This collection of stories is unlike any other I have read.

While I do enjoy dystopian fiction, I admit that sometimes it is a lot to take in. There are so many ways our society can (and often does) go astray, sometimes it is nice to actually read a story that is full of hope for the future.

While I often hear complaints IRL (in real life) about what the youth of today are like, these stories offer the opposite perspective. Rather than entitled, shiftless layabouts, the youth in these stories are the ones who are saving the planet. It is nice to have hope that the youth of today will turn out to be amazing and creative human beings who care about their environment and who want to make sure they leave the world better off than how it was bequeathed to them.

If you feel the same way I do, this anthology is a collection of stories you really need to indulge yourself in.

This book contains the following works of hopeful future fiction:

"Caught Root" by Julia K. Patt
"The Spider and the Stars" by D.K. Mok
"Riot of the Wind and Sun" by Jennifer Lee Rossman
"Fyrewall" by Stefani Cox
"Watch Out, Red Crusher!" by Shel Graves
"The Call of the Wold" by Holly Schofield
"Camping With City Boy" by Jerri Jerreat
"A Field of Sapphires and Sunshine" by Jaymee Goh
"Midsummer Night's Heist" by Commando Jugendstil and Tales from the EV Studio
"Heavenly Dreams of Mechanical Trees" by Wendy Nikel
"New Siberia" by Blake Jessop
"Grover: Case #C09 920, 'The Most Dangerous Blend'" by Edward Edmonds
"Amber Waves" by Sam S. Kepfield
"Grow, Give, Repeat" by Gregory Scheckler
"Cable Town Delivery" by M. Lopes da Silva
"Women of White Water" by Helen Kenwright
"Under the Northern Lights" by Charlotte M. Ray

I rate this collection as 4 OUT OF 5 STARS ⭐⭐⭐⭐

An anthology of Solarpunk stories - optimistic science fiction that imagines a future founded on renewable energies - with a great variety of settings and cultures and plots.

I like both pessimistic and optimistic stories, but a little positivity feels good right now. The stories and worlds presented here are inspirational, even though not everything works out every time. From the prominent farming theme to murder mysteries and aliens, the stories vary widely in both setting and tone, but I enjoyed all of them. Some I loved more than others, but that's the nature of an anthology.

It's a lovely premise and I'm hooked on solarpunk now. The future feels a little less bleak.