So I rated each story separately and then gave it an average which resulted in:

3.5 stars.

It was a pretty standard collection of stories from some authors I know and others I don't. There were definitely ones I enjoyed more than others but overall it was a pretty great collective effort on the part of the writers. I will say if you don't want spoilers, don't read beyond this sentence as I'm going to write a bit more about each individual story.

Shaun David Hutchinson's bits tying it all together were well written. It did well showcasing that under pressure this particular group of teenagers could work together even if they'll never see each other again once they're at home.


Marieke Nijkamp's The Butterfly Effect & The Chaos Effect were emotional pieces on how one event in a teenage girl's life can lead to her doing something drastic just for a means to escape. I'm pretty sure I gave The Butterfly Effect a 3.5 and The Chaos Effect a 4.5.

Tim Floreen's A Ruthless Dame only got a 3 from me. I took it as a story where once again a 'man' didn't receive any consequences for the things he did against a teenage boy. The fact that he lost his girlfriend and was shamed in front of her wasn't enough of a punishment for the fact that he was taking advantage of underage guys and I just couldn't agree with the outcome.

Robin Talley's Look Down was a solid 5! It was just the right amount of spooky and was the one chapter of the book that I didn't take a break during. It kept me intrigued and I wanted to find out what else happened to Georgia. I almost knocked off some of my rating for the reactions to the camp lesbians but the ghost aspect of the stoyrtelling led to me overlooking that this time. I haven't read any of Robin Talley's work so hopefully that was just a character thing this time around and now an actual opinion on her part of gay ladies.

E.C. Myers' Big Brother Part 1 & Part 2 got a 3. I mean, aliens. Okay. A pervy brother who swears he wasn't a perv but who still did a thing that resulted in the outcome it did. It was written well and I will admit I did read the story in a way that held my interest but ehhh, okay.

Alaya Dawn Johnson's The Subjunctive was a huge disappointment. I rated it a 2.5 and it just left me sad because I really wanted to like it better. It felt like magical realism with a first nations protagonist or maybe I'm wrong but I just felt so bored during this chapter of the book.

Stephanie Kuehn's A Cautionary Tale was a solid 4 imo. I really liked Hollis and I'm really sad that the tale went the way it went, especially if the kid was telling the truth and he actually did what he did. But as a ghost tale, I was once again pulled into the book and speeding through this chapter.

Justina Ireland's Jackie's Story got a 2.5. I don't even remember what this one was about until I start to think about it and slightly remember a thing about Three Little Pigs.

Brandy Colbert's Self-Portrait got a 3.5 and I really want more about these brothers. Like give me a full book about the two of them and their relationship because it feels like there can definitely be more written about them and their dynamic.

Suzanne Young's A Violation of Rule 16 brought the book to a close with a 3. I will say I want more of these characters as well. Lucinda was pretty badass and I'd love to see more of Jameson as it seemed like a pretty decent teenage fella.