Now this is how you tap for an anthology. The authors are diverse, many of them well-established and popular in the YA scifi/fantasy scene; and the stories reflect their skills and their interests between embracing queer identities, freedom from oppression, the taking back of stolen/appropriated history, and sometimes just... existing and being magical. Below I have outlined individual reviews for each story, but standout faves are Natalie C Parker's and Tochi Onyebuchi's - for very different reasons. Though with nothing below a 3? This anthology gets a resounding Laura seal of approval.

-Tara Sim 4/5⭐️ - wholesome gay boys! Death and magic and curiosity and hope. A fun take on the "3 wishes" story - as we see Sage's wishes unfold to forward the plot, even as we follow Thorn from one day to the next. I would have liked a little bit more about the stones and their magic, but for a short story? Solid
-Natalie C Parker 5/5⭐️ First of all: short and simple with effective descriptions and am elaborate world where gender seems to have no bearing on status, role, or profession. Also, gay ladies! I literally threw down my kindle with a "YES!" when we got the genders of Rabi and Willador during their first encounter. But when the third contestant is a man, thus meaning the Blossom isn't straight? Sold.
-Libba Bray 3/5⭐️ I think I struggled a little with this one because I haven't read The Diviners. So these characters have an established relationship to each other, to these secret societies, to this magic... But I don't know any of it. It definitely succeeded in making me curious, but it ends unresolved and that just didn't do it for me. Though the writing was good enough
-Anne-Marie McLemore 4/5⭐️ an interesting twist on the Cinderella story, where our Cinderella has actual agency beyond a distaste for her lot in life. Plus the sheer magic of seeing queer characters out and accepted and free to make their own decisions (both as a reader and through the eyes of our MC) was truly amazing
-Kwame Mbalia 3/5⭐️ I had trouble following the conflict. There didn't appear to be a real... Change? Convincing Harry of the importance of the plants didn't seem to happen. He just conceded because multiple people were arguing against him. Which, doesn't seem like a particularly meaningful turning point for a story.
-VE Schwab 3/5⭐️ why are there always authors in anthologies that set stories in universes they've already written about at length? First Bray and now Schwab. Schwab's characters I at least know, but if you didn't know them, this wouldn't really be enough to satisfy you. It's the briefest moment and the characters don't get to shine.
-Rebecca Roanhorse 4/5⭐️ okay, I would definitely read more in this series. Roanhorse doesn't pull punches, immediately calling out genocide, theft, and the gross misappropriation of "artifacts" from smaller planets. I think I wanted a bit more in terms of conflict, especially once we made it into the museum, but for the length of the story, I'll take it
-Nic Stone 4/5⭐️ okay this one was cute. It got a little too sappy for me by the end, but I think it fits the kind of fairy tale vibe of the whole story. A story of acceptance and girls who ignore the blustering boys but watch the other lonely girls.
-Jenni Balch 3/5⭐️ I like that we're getting more scifi (ish) stories going, and I'm always down to put magic in a scifi setting (even if it happens so rarely) and YAY DISABILITY REP. But I didn't get a handle on Lane or the greater world and it didn't really feel complete when it ended.
-Dhonielle Clayton 3.5/5⭐️ I can't get over the moniker heartician... Kinda dumb, not gonna lie, but this is exactly the kind of thing that people would buy into. I actually like that the ending leaves us unresolved, but I kind of want to know what some of the details on the hearts meant.
-Mark Oshiro 3.5/5⭐️ I was really into this at the beginning. But by the end, I was like... Well, what was the point? Felix was being impatient and kind of whiny and the ending came out of nowhere and left me confused. What I did like was the way magic is handled so casually and by everyone, that it seems to be so deeply integrated into everyday life
-Samira Ahmed 4.5/5⭐️ the ending, as improbable as it was, gave me chills. Something about the direct way she addresses whoever came next... I wanted to know more about the future-people, what their goals are and where they're from and how their lives differ from ours.
-Tessa Gratton 4/5⭐️ The world was fascinating and I was so intrigued by the style, the mythology, the characters (4 genders! And we want to break from that and accept more!). I wanted to just walk around in this world and see everything. But the ending came too fast and we were left hanging...
-Zoraida Cordova 3.5/5⭐️ it felt like we got so distracted by magic that we forgot about plot. And when the plot kicked back in it was done in a flash, leaving us, yet again, without resolution. I always love a story where the magic hides just out of sight, though I would have liked to see more of the creatures rather than just a few snatches
-Tochi Onyebuchi 5/5⭐️ this one gave me chills. Comparing the school to prison pipeline in America to the Israeli/Palestinian border crisis... From the perspective of two boys the system is trying to kill, two boys on opposite sides of the world who, through some insane magic, can find hope in each other. Amazing, honestly.

{Thank you Crown Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for the advanced copy; all thoughts are my own}