Out Now: Queer We Go Again! by Saundra Mitchell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher, Inkyard Press, for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I have seen people rave about the first anthology of this collection and I wish I could have checked it out before diving into this one, but since the lockdown is still going strong in my neck of the woods, I am dependent on the digital books my library has to offer. Unfortunately, All Out was not listed in its database.
So, I’m putting a pin in reading its predecessor until I can get to my library safely and with my social anxiety in check.
For now, let’s talk about Out Now: I loved it. The stories made me feel a lot of different emotions from warm and fuzzy, to somber and truthfully admitting to myself that I know embarrassingly little of the scope that encompasses the subject of “queer”.
It made me realize (and this was also addressed in one of the stories) that our language restricts us in being able to express who we are.
For a long time, I was immersed in the world of classic literature where the term queer means something different than it does now and it is making me realize that I need to reprogram my brain and the usage of this term to make it fit the evolution it went through.
This can be a long and tedious process, especially when we keep in mind all the prejudices that are still very much alive and (sadly) at times thriving.
I appreciated how some of these stories took the subject of being bisexual, pansexual or asexual and made it a natural part of the plot. It wasn’t a big deal and it shows that this is only a big deal when we make it one.
It was refreshing to see the scope of traditional storytelling being broadened to include so much more than just our preconceived “normal”. I have noticed this change happening in other stories I recently read as well, and it made me smile and so much more enthusiastic to continue reading.
This anthology has seventeen stories that range from contemporary to fantasy and even the slightly more abstract. It is well worth a read and it gave me a crash course in terms I should have known a long time ago.
I wish I could discuss each one in this review, but I don’t have the space for it. Mentioning just two or three wouldn’t be fair to the others. But trust me, each one is worth a read.
Overall, Out Now was a wonderful experience and one I am very glad I got to have. I would absolutely recommend it as a must-read.
About the Author
Saundra Mitchell has been a phone psychic, a car salesperson, a denture deliverer and a layout waxer. She’s dodged trains, endured basic training and hitchhiked from Montana to California. She teaches herself languages, raises children and makes paper for fun. She is the author of Shadowed Summer and The Vespertine series, the upcoming novelization of The Prom musical, and the editor of Defy the Dark. She always picks truth; dare is too easy. Visit her online at www.saundramitchell.com.
