
Member Reviews

This collection of lgbtq stories is so broad and varied and touches on so many parts of what it’s like to be queer. I know that having a book cover ever identity or story is impossible, but I feel like this did such a great job including as many variations of queer as possible. I related to so many of the stories, even ones that didn’t necessarily align with my identity. The truth in the story connects people. I’m glad more books like this are coming out. We need more books like this for all the queer kids in the world to find, read, connect to, and discover.

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this book!
This book was so cute. I loved all the different stories in here on different levels. I honestly liked some more than most but all of them had a uniqueness to them. I really enjoyed reading and experiencing all the different stories. It was refreshing to read stories that are not told as much. The ones that I enjoyed the most were
-What Happens in the Closet by Caleb Roehrig
-Lumber Me Mine by CB Lee
-Victory Lap by Julian Winters
-A Pound of Flesh by Kosoko Jackson
-One Spell Too Many by Tara Sim
This book was so diverse and I hope that more books come out like this one.
I would rate this book a 4.
I now want to read the first one!
This review is also posted on Goodreads!

After reading and loving All Out, I knew I had to give Out Now a try. I was definitely not disappointed. The book as a whole is a satisfyingly sweet collection celebrating queer kids and their lives as they figure out the world they're meant to be in, whether it revolves around a familiar high school experience or a fantastical adventure. Each story was a swell of emotions, and each one left me with a smile on my face!
As a queer reader myself, I know having a collection of stories like this as a teen would have meant the world to me. A few stories were a little confusing at first, but the majority of them were 5 star reads for me. Overall, it's a very successful collection with refreshing tales that I can't recommend enough!

3.5 stars
Short story collections can be so hard to rate because some stories are standouts and have all my favorite things, but others are just not at all for me. This collection had more of the not for me variety. It's a fine collection and it does cover pretty much all sexual orientations and gender identities so the importance of the rep can't be understated. But having said that, I did enjoy the first collection much better, but this is all personal preference. I much prefer fantasy and this collections spans genres.
My favorites were "What Happens in the Closet," "Lumber Me Mine," "Seditious Teapots," "Star-Crossed in DC," and "One Spell too Many."

An amazingly diverse anthology including so many of my favorite authors. I read the first anthology in this series and was so excited to get to read the second. I loved the wide range of writing style, identity, and genre. The large majority of these stories I loved, but as it is with anthologies there were a few duds which I chose to skim or skip. But despite that, there were also several stories I desperately want a full novel about.

A great and diverse anthology of short stories. Several of the stories definitely resonated with me, and for the most part, the writing styles are all easy to understand. As is the case when there are many authors involved, there are some stories that I didn't enjoy as much. Additionally, because of the short nature of these stories, sometimes it felt like the plots were cut off or the characters weren't well developed, leaving me wanting more.
However, overall it is a beautiful collection that introduced me to a bunch of new authors. The representation in these stories is really what stood out for me, and I think it's something that will really speak to a lot of readers.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A really strong anthology of LGBT+ short stories. Some are stronger than others in regards to writing style and plot, but overall, a really diverse and great selection of stories. I think many readers will all find something they enjoy.

4 stars
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection of stories for their varied focus on LGBTQ+ identities.
As is the case with most anthologies, there are some stories that resonated with me more than others; they weren't all equally compelling for me.
That noted, I enjoyed the distinct identities and circumstances as a whole and only wished for some further editing in a few cases.

This was a great collection of short stories that I won't soon forget. This was a worth while collection and I will be checking out these authors soon to see if they have anything else. They were all well written!

Solid LGBTQ+ compilation. The plot/writing in some stories was better than in others, but I'm glad something like this exists for students to access.

Anthologies are hard to rate and review. There are always going to be stories you like more than others and vice versa.
The biggest thing that I like about Out Now, is that it's queer stories from queer authors. I only know who two of the authors are but it was an introduction to some new-to-me-names.
The actual stories felt... choppy. Some were really short and a lot of them just kind of abruptly ended. Short stories are hard because you've got to get the emotions and point across in a short span of words. I didn't feel much emotion from these stories.
My favorite was the vampire story. It wasn't great. But it was entertaining.
Thank you to Inkyard and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy. I may check this book out again if it's released as an audiobook.

An anthology of queer stories, Out Now is an important book for this current social climate. Some of the stories are stronger than others, but all are raw and emotional. Definitely something that all LGBTQ people should give a chance.
Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

This collection of short stories will dazzle, amaze, shock and anger you. The latter because you will wish some of the stories are longer. The range of the topics and emotions will startle you, however this book gives one a glimpse into the mind of LGBTQA youth.

This books is fabulous. Each story is a quick dip into a world I want to spend a long time in. I loved it!

In the Out Now anthology, several of today's current authors offer up a variety of queer stories. As with all anthologies, some of these stories will land very well with the reader while others will fall short. Personally, I absolutely loved Caleb Roehrig's story, and while I enjoyed several other stories, most in this anthology fall short. Short stories are an art form, different from a full length novel, and a lot of these short stories didn't quite land right.
Overall though, it's a worthwhile anthology to check out.

The fact that two anthologies full of YA Queer stories now exist is wonderful. This one is a perfect diverse range of stories by a number of talented authors.

Out Now is a collection of short stories by various authors. The stories are all very different, but they deal, generally, with coming-of-age as a queer teen. The kids in the stories are all lesbians, gay, bi/pan, trans/enby, ace, etc
I liked some of the stories more than others, but I didn’t *dislike* any of them. As a collection, it’s pretty solid.
I will definitely be recommending Out Now to my teen readers.

RATING: 3.5/5 STARS
This anthology features a diverse array of LGBT+ stories. I particularly enjoyed What Happens in the Closet, Victory Lap, and One Spell Too Many, but all the chapters are unique and interesting. It's difficult for me to read short stories sometimes because right as I get invested in the plot, it ends. But this anthology had a good mixture of sweet, funny, and uplifting narratives with satisfying, albeit somewhat open-ended, finales. They are the perfect bite-sized stories to read before bed, if you want to take a break from staying up too late reading full length novels!
A sincere thanks to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for providing an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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