I always find it difficult to know how to review a book like “Out Now” because of the variety of voices and themes that are contained within its covers. I find myself in that position once more with this wonderful collection of short works.

What I can say is that I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this collection. There are stories about queer vampires, heartbreak, longing, asking a boy to winter formal, instagram influencers and their take on romance, aliens and other creatures! There are such a variety of delectable queer stories that’s it’s impossible not to connect!

There are some great and visible authors in this collection: Caleb Roehrig, Mark Oshiro, Julian Winters, Candice Montgomery, Taya Boteju, Tara Sim, and Meredith Russo. I was pleasantly surprised by the diversity of the authors and the different takes on the theme! There really is something for everyone in this collection!

I had my favourite stories, naturally, everyone will. I’m a huge fan of Caleb Roehrig and his story “What Happens in the Closet” was a bitey, snarly, queer joy. I also was really touched by Mark Oshiro’s “Refresh” which deals with online dating and how we represent ourselves in the photos we choose.

The topics are modern, the feel is authentic. A great book for your isolation! Or simply a wonderful gift to someone who might need a pick-me-up or some queer feels!

I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did All Out but, this was still a good anthology about queer teens. My top three favorite short stories were: One Spell Too Many, Seditious Teapots, and Victory Lap.

Out Now is one of the best short story anthologies I have ever read. I could not put it down. The stories continued to surprise me. In such a short time, the stories completely transported me into each new world, which can be challenging in short form. The stories are incredibly diverse, representing a wide variety of queer identities, but also racial identities and body types. I adored it and can not recommend it enough.

A collection of short stories all featuring characters who aren't straight cis people. Very lovely and would make a really nice present for a young person any time of the year, but particularly leading up to Pride and particulary during the present difficult times when many LGBTQ+ people may need a little extra support.

Kick.Push.Coast. - by Candice Montgomery
Dustyn is an avid skater, and falls for a girl at the skate park, leading them to question their sexuality and labels.

What Happens in the Closet - by Caleb Roehrig
A very sweet story about two guys who are into each other - one is fully out, the other isn't ready - oh, and vampires attack the Prom.

Player One Fight! - by Eliot Schrefer
A cute gaymer story.

Lumber Me Mine - by CB Lee
A girl who has just gone through a break-up with her boyfriend meets a cute girl in her Woodwork class. This is a cute story with some ace representation.

Follower - by Will Kostakis
A cute story about a young guy who meets a famous online influencer at a beach and finds out that reality is v different from what you see online.

Refresh - by Mark Oshiro
A really sweet story about two plus-sized guys who meet online, but one isn't being completely honest about his physical appearance.

Victory Lap - by Julian Winters
A very, very cute story that centres around the relationship between a Dad and his son, with the Dad encouraging the son to ask a cute boy to Prom.

A Road of One's Own - by Kate Hart
Eliza has broken up with her boyfriend and has gone on a trip to the woods with a group. She's questioning her sexuality and falls for a girl at the camp.

Seditious Teapots - by Katherine Locke
Rory collects unusual teapots and meets Lane while buying one at a tea shop. Lane encourages Rory to meet up with a local group who help Rory to realise that labels aren't for everyone.

Starcrossed in DC - by Jessica Verdi
The President's bi daughter accidentally makes a public statement saying that she supports his enthusiasm for a harmful bill that will have an atrocious impact on the LGBTQ+ community.

Floating - by Tanya Boteju
Literally no idea what's happening in this one, but the writing is dreamy.

The Soft Place - by Hillary Monahan
Kimber & Shyanna adore each other but their parents keep them apart. Kimber takes drugs to escape and ends up having a hallucination where she meets a woman at the centre of the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

A Pound of Flesh - by Kosoko Jackson
Years ago, Theo made a deal with the Goddess Aphrodite to keep bringing him back from the dead to life a new life so that he can continue to be with his love, the God Ares.

One Spell Too Many - by Tara Sim
A very, very cute story about a girl named Anna who is a magical baker. Her friend asks her to cast a love spell, but she accidentally gives it to the guy she likes.

Far From Home - by Saundra Mitchell
Wade & River love each other. They're on the run from someone who wants to catch Wade after discovering he has special abilities.

The Coronation - by Meredith Russo
A very sweet trans fantasy story where the new King and Queen must come to terms with their destiny and decide whether or not they are happy as things are, or if they can risk giving everything up.

Once Upon a Seastorm - by Fox Benwell
A beautifully written magical story set in the same universe as Harry Potter, featuring a trans boy who falls pregnant. Stunning writing.

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."

Kick. Push. Coast. by Candice Montgomery ★★☆☆☆
told in the 2nd person point of view, dustyn is at the skate park and sees the pretty girl that shows up at the bus stop there at the same time every day. dustyn has never spoken to her, but is in love with her nonetheless. dustyn wants to talk to her, but isn’t sure how to because they(?) are confused about how to identify. dustyn is nonbinary, but can’t figure out their sexuality.

so… i didn’t realize people still think that if you’re attracted to a trans man or trans woman you have to i.d. as pansexual. if a straight girl ends up liking a trans man, she’s still straight. if a bi person ends up with a trans woman they’re still bisexual. if you’re more comfortable calling yourself pan or fluid or queer instead of bi that’s totally fine, just make sure you’re not doing it bc you think trans men and women aren’t as valid as their cis counterparts.

What Happens in the Closet by Caleb Roehrig ★★★★☆
when a group of vampires attack austin’s homecoming dance, he and his rival lucas end up hiding together in a closet. this was fun, exciting, and cute. if The Fell of Dark is going to be anything like this, i am so ready.

Player One Fight! by Eliot Schrefer ★★★☆☆
blake’s a gaymer who likes combat games, especially street fighter. he compares his love life to the game. it was kinda weird, funny, and nerdy. i liked it.

Lumber Me Mine by CB Lee ★★☆☆☆
jasmine has recently broken up with her long-time best friend turned girlfriend and is dealing with the fallout of all that. things get better though when she meets a girl in her woodshop class. honestly im not the biggest cb lee fan. her writing style is kinda awkward and her characters are kinda dumb in my opinion. mostly i was bored but i did like how jasmine stood up for herself to stay out of an unhealthy relationship with her ex.

Follower by Will Kostakis ★★★★☆
jason meets “moderately famous internet celebrity and bisexual legend” london at the beach. i really liked how these two guys got to talking and it was so easy. this was definitely a fun, short read.

Refresh by Mark Oshiro ★★★☆☆
rodrigo is finally meeting up with a boy he’s been talking to online. what could go wrong? ha! this was cute, i felt all warm inside about the body positivity. i have so many questions i want answered though!!!

Victory Lap by Julian Winters ★★★☆☆
another sweet story. luke wants to take a boy as his date to the winter formal, but he doesnt know who to ask. he also comes out to his dad.. sort of. the dad was pretty funny in this. and the boys were soft!

A Road of One’s Own by Kate Hart ★★☆☆☆
a group of girls go road tripping and camping. eliza realizes she might be into girls when her friend’s cousin, cass, comes along. i liked the choctaw/native american representation, but honestly i was bored.

Seditious Teapots by Katherine Locke ★★☆☆☆
i was confused and frustrated at first because i could not figure out what was making the mc rory uncomfortable. i’m not good at picking up on subtle clues like the ones presented in this story. but it turns out rory is confused identity-wise.

Star-Crossed in DC by Jessica Verdi ★★★☆☆
the girl version of The State of Us. closeted bisexual savannah “squeaky” chamberlain is the first daughter of the republican president. she accidentally tells the press she supports an anti-lgbt bill her dad is trying to pass. her crush emily is the daughter of her father’s opposition, and as a lesbian emily is upset that squeaky would publicly condone such a thing. i really dont get american politics so this wasnt really for me, but the ending was cute.


Floating by Tanya Boteju ★★★★☆
shanti has a wandering mind and wandering feet. she’s unfocused and can’t stay still. when she meets essie she feels a connection. this story was pretty relatable for me since im always moving and daydreaming so i really liked it.

The Soft Place by Hillary Monahan ★★★☆☆
with a title like the soft place i thought this was going to be cute and fluffy but it was actually kinda dark and bleak even though it ended on a hopeful note. kimber and her gf are separated by circumstance. to deal with the distance kimber does drugs. in one of her drugged hazes she hallucinates an 80s lesbian who suffered through the aids crisis.

A Pound of Flesh by Kosoko Jackson ★★☆☆☆
cursed by aphrodite, carson is doomed to reincarnate and live his doomed love with ares over and over again. i.. did not quite understand the whole ares vs athena fight and how if athena is justice how does she represent the police who, in this story “bashed a gay kid’s face in and only got community service”.

One Spell Too Many by Tara Sim ★★★★☆
there’s so much i liked about this story! the plot was a little cheesy, but the characters and representation were amazing. anna is a kitchen witch who is asked to bake a love spell for her friend and a confidence spell for the boy she likes. anna is bi and pakistani, her bff is bi and taiwanese. the boy anna likes is trans, and his little brother likes boys. i was thinking that this anthology needed a bi girl that ends up with a boy, so im happy this story did that!

Far From Home by Saundra Mitchell ★★★★☆
this was pretty cool. wade is an alien being chased by the fbi with his bf river whom he loves more than anything. this was really exciting and i liked the relationship between river and wade. you can tell they really care about each other. also i really enjoyed the use of the word “yeet” in this story.

The Coronation by Meredith Russo ★★★★☆
this takes place in the future. the world’s gone to shit. monsters roam the earth, electricity is no more. people now follow the ways of the old gods. winter is approaching, and to make sure it is a short and favourable season, the village’s druid holds the annual ritual in which a cow is slaughtered as sacrifice and the winter prince and princess become king and queen and are sent out alone into the forest to complete the sacrificial ritual. this story was kind of weird, but also kind of cool. this is meredith russo so of course we’ve got that trans rep 🙌 in fact we’re treated to double the representation since not only is the aforementioned queen transgender, but so is the king!

Once Upon a Seastorm by Fox Benwell ★★★☆☆
okay, i’m gonna be honest and say that i went into this story with very low expectations after really not vibing with this author’s short story contribution in Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens. while i enjoyed this story much more, i’m really not sure this author is for me. this story was interesting but vaguely unsettling. theodora doesn’t feel like he’s in the right skin. even after discovering he’s transgender at a young age, he still doesn’t feel right. growing up, his mother always told him all sorts of fantastical stories. perhaps as a result, he concludes that his discomfort must mean he is a selkie. once theo becomes pregnant he searches for answers from the sea about who he is and where he came from.

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.