A fascinating read with 15 unique stories about what it means to live in rural America. These stories work really well together while also ensuring that each one stands strongly on its own.

I love anthologies,even tough not all the short stories are good or even complete,I like this kind of narrative so much ! Found more about the rural America trough the lenses of this onw voices authors was really interesting. Thanks !

A solid anthology, but there were only a few strong favorites for me. Others felt meh or just okay. Definitely liked how diverse it was and the theme of it as rural America was very interesting for me.

While I didn't love every story, I found this to be a solid collection of stories about what it's really like growing up in small towns and the south for many of us. Some of our reputation has been earned (unfortunately), but we also have been the brunt of jokes and ridicule that was undeserved, and that can wear on a person. We aren't all the same, and this collection does a good job of showing the rich diversity of rural America. I wish this book had been written when I was in middle school.

I was eager to read this book because I grew up in a small town and I always like seeing my life reflected in the things I'm reading. I finished it two months ago and while I remember enjoying what I was reading I only remember a couple of the stories, so it didn't make the biggest impression.

3,5 stars
Rural Voices has been a collection of stories with it's ups and downs. Overall I quite enjoyed the book, but there were stories that didn't grab be and I ended up skipping them.

As someone living in eastern Europe the culture and social ways of the characters were unfamiliar to me and I've learned a lot of new things about the rural USA. I understand more now about the everyday lives and all the misconceptions that exist about their part of the world and its people.

I love short stories in general and I was delighted to have found an anthology of short stories, poems, and graphic stories. T

As nowedays YA fantasy and romance is the main selling genre, a book centered around young adult lifestyle, society and culture of a different kind was a a breath of fresh air. It also highlighted some of the ignorance, sense of supremacy and misconceptions that are I believe deeply rooted in a lot of people's mind.

Thank for @netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Rural life and those that live in rural areas have often been painted with a broad, and not very flattering, brush. They are seen as a specific monolith with little variance. In this anthology, 15 authors tell stories that reflect on the good and the not-so-good of rural living and across diverse backgrounds.

Up until my 20s, I lived in rural areas, and I became very familiar with the stereotypes growing up. I was so excited to read RURAL VOICES to see how they handled the stereotypes, and I was not disappointed. In this collection, the authors authentically grasp the nuances of living in more remote or isolated areas. It tackles everything from the struggles of getting consistent and fast internet to the joy of being surrounded by nature to the pressures to get a good education (to either leave the area or to come back and help improve it) to the sense of community and more. It dives into concepts of poverty and class, race, gender, sexuality, and ethnicity and how those aspects shape rural experience. If you go into RURAL VOICES thinking, consciously or subconsciously, that the rural way of life only looks one way, you won't after finishing it.

While I enjoyed each story, there are a few that are particularly powerful or enjoyable. Rob Costello's "The Hole of Dark Kill Hollow" has a fascinating supernatural element that echoes the unique myths and legends in some rural areas. It asks difficult questions of choice, identity, and sacrifice. "The Cabin" by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson is an eerie story about the mysteries of things that go bump in the night as well as an exploration of family tradition and lessons passed through generations. Tirzah Price's "Best in Show" is about a teen girl getting her pig ready for the fair while also trying to figure out if her crush is queer like she is. It explores the stereotypes about 4-H and farm life. Being raised in Appalachia myself, I dearly appreciated "Close Enough" from the editor of the anthology, Nora Shalaway Carpenter and its on point story of a girl trying to figure out where she fits in and what it means if she leaves home for New York.

RURAL VOICES is an expertly crafted collection of stories from authors who speak to the experience of being rural, whether that's in New Mexico, West Virginia, South Carolina, Texas, or elsewhere. This is not an anthology meant to show that rural life is better than city or urban life, but rather to show how rural life can be good, bad, and anywhere in between. It has advantages and disadvantages that city/urban living doesn't have, but just like life in any geographic location, experiences vary and no area is a monolith.

This was a nice collection of stories from an often overlooked group. The stories capture the universal experiences of teenage life, showing teens that there really isn’t much difference between country mice and city mice.

This was a charming and interesting book. I enjoyed the writing throughout, and really connected with the themes that it featured.

Anthologies are often mixed bags for me so it's not surprising I felt the same way about this one. I liked the differences in storytelling mediums; it really gave the book a comfortable flow. "The (Unhealthy) Breakfast Club", "Island Rodeo Queen", and "Best in Show" were the anthology standouts and ones I'd love to see as full length YA novels. I'd recommend Rural Voices to anyone looking to read stories from a variety of voices living in an often misrepresented world, especially those with a very particular idea of what folks in rural areas are like.

As with all anthologies, this had some great stories, some good stories, and a few that just didn't quite make the cut. I really enjoyed this book and I'm glad i got the chance to read it because YA needs more stories about small towns and rural life.

When the word "rural" comes to mind, more often than not, so do a certain set of images, not usually complimentary. This anthology, with stories in verse, prose, and art, tells the story of rural life from the points of view of 15 authors across the U.S.: Virginia, Alaska, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Indiana, Georgia, Idaho, Texas, West Virginia, Michiga, and Utah all have representation here, and the storytellers are diverse, giving readers richer insight into rural life. Authors write about studying in McDonald's before school, because that's where the decent wifi is; life as a Tejano teen living at the border; coming out to family; being a person of color in a mostly white community. Every story is revealing and does its part to chip away at harmful assumptions.

For some reason, I had it in my mind that this was going to be about the South. 🙈 I'm still here for all the small town stories, though. I haven't had a chance to read all the stories yet but I have enjoyed what I've read so far. If you love Hallmark Holiday movies (mostly hold the Holiday part here) then you should definitely check out Rural Voices! 🍃🌾🌱

An interesting collection of short stories about life in a small town.
I appreciated the variety of themes, tones and voices as each of them gives a different piece of a puzzle and a different type of characters.
Not all are at the same level but it is an interesting and engaging read.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I’m from rural America. Does this book represent rural America? I think so. I related a lot to many of these stories. I liked that they were written by YA authors who many will recognize. I would definitely hand it to teens in the rural area where I grew up. I’m not sure if it will be so popular in the suburban area where I work now, but it still helps represent rural America if they want to learn about it.

My one big gripe about this book is that it skipped all of middle America. Sure, it has Indiana and Michigan. But then on the other side of Lake Michigan? Nothing. What is that? No Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakotas, Kansas, Illinois, or even Missouri. I know you can’t cover all of America, but several states that are right next to each other are represented and middle America is just skipped. It definitely lowered my opinion of the book.

Also, the map at the beginning of the book doesn’t include the U.P. as part of Michigan. That isn’t Wisconsin up there. It just again shows that the book is ignoring Middle America. That was super disappointing. I hope that the map can at least be fixed before the book is published.

I read anthologies as a break from multi volume series and when I'm searching for new authors and maybe sampling different genres. You can read these without a huge time commitment, without feeling guilty when you can't get back to your book for a couple of days. Many anthologies select a topic to build the stories around, in this one it's rural areas and the communities that surround them.

I've lived in many towns and cities across the US, each with it's own quirks and characters that serve to make them unique, yet so much alike that you'd immediately feel deja vu even knowing that Georgia and Kansas have very little in common. My family currently lives in a small town within "spitting distance" of the even smaller town we grew up in. So rural is in my blood.

RURAL VOICES is an excellent sampling of how similar small towns can be, no matter which coast or which border. Each story has at it's center a small town resident that doesn't fit the conventional label that has been applied to each new generation until now. As these differences shine a light on those who would force their beliefs on everyone, each character learns what is in their hearts as they teach their peers that different is okay. I loved each story for the author's ability to share their own thoughts and feelings while still giving me a superb reading experience. Now I'm spending the evening reviewing their back libraries for more books to add to my TBR pile.

Rural Voices is a young adult anthology designed to showcase the diversity of small-town America, featuring stories both contemporary and historically set with a wide range of characters. From one coast to the other, in narrative, poetry, and even graphic novel format, this fifteen-story collection peels back the blanket stereotypes that everyone hears about rural life and rural living and shows the vibrant full-color people living in small towns across America, and how their lives aren’t so different from the lives of those anywhere else in the country.

This was an interesting anthology. The stories are all very diverse, in character, content, conflict, setting and format. I very much liked the variety, which gives the reader new angles and new elements to see and read with each story. All the stories are very well-written and feature sympathetic, understandable characters. There was pain, and triumph, loss and gain in the stories. All were different and all were engrossing. This is a fabulous anthology that really does open up windows to see into the lives of rural teenagers and some of the things they face on a daily basis that might – or might not – be familiar to those who don’t live in small-town America.

Overall I really enjoyed all of these stories. There were many different genres and viewpoints and I appreciated each one of them. Throughout my reading, I took notes for each story which I've typed up below! I took the average of all the story ratings and that's how I rated overall.

The Unhealthy Breakfast Club – Monica M. Roe – 5/5 stars
- Loved the characters & concept
- Portrayed the ‘middle’ friendships we have throughout school really well

The Hole of Dark Hill Hollow – Rob Costello – 5/5 stars
- “That was one thing about the hole at least: it sent you back to where you belong.”
- This story was creepy
- I’d love to read more about this town and the repercussion of the hole

A Border Kid Comes of Age – David Bowles – 5/5 stars
- I am hungry very early in this
- “Of course word spreads and I lose some friends who never really were.”
- Short, sweet, impactful

Fish and Fences – Veeda Bybee – 5/5 stars
- It’s hard when parents can’t talk about their past with their kids, it causes a disconnect in their understanding of their parents as people, in my opinion
- Marching band!
- Sad country IS the best country
- I got swept away with this one and it really got me at the end

Close Enough – Nora Shalaway Carpenter – 5/5 stars
- Your own roots are just as important as your family’s
- Finding your place in the world and your hometown

Whiskey and Champagne – SA Cosby – 5/5 stars
- Short & Sweet
- Felt the heat and the vibes
- Got such a rich backstory

Home Is – Ashley Hope Pérez – 4/5 stars
- “Home is the skittish rabbit in your chest when you try to ride your bike and fall..”
- “Home is you standing where nothing can be built and vowing to build something anyway..”

Island Rodeo Queen – Yamille Saied Mendez – 5/5 stars
- I don’t know what it is about an underdog in a pageant but I pull for them all so hard!
- Go Coralí!!!!
- Great setting




Grandpa – Randy DuBurke – 5/5 stars
- Aw man this got me
- I lost my own grandparents a few years ago, and I think that this story portrayed how it feels to drown in the ghosts of what was

Best in Show – Tirzah Price – 5/5 stars
- This is SO cute
- I can feel the main characters nerves
- Setting was vivid, I felt the heat

Praise the Lord… - DM Gill – 5/5
- Man I hate adults most of the time
- Religion is not always that helpful tbh, and sometimes the most religious people are actually the worst- going to church doesn’t make you a good person

The Cabin – NR Hopson – 5/5 stars
- “If you run into anything odd in the arctic wilderness, the Elders said, ‘leave it along’.”
- Cold is visceral
- Feel like I’m in the cabin with her
- Spooky, but grounded

Black Nail Polish – Shae Carys – 3.75/5 stars
- I loved everything in this until the end, I felt like it needed a bit more of a tie in
- Loved to watch main character find herself

Secret Menu – Veeda Bybee – 5/5 stars
- What a sweet little comic
- Can’t wait to find more by this author

Pull Up A Seat – Joe Bruchac – 3.75/5 stars
- This autobiography really reminded me of my dad- the voice was familiar feeling
- I would be interested to read more from this life, I just thought it could have been a tad shorter to fit in with the other stories in this collection

Home Waits – Estelle Laure – 5/5 stars
- What is home?
- I want to go to Taos now
- Liked Mayhem too, can’t wait to read some more by Estelle Laure


Final Thoughts:
I thought that this collection did a wonderful job of presenting characters and settings we don’t get to see as much in YA. I was struck by (and I’ve realized this a lot lately) how many parents let their grief ruin themselves and then seep into their children. It’s not really fair to keep secrets from people when they affect them- I hope with mental health being more talked about that we can help people heal. I also really loved everyone’s bio at the end, and I’ll leave you a quote from one of those.
“It’s as if putting my words on paper proves our existence, every sentence and paragraph a string of evidence.”
-from Nasugraq Rainey Hopson’s bio

Rural Voices: 15 Authors Challenge Assumptions About Small-Town America edited by Nora Shalaway Carpenter was one of my highly anticipated books of the month. Maybe that's because I grew up in the country on a farm. You don't see a whole lot of rural settings let alone farms and the characters who live there in YA, and if you they seem to be stereotypical or misunderstood more often than not. I can probably count on one hand how many I've read that have really felt accurate with relatable characters. Given the title of this YA anthology I had high expectations although I wasn't already familiar with any of the authors. In the end, the stories ended up being a mixed bag. Maybe I was expecting too much. None of them really did anything surprising from my point of view and that's probably just because of my own experience. Overall, though, I have a feeling that this would certainly be a worthwhile if you've never lived or spent a significant amount of time in a rural area.

*Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review, all opinions are my own*

The (Unhealthy) Breakfast Club by Monica Roe - 4 stars

The Hole of Dark Kill Hallow by Rob Costello - 3.5 stars. I was going to DNF this story because I was not understanding, then I got the point of it and end up liking.

A Border Kid Comes of Age by David Bowles - 3 stars. I did not like the way that is was written but I really like the story.

Fish and Fences by Veeda Bybee - 4 stars. I will read a whole book about Joh and Sarah.

Close Enough by Nora Shalaway Carpenter - 4 stars.

Whiskey and Champagne by S.A. Cosby - 3.5 stars. It was a well-written story.

What Home Is by Ashley Hope Pérez - 3 stars. I did not like the writing style but the story was very powerful.

Island Rodeo Queen by Yamile Saied Méndez - 4 stars. I would read more for sure.

Grandpa by Randy Duburke - 2 stars. Meh.

Best in Show by Tirzah Price - 3 stars.

Praise the Lord and Pass the Little Debbies by David Macinnis Gill - 2.5 stars. it was a very heavy story and I not sure if I liked it. Trigger warning for dog death.

The Cabin by Nasugraq Rainey Hopson - 2 stars.

Black Nail Polish by Shae Carys - 2 stars.

Secret Menu by Veeda Bybee - 1.5 stars.

Pull Up a Seat Around the Stove by Joseph Bruchac - DNF. Boring as hell and the author's writing did not click with me.

Home Waits by Estelle Laure - 3 stars.

I feel like the first stories are my favorites.
It had some incredible stories (4 stars)
I like most of them (3 stars)
And some stories were kind of meh (2 stars)
But I highly recommend the book as a whole because all of the stories brought up something very important to reflect about.