Color Outside the Lines
Ratings2
Average rating3.5
This modern, groundbreaking YA anthology explores the complexity and beauty of interracial and LGBTQ+ relationships where differences are front and center. When people ask me what this anthology is about, I’m often tempted to give them the complicated answer: it’s about race, and about how being different from the person you love can matter but how it can also not matter, and it’s about Chinese pirate ghosts, black girl vigilantes, colonial India, a flower festival, a garden of poisons, and so, so much else. Honestly, though? I think the answer’s much simpler than that. Color outside the Lines is a collection of stories about young, fierce, brilliantly hopeful people in love.—Sangu Mandanna, editor of Color outside the Lines With stories by: Samira Ahmed | Elsie Chapman | Lauren Gibaldi | Lydia Kang | Michelle Ruiz Keil | Lori M. Lee | Sangu Mandanna | L.L. McKinney | Anna-Marie McLemore | Danielle Paige | Karuna Riazi | Caroline Tung Richmond | Adam Silvera | Tara Sim | Eric Smith | Kelly Zekas & Tarun Shanker
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This book has been on my tbr for a very long time, probably since the day it was announced. And I was so happy the day I got approved for the ARC. This is such a delightful read, full of adorable meet cutes and chance encounters and every story in its own way emphasizes that our differences can bring us closer and it's so much better to learn from each other, than letting the color of our skin divide us. Really a nice set of empathetic stories and I would definitely recommend it to everyone. My experience was also enhanced by the fact that I buddy read it with my dearest friends.
Below are my individual reviews for the stories:
Turn the Sky to Petals by Anna-Marie McLemore
It's always jarring when the first story starts off in second person, but this one turned out to be easy to adjust to. This is the story of a Latina girl who loves dancing and a Romani boy who's very passionate about playing the cimbalom, who bond over the fact that the thing they love so much is also the reason for their body getting battered and having to live in constant pain. Their dread of maybe having to give up their art for the sake of living a relatively less painful life was very palpable and I could totally feel it. But what made this story was the descriptions of the amazing variety of flowers which made this a very atmospheric experience.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Prom by Danielle Paige
Another little story in second person, this was about two childhood friends who feel it's just inevitable to be together, but one of them is a bit worried what others will think of their relationship. I'm actually unsure how I feel about this because it was too short to form an opinion.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️
What We Love by Lauren Gibaldi
The story of a Jewish girl and an Indian boy, this one quickly took a dark turn with a white girl continuously bullying the protagonists. And while they wanted to fight back, I thought it was both cute and awesome that they took inspiration from Star Wars to make their point but also not take revenge, deciding that they were better than the bully. I found the development of friendship and more pretty adorable.
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Giving Up the Ghost by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas
A world which has ghost mentors for each person, this story was hilarious. I loved how snarky and bitchy Sanjiv's ghost Ching was, but it was nice discovering she was a softy inside (probably “inside” isn't a valid term for a ghost
