Tuesday 26 February 2019

Proud edited by Juno Dawson

Synopsis (from Goodreads

Pages: 320 
Publisher: Stripes 
Released: 7th of March 2019 

A stirring, bold and moving anthology of stories and poetry by top LGBTQ+ YA authors and new talent, giving their unique responses to the broad theme of pride. Each story has an illustration by an artist identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Compiled by Juno Dawson, author of THIS BOOK IS GAY and CLEAN.

A celebration of LGBTQ+ talent, PROUD is a thought-provoking, funny, emotional read.

Contributors: Steve Antony, Dean Atta, Kate Alizadeh, Fox Benwell, Alex Bertie, Caroline Bird, Fatti Burke, Tanya Byrne, Moïra Fowley-Doyle, Frank Duffy, Simon James Green, Leo Greenfield, Saffa Khan, Karen Lawler, David Levithan, Priyanka Meenakshi, Alice Oseman, Michael Lee Richardson, David Roberts, Cynthia So, Kay Staples, Jessica Vallance, Kristen Van Dam and Kameron White.

Following A CHANGE IS GONNA COME, winner of the YA BOOK PRIZE SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2018

What I Have to Say 

This was a fantastic anthology. The fact that I loved almost every single one of the pieces (I just wasn't that fond of the first poem) is something that I've never experienced in an anthology before. Some of my particular favourites were:   Penguins by Simon James Green (and the adorable artwork to go with it by Alice Oseman), The Phoenix's Fault by Cynthia So (a new author found for this collection and a beautiful story from a Asian-inspired fantasy world), I Hate Darcy Pemberley (another new author with a lesbian retelling of Pride and Prejudice) and the Courage of Dragons by Fox Benwell (a lovely story of D & D players sneaking around the school to make everything in it gender neutral).

Along with each story is a piece of artwork to go with it. The art made a really great addition to each story or poem, though art can be a lot more subjective than stories, so I did find some of them were just not art styles that I liked. I really liked their inclusion though, it made the book so much more than most anthologies.

With all the contributors, writers and artists alike being LGBTQ+, this is an amazing book based on many different perspectives and experience.

Whether you're LGBTQ+, questioning or an ally, this book is definitely a MUST READ,


My thanks go to Netgalley and Stripes Publishing for providing me with this free copy for review. 

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