Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder – ed. Saundra Mitchell

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know I adore short fiction, especially in the form of YA anthologies. And one of the books that sparked that love was Saundra Mitchell’s anthology All Out. So of course I jumped at the opportunity to read the last anthology in this series of three, Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder, featuring future-set stories about queer teens from a wide range of identities and authors. However, I think while the concept is amazing, this one is the weakest link in the series.

Many thanks to Harper360YA for sending me an ARC for review. All opinions are my own.

RELEASE DATE: 07/07/2022

STAR RATING: 3/5 ✶

SUMMARY: Explore new and familiar worlds where the human consciousness can be uploaded into a body on Mars…an alien helps a girl decide if she should tell her best friend how she feels…two teens get stuck in a time loop at a space station…people are forced to travel to the past or the future to escape the dying planet…only a nonbinary person can translate the binary code of a machine that predicts the future…everyone in the world vanishes except for two teen girls who are in love.

This essential and beautifully written collection immerses and surprises with each turn of the page.

With original stories from:
Ugochi M. Agoawike
K. Ancrum
Kalynn Bayron
Z Brewer
Mason Deaver
Alechia Dow
Z.R. Ellor
Leah Johnson
Naomi Kanakia
Claire Kann
Alex London
Jim McCarthy
Abdi Nazemian
Emma K. Ohland
Adam Sass
Mato J. Steger
Nita Tyndall

(from Inkyard Press)

OPINIONS: I loved All Out, Saundra Mitchell’s first anthology about queer teens, featuring a range of the best YA authors writing about their takes on historical queerness. This winning streak continued with Out Now, featuring contemporary stories and now, Out There, which reaches for a queer future. Many of the stories in this anthology are science fiction, some are merely set in a contemporary future, but all of them continue the theme: featuring queer teens living their lives, showcased by some of the best YA talent publishing right now. I did find that this third anthology had less standout stories than the first two – for me personally, All Out was full of them, Out Now had a fair amount and the standouts in Out There were only a handful.

But the quality of the anthology throughout is solid – and just because not every story worked for me personally doesn’t mean it should not be told and doesn’t have an audience. Because to me, that’s the beauty of these anthologies: they feature such a wide range of identities and perspectives that there is something that will click with every reader, whether they are trying to find their identity or looking for representation, or even just exploring what the world has to offer.

Among the stories that really touched me was Kalynn Bayron’s “The Department of Homegoing Affairs” which was a heartwarming sapphic story with a dark side, dealing with death and loss as well as queerness. I love her writing and this was no exception. I found it magical and compelling. I also adored “Concerto” by Abdi Nazemian, though again this had a lot of bittersweet elements to it – it seems that I need a good dose of darkness with my comfort these days! There were other stories that I really enjoyed too, but these two were my favourites in the anthology and the ones that stuck with me for a while after reading.

While I do think that Out There is the weakest entry into this trilogy of anthologies, it is a strong weakest link and I think this concept is more valuable than potential flaws in its execution for the individual reader. I hope you pick one of these anthologies up for yourself or a young person in your life and it gives you joy.

Add Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder to your Goodreads here, and order a copy via Bookshop here (affiliate link).