I love reading books written in verse so I was thrilled that this was an anthology in which all pieces are written in verse. I appreciated how these stories captured different forms of love and that it wasn't all romantic love. I especially enjoyed the stories in which we got to see familial love as those warmed my heart. I also really enjoyed the various tales that went into other cultures and gave you a glimpse into their history.

This is a captivating anthology that will resonate deeply with readers who crave stories that celebrate the complexities and beauty of love in all its forms, particularly those who appreciate diverse voices, global settings, and the exploration of themes such as self-love, acceptance, and the human experience.

I found this to be a nice collection of stories that covers a multitude of relationships and great for YA readers. It will be be a great addition to our Story Collection shelf in our high school library. There are several historical fiction pieces and several stories in verse. I found most of the reads to be 3 star but there were a few that shined brighter.
Thanks so much for the ARC!

All the Love Under the Vast Sky - Kip Wilson (Editor)
3.5 stars rounded down to 3

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC!

I don’t read poetry often, so I was a bit hesitant to pick up this collection. Some of these were amazing, and others I struggled to get through. I probably won’t be reading from some of these authors again but it was nice to give them a try!

★ = favorite

Love-Bomb - Mariama J. Lockington (5) ★
- The narrator felt so real, her conflicting feelings felt so raw, so emotional even in this short of a text. The only thing I didn’t like was that I didn’t really see the purpose of the weird spacing between some words, though maybe if I was a little more analytical of the poem I could figure it out.

All for Annie - Robin Gow (4)
- This was a nice found family story where the main character grew more confident in her abilities of running the circus. The romance portion was unnecessary for me.

We Are the Briar - Laura Ruby (1)
- This was just a Cinderella retelling with some twists that I didn’t even enjoy. For being in a love anthology, there wasn’t a lot of love. It didn’t evoke any emotions from me at all.

Not So Sweet (an Anti-Cupid Story) - Melanie Crowder (3)
- So this was intriguing at the beginning, but I honestly didn’t really understand the point of it. I think in longer form with more of a backstory and this scene being the ending would have been cool.

The Bridegroom’s Oak - Kip Wilson (2)
- I liked the message of celebrating friendships in this, but I didn’t really like the whole anti-romance theme going on, like there can be both friends and romance and you don’t necessarily have to choose ?!?

La sirena y el zemi - Margarita Engle (4)
- The writing and the imagery in this was beautiful. I wish it was a little bit longer, it felt like it was over as soon as I started reading.

Borrowed Blossoms - David Bowles (2.5)
- Towards the end it got a lot better but honestly I was confused for most of it. I feel like this would work better as prose than poetry and it was practically prose anyways.

Rock Steady - Charles Waters (4.5) ★
- This story was so wholesome. I really liked the family and friend relationships that were developed throughout.

The Water Clock - Padma Venkatraman (5) ★
- This was absolutely perfect. I loved all of the math references, and how in the end math was her true love.

America Through Mistranslation: A Heart Map of Scars - Eric Gansworth (1)
- Towards the end I was just skimming this because I didn’t really feel any connection to the story.

Kaleidoscope - Alexandra Alessandrini (5) ★
- This was beautifully written, there were quite a few standout lines to me. I really like how the author handled the topic of grief and I just wanted to keep reading this.

The First, and the Last, and All the In-Betweens - Jasmine Warga (5) ★
- If I could give this 6 stars I would. The writing was the best out of everything here. It was filled with emotions, both happy and sad packed into this short text.

this was a book I went into knowing I wouldn’t be able to relate to every story/character but wanting to read stories about people of different cultures/backgrounds.
i loved these stories and with there being many different short stories, there’s something for everyone to hopefully relate to.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. This was an interesting collection. 3.5 stars
Love-bomb by Mariama J. Lockington: 3.5 stars
All for Annie by Robin Gow: 3 stars
We Are the Briar by Laura Ruby: 3 stars
Not So Sweet (an Anti-Cupid Story) by Melanie Crowder: 4 stars
The Bridegroom’s Oak by Kip Wilson: 3.5 stars
La sirena y el zemi by Margarita Engle: 3 stars
Borrowed Blossoms by David Bowles: 2.5 stars
Rock Steady by Charles Waters: 5 stars
The Water Clock by Padma Venkatraman: 3 stars
America Through Mistranslation by Eric Gansworth: 3 stars
Kaleidoscope by Alexandra Alessandri: 4.5 stars
The First, and the Last, and All the In-Betweens by Jasmine Warga: 4 stars

This collection did what it set out to do and then some! I loved the diversity of the stories and that the stories were about all different ways people can love and be loved. My favorite stories were All for Annie, We are the Briar, The Bridegroom’s Oak, Rock Steady, The Water Clock, Kaleidoscope, and The First, and the Last, and All the In-Betweens.

a fun set of short stories, quick read

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review this work!

I really enjoyed these poems on different stories of love. They were all vastly different which made it an interesting read.

The entire time I was reading this book I kept thinking it was only "Okay." I didn't love it. It was nice to have a short story to read here or there to break up activities. I found it hard at times to relate to some of the stories as they were packed with historical meaning in India, Pacific Islander, and Chinese culture. A story about chronic illness was a little more accessible for me as someone who works in healthcare, but the very last story "The First, and the Last, and All the In-Betweens' by Jasmine Warga broke me, I cried until snot came out my nose. Naturally the story about saying goodbye to your dog broke me and caused me to cuddle next to my own dog for 30 minutes while she tries to understand why I'm bothering her so close to midnight when she is clearly trying to sleep under the blanket. None the less the book was decent! Worth reading or taking around so you can read a short story when you find yourself with 15-20min to spare. I enjoyed each story and could appreciate the meaning in each.

What I love about anthologies is that there is something for everyone. I don’t know that every story is supposed to hit you the same way and this is no exception. Where I think that this book succeeded was that the theme of love and all of the different forms this could take is so throughly represented. I had my favorites and I am sure that others will have theirs - and that is what makes a successful anthology

I enjoyed this anthology of young adult short stories featuring all sorts of love - romantic, familial, self love, and even a beloved pet. I had several favorites that I plan to reread, and a few that didn't keep me attention as much. Although the stories were not interconnected, it was a well done collection and a great one to showcase short stories. Recommend for high school classrooms and teenagers!

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

A beautiful, diverse collection of stories that explores different kinds of love. From the adoration of a crush to the generational trauma of colonization to the grief of losing a beloved animal, there are many incredible stories. I loved that every one was diverse in some way.

Anthologies are hit or miss for me, because I usually either like majority of the stories or don't. I usually like YA romance, but many of those short stories had a historical feel to it that just had me bored, and I didn't transition easily to the next. I do like that it was in verse, my favorite was Kaleidoscope.