer Teens Throughout The Ages.
Edited by Saundra Mitchell, Published by arrangement with Harlequin TEEN, 2018

Take a journey through time and genres and discover a past where queer figures live, love and shape the world around them.  Seventeen of the best young adult authors across the queer spectrum have come together to create a collection of beautifully written diverse historical fiction for teens.

From a retelling of Little Red Riding Hood set in war-torn 1870s Mexico featuring a transgender soldier, to two girls falling in love while mourning the death of Kurt Cobain, forbidden love in a sixteenth-century Sanish convent, and an asexual girl discovering her identity amid the 1970s roller-disco scene, this anthology of distinct stories and experiences is exceptional in scope and quality, and gives voice to the queer experiences that have long existed but often go unrepresented.  I particularly enjoyed Elliot Wake’s Every Shade of Red, about a transgender Robin Hood set in 1300’s England and Shaun David Hutchinson’s The Inferno & the Butterfly in which two gay magicians’ assistants fall in love in early nineteen century London, England.

Readers searching for positive, nuanced, and authentic queer representation in historical fiction will find it in this superb collection where the authors explore young adults coming to understand and accept themselves, and also some who haven’t quite worked it out yet.

Featuring stories are by Malinda Lo, Elliot Wake, Anna-Marie McLemore, Shaun David Hutchinson, Mackenzi Lee, Kody Keplinger, Kate Scelsa, Nilah Magruder, Alex Sanchez, Natalie C. Parker, Dahlia Adler, Sara Farizan, Scott Tracey and Robin Talley, Tess Sharpe, and introducing Tehkor Kay Mejia.

Saundra Mitchell (she/they), the editor of this anthology is an award-winning and critically acclaimed author of twelve novels and two non-fiction history books, and an editor of four anthologies for young people, and two novels for adults forthcoming. She has spent the last fifteen years of her career fighting for the reading rights of young people, especially those from marginalized groups and backgrounds. As a disabled, openly queer author, she has fought for equity in professional reviews for books featuring LGBTQIA+ characters of all ages, and continues to fight for equal inclusion in classes, school libraries and public libraries. With work banned in at least sixteen states, Mitchell is a vocal activist against censorship at the local, and national, level. She also teaches creative writing and screenwriting to students of all ages, and enjoys reading, studying history, playing ttrpgs and video games, and spending time with her wife and daughters.

This book review was submitted by Stand with Trans advocate Barb Shumer, past board member and
retired public librarian.