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Myth, Magic and Glitter: A Lesbian YA Short Story Collection
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Myth, Magic and Glitter is a bewitching collection of young adult short stories, ranging from myth retellings to fantasy, YA paranormal romance to YA romance, all featuring a lesbian heroine. This collection is part of >Project Unicorn, a fiction project that seeks to address the near nonexistence of lesbian main characters in young adult fiction by giving them their own stories.
This collection contains:
- A Myth of Ashes (Fantasy)
The nameless, gold-haired girl feeds a fire in a cave and awaits the time when she will share her story with the world.
- The Underwater Girl (Fantasy)
Disowned by her mother for coming out, Mara joins her estranged father at his scientific compound up north and discovers something sacred beneath the ice.
- When Thou Wakest (Fantasy)
Drawn to the new girl at school, Felice finds out that she and quiet, gold-eyed Greta share the same dreams--and, perhaps, a past thousands of years and millions of miles away.
- Flowers for Clouds (Fantasy)
Harumi's love, a tennyo named Shizuka, vanished months ago when the sakura was in bloom. Now the sakura flourishes again, and the petals guide Harumi to the missing Shizuka--and to her own unexpected truth.
- Even in Another Time (Fantasy)
In ancient Greece, the goddess of love inspires a young poet. In modern America, that same poet's words give a lovesick girl the courage to be herself.
- The Edge of Day (Fantasy)
Hemera–goddess of the day–is sentenced to the pit of Tartarus each night, while her beloved, the goddess Nyx, is sentenced to Tartarus in the day, so they will never be together again. An evil, twisted monster lurks in Tartarus, but Hemera and Nyx hatch a plan to be together regardless of darkness.
- Speak of the Devil (Paranormal)
Savannah and her mother have a strange obsession with the old folk tale of the Jersey Devil, and–at night–Savannah dreams of the monster. Told in verse, this is the story of an awakening.
- True if by Sea (Fantasy)
Born into a body that doesn't reflect her true self, the mermaid Meloa seeks the sea priestess to trade her inheritance for truth.
- Phasma (Paranormal)
Molly encounters a ghost from her past while trying to deal with the aftermath of her girlfriend's suicide.
- Dear Salome (Fantasy)
Obsessed with the historical figure of Salome, Elle sets out to reclaim the mythic dancer's story, as well as her own.
Myth, Magic and Glitter is a bewitching collection of young adult short stories, ranging from myth retellings to fantasy, YA paranormal romance to YA romance, all featuring a lesbian heroine. This collection is part of >Project Unicorn, a fiction project that seeks to address the near nonexistence of lesbian main characters in young adult fiction by giving them their own stories.
This collection contains:
- A Myth of Ashes (Fantasy)
The nameless, gold-haired girl feeds a fire in a cave and awaits the time when she will share her story with the world.
- The Underwater Girl (Fantasy)
Disowned by her mother for coming out, Mara joins her estranged father at his scientific compound up north and discovers something sacred beneath the ice.
- When Thou Wakest (Fantasy)
Drawn to the new girl at school, Felice finds out that she and quiet, gold-eyed Greta share the same dreams--and, perhaps, a past thousands of years and millions of miles away.
- Flowers for Clouds (Fantasy)
Harumi's love, a tennyo named Shizuka, vanished months ago when the sakura was in bloom. Now the sakura flourishes again, and the petals guide Harumi to the missing Shizuka--and to her own unexpected truth.
- Even in Another Time (Fantasy)
In ancient Greece, the goddess of love inspires a young poet. In modern America, that same poet's words give a lovesick girl the courage to be herself.
- The Edge of Day (Fantasy)
Hemera–goddess of the day–is sentenced to the pit of Tartarus each night, while her beloved, the goddess Nyx, is sentenced to Tartarus in the day, so they will never be together again. An evil, twisted monster lurks in Tartarus, but Hemera and Nyx hatch a plan to be together regardless of darkness.
- Speak of the Devil (Paranormal)
Savannah and her mother have a strange obsession with the old folk tale of the Jersey Devil, and–at night–Savannah dreams of the monster. Told in verse, this is the story of an awakening.
- True if by Sea (Fantasy)
Born into a body that doesn't reflect her true self, the mermaid Meloa seeks the sea priestess to trade her inheritance for truth.
- Phasma (Paranormal)
Molly encounters a ghost from her past while trying to deal with the aftermath of her girlfriend's suicide.
- Dear Salome (Fantasy)
Obsessed with the historical figure of Salome, Elle sets out to reclaim the mythic dancer's story, as well as her own.
83 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 13, 2013
1 person is currently reading
206 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 26, 2013
I think this is actually my favourite of the Project Unicorn collections so far. I love that it includes a trans character (which I can't recall the others doing): True If By Sea is probably my favourite of the stories in it. I love that Sarah Diemer treated Meloa all along as a woman and therefore falling within her mission statement of writing lesbian YA: she is of course entirely right, but some people don't do that.
Also, I think the mythical stories Sarah Diemer does are my favourites in general. There's just something about getting to play with Aphrodite, Nyx, Sappho...
Also, I think the mythical stories Sarah Diemer does are my favourites in general. There's just something about getting to play with Aphrodite, Nyx, Sappho...
April 1, 2013
I've been waiting for this collection since the authors posted the themes they had planned for each month of Project Unicorn (which, btw, entails writing YA lesbian short stories and publishing them for free online, at Muse Rising, and is seriously awesome). March's theme was the eponymous Myth, Magic, and Glitter, and as a lifetime lover of myths and legends - and all things glittery! - I was incredibly excited to finally get my hands on this one.
So far every Project Unicorn collection has been a joy to read, but I have to confess that this one is my favourite (so far!) - and not just because of the subject matter. Although that, too, is spectacular; transgender mermaids find themselves alongside what must be the most gorgeous (and clever!) Cinderella retelling I've ever read; Aphrodite makes an appearance with the Greek poet Sappho (as a lit nerd, I may have cheered at that point), and so does Sedna, an Inuit sea goddess I haven't heard mentioned in years. Kudos to Diemer and Diemer for knowing and writing about her; points for originality! Not that that's a surprise - if there's one thing these two always manage to be, it's breathtakingly unique in their approach, style, and sometimes reinterpretation of the stories they write.
In fact, Diemer and Diemer's beautiful writing has once again provided me with dozens of quotes to write up and put on my walls - stories are phoenixes with words for feathers is something that I might just have to get tattooed - and as usual, neither author is afraid to tackle sensitive issues with heartfelt care and compassion. As I mentioned already, Myth, Magic and Glitter includes the first Project Unicorn story with a transgender character, which manages to avoid becoming an 'issue' story (by virtue of MERMAIDS! :D) without demeaning or dismissing the difficulties inherent to gender dysphoria. Another story deals with the aftermath teenage suicide.
Like all the rest of Project Unicorn, I can't recc this one enough; it's exquisite, and I can't wait to go and reread it - or wait for April's collection!
So far every Project Unicorn collection has been a joy to read, but I have to confess that this one is my favourite (so far!) - and not just because of the subject matter. Although that, too, is spectacular; transgender mermaids find themselves alongside what must be the most gorgeous (and clever!) Cinderella retelling I've ever read; Aphrodite makes an appearance with the Greek poet Sappho (as a lit nerd, I may have cheered at that point), and so does Sedna, an Inuit sea goddess I haven't heard mentioned in years. Kudos to Diemer and Diemer for knowing and writing about her; points for originality! Not that that's a surprise - if there's one thing these two always manage to be, it's breathtakingly unique in their approach, style, and sometimes reinterpretation of the stories they write.
In fact, Diemer and Diemer's beautiful writing has once again provided me with dozens of quotes to write up and put on my walls - stories are phoenixes with words for feathers is something that I might just have to get tattooed - and as usual, neither author is afraid to tackle sensitive issues with heartfelt care and compassion. As I mentioned already, Myth, Magic and Glitter includes the first Project Unicorn story with a transgender character, which manages to avoid becoming an 'issue' story (by virtue of MERMAIDS! :D) without demeaning or dismissing the difficulties inherent to gender dysphoria. Another story deals with the aftermath teenage suicide.
Like all the rest of Project Unicorn, I can't recc this one enough; it's exquisite, and I can't wait to go and reread it - or wait for April's collection!
May 20, 2013
Guh. I continue to deeply love all the stories that Jenn and Sarah write for Project Unicorn. They are all multifaceted and almost completely different (with admittedly a specific theme to each of the set books), but they are so glorious. I truly cannot rec this whole set of stories of LGBT girls(-boys) enough.
My favorites of this set by Jenn were "Flowers for Clouds" (which has Cherry Blossoms, gods and mortals) and "Even in Another Time" (which has Sappho in the past, and beautiful mortal girls in the present). My favorites of this set by Sarah were "True if by Sea" (which is the first transgender tale, WOOT) and "Dear Salome" (where we reclaim even slut shaming and fierce pride).
My favorites of this set by Jenn were "Flowers for Clouds" (which has Cherry Blossoms, gods and mortals) and "Even in Another Time" (which has Sappho in the past, and beautiful mortal girls in the present). My favorites of this set by Sarah were "True if by Sea" (which is the first transgender tale, WOOT) and "Dear Salome" (where we reclaim even slut shaming and fierce pride).
January 15, 2014
Another stellar (literally!) collection from Sarah and Jennifer Diemer. I'm continually impressed by how these two writers can transform the most familiar myths into something rich and strange. "Even in Another Time" is my favorite -- as a lesbian who had her own awakening reading Sappho at fifteen, this was a particularly poignant reading experience for me. I'm glad the heroines had a better experience than I did! Also notable is "True if By Sea", a moving transgender take on The Little Mermaid. If you like clever reclaimations of old stories, this is for you.
March 10, 2019
Of the six short stories of Project Unicorn, this book has to be my least favorite. It centered on myths and the origins of things.
However, it just felt like the writers were doing their best to fulfill prompts. Like 'Oh man we gotta write several stories on this prompt ok what can we do?"
It just didn't feel like it had as much heart as the stories in project unicorn number one, which i LOVED.
However, it just felt like the writers were doing their best to fulfill prompts. Like 'Oh man we gotta write several stories on this prompt ok what can we do?"
It just didn't feel like it had as much heart as the stories in project unicorn number one, which i LOVED.
November 16, 2013
Loved it, especially the trans* mermaid!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews