Let me start off by saying that I have read a lot of Jane Yolen (and I don’t just mean her How Do Dinosaur series, although it is one of my daughter’s favorites.) I like that what she writes is not necessarily what you expect and that there are a lot of fantasy and magical realism elements in her writing. And several of these stories are just creepy enough to make you uncomfortable.
The first time I read these stories, I wasn’t a big fan. Sure, there were a few that stood out as ones I liked or made me really think, but overall, I just didn’t really like this one. But I didn’t write my review right away because I wanted to think about it some more. And then when I finally sat down to write my review, I honestly couldn’t remember much about the stories themselves. So, I picked it up and read through most of the stories a second time. And this time, I was a lot more impressed.
I’m not going to go through all of the stories, but while they all made me feel something, some stood out as ones I liked more than others. The Weaver of Tomorrow about a young girl who wants to know the future and is apprenticed out to the Weaver of Time was a short but powerful story touching on free choice and getting what you wish for in the worst possible way. Wilding is an incredibly strange story about sometime in the future when societal violence is under strict control, and the only way people can let loose a bit is through what might be thought of as actual reality or a real-life videogame-like experience. (Honestly, it’s hard to describe, you just need to read this one.)
I also appreciated the notes at the end of the book, though, and I almost wish that each one immediately followed the relevant story, since I think her personal stories about what she wrote and the poems she included added more depth to the stories themselves.
Thank you to Tachyon Press and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.