An unexpected party by Edited by Seth Malacari

This collection of short stories is a veritable party of sparkling new voices, highly original stories that cover the spectrum of LGBQTI+ experiences, within imaginary worlds, some sci-fi, some fairy story, some dystopian, some horror, but all are fresh and powerful writings that will attract a variety of readers. Some of the stories seem like just the beginning, the starter for a rich world of possibilities, that I just wanted to continue further. I hope those authors go on to further develop their creativity in longer formats. Others are complete in themselves, but equally as engaging. There is the whole range to be found here, from real world struggles, to ghosts, witches, monsters and demons, truly a treasure trove of ‘queer speculative YA fiction’ encompassing a variety of genres.

The first story ‘Sixteen Candles (but with demons)’ makes an excellent entree to the rest: the story of a teenager whose special birthday has been forgotten by family and friends is a portrayal of true to life despondency and resentment coupled with the fantastical conjuring of a demon and then a bizarre element of humour as the demon, a novice, gets everything haywire. The lesson for Tal in the end is that there is ‘a difference between doing bad things because you’re a flawed human, and doing malicious things’. Tal learns forgiveness, and the evening isn’t a bad one after all.

Being a fan of fairytales, I particularly enjoyed ‘The boy and the witch’, the story of a witch setting seemingly impossible tasks for the protagonist to achieve before their wish for a new identity can be granted. Cleverness and ingenuity see them achieve the tests, but the ending is open as to what further challenges may be expected.

Young Adult readers will probably appreciate the more futuristic stories set in space, or stories of the acquisition of special powers, or time travel, or alternative realities. There is something for everyone in this collection.

The book comes with a content warning about potentially triggering content, though, as the editor writes, explicit forms of homophobia or transphobia have been deliberately kept out. They are all stories about grappling with identity issues, but the so-called triggers of violence, death, gore etc. are content that you would find in any imaginative fiction, and especially in the fairytales that most children were introduced to at an early age. The stories in this collection have monsters and supernatural elements, but are no more triggering than most YA fiction, and present a new way of sharing gender diverse and trans experiences.

Themes: LGBQTI+, Identity, Acceptance of diversity, Science fiction, Fantasy.

Helen Eddy