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Never Have I Ever
“Am I dead?”
Mebuyen sighs. She was hoping the girl would not ask.
Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap’s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts' to the terrifying tension of the urban legend 'Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez'.
Mebuyen sighs. She was hoping the girl would not ask.
Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic in Isabel Yap’s debut collection jumps right off the page, from the joy in her new novella, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts' to the terrifying tension of the urban legend 'Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez'.
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 23, 2021
194 people are currently reading
14393 people want to read
About the author
Isabel Yap
33 books217 followersIsabel Yap writes fiction and poetry, works in the tech industry, and drinks lots of tea. She grew up in the Philippines, and has lived in San Francisco, the Bay Area, Boston, and London.
In 2013 she received her degree in Marketing from Santa Clara University, and also attended the Clarion Writers Workshop. In 2020 she obtained her MBA from Harvard Business School. She likes reading manga, playing videogames, taking photos of her smash-faced dog, and eating excellent ramen.
In 2013 she received her degree in Marketing from Santa Clara University, and also attended the Clarion Writers Workshop. In 2020 she obtained her MBA from Harvard Business School. She likes reading manga, playing videogames, taking photos of her smash-faced dog, and eating excellent ramen.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 282 reviews
October 30, 2020
Isabel Yap's prose is a constant delight and her characters are endlessly rich and fascinating. I'm in awe of her capacity for playful weirdness and mind-expanding terror. These gorgeous stories will help you to glimpse a world that is both stranger and more immense and varied than any you've visited before. My head is just full of images and feelings and ideas after reading these wondrous tales. Isabel Yap is a writer to watch out for, and you need to experience her brilliance for yourself.
April 5, 2021
This is a diverse and largely enjoyable collection. More notes at:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Normally I would be suspicious of the somewhat sappy "A Spell for Foolish Hearts", with its YA romance inflections and fantasy conventions (playfully handled with a light touch, thankfully). But the style is brisk, and the voice of the earnest, uptight protagonist is nicely handled. (I can be forgiving when we share an enthusiasm for Ben Whishaw, ha.) Yap seems to live in San Francisco and work in tech, and gets those details right. There are enough surprises and charm for me to enjoy the ride.
"Asphalt, River, Mother, Child" is probably one of the less artful stories in the collection so far. But the War on Drugs in the Philippines is so tragic and painful, I'm not sure how one can work with it in a short story. I think Yap shows admirable restraint, and doesn't let her tale of the afterlife collapse under the weight of its subject matter.
"All the Best of Dark and Bright" is fun, a fairly straight supernatural romance, maybe a bit too cute. Nice abrupt ending though.
"Misty" is quite different from the other stories in the collection. A young girl is the unreliable narrator, and two parallel storylines tangle as we get glimpses of her troubled relationship with her father. The dark turn at the end is nicely executed.
The closing novelette, "A Canticle for Lost Girls", seems a bit overextended for its material. I can't say I'm a fan of its particular brand of magical retribution. But there's much to enjoy in the social sparring of the girls in the Catholic retreat, and Yap again weaves a rich net of local detail.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Normally I would be suspicious of the somewhat sappy "A Spell for Foolish Hearts", with its YA romance inflections and fantasy conventions (playfully handled with a light touch, thankfully). But the style is brisk, and the voice of the earnest, uptight protagonist is nicely handled. (I can be forgiving when we share an enthusiasm for Ben Whishaw, ha.) Yap seems to live in San Francisco and work in tech, and gets those details right. There are enough surprises and charm for me to enjoy the ride.
"Asphalt, River, Mother, Child" is probably one of the less artful stories in the collection so far. But the War on Drugs in the Philippines is so tragic and painful, I'm not sure how one can work with it in a short story. I think Yap shows admirable restraint, and doesn't let her tale of the afterlife collapse under the weight of its subject matter.
"All the Best of Dark and Bright" is fun, a fairly straight supernatural romance, maybe a bit too cute. Nice abrupt ending though.
"Misty" is quite different from the other stories in the collection. A young girl is the unreliable narrator, and two parallel storylines tangle as we get glimpses of her troubled relationship with her father. The dark turn at the end is nicely executed.
The closing novelette, "A Canticle for Lost Girls", seems a bit overextended for its material. I can't say I'm a fan of its particular brand of magical retribution. But there's much to enjoy in the social sparring of the girls in the Catholic retreat, and Yap again weaves a rich net of local detail.
3.5 stars, rounded up.
October 15, 2021
"So what's your deal?" Sara asks, as Kaye peels off her shoes and socks and sticks her feet into the slippers.
"I eat fetuses," Kaye replies. "If I feel like it, I eat organs, too."
And that's when I knew, four pages into Never Have I Ever, in what should have been the most mundane of introductions between rehab girls, that I had entered some strange new lands. Isabel Yap's collection of thirteen short stories is one of the most beguiling things I've read all year, somewhere at the intersection of magical realism, horror, and mythology.
There are monsters (some of them human) and spells and witch doctors, yet many of Yap's stories are threaded through by a pervasive and lingering sense of loss. Yap crafts short stories that evoke nuanced and complicated yet relatable emotions, and her losses come in many different flavors. A woman contemplates the gradual and wrenching loss of her husband to disease (plus a river monster). A Manila businessman who has brokered a successful synthetic food program that has eradicated hunger in the Philippines has a close encounter...with a real banana. A drug bust program strands innocents in a mythical underworld limbo. Superheroes who want to hang up their capes find themselves without a choice (but do they even really want one?).
Yap's stories feel grounded regardless of whether they take place in a San Francisco startup ("A Spell for Foolish Hearts," one of my favorites even with ) or a Filipino Catholic girls' school ("A Canticle for Lost Girls," "Have You Heard the One about Anamaria Marquez"), and maybe that's what makes the horror elements so successful. They start off deceptively and convincingly prosaic and then veer sharply into the unexpected. Often, they don't veer back. Often, the endings seem more like beginnings.
I really like the writing, which is effusive and unfussy and has a knack for calling out evocative little details. I've never been to the Philippines, but I've lived in the SF Bay Area most of my life, and Yap nails San Francisco - and also eccentric aunts living in San Francisco:
She'd brought some mooncakes and shrimp-flavored Pringles from a visit to Taipei, several herbs that he couldn't identify on sight, and half a dozen new volumes for her book collection. Aunt Gemma had an impressive library; it was always a pleasure to inspect her shelves and see what had changed. Magical Creatures of Northern California cut an imposing figure next to Mary Canary's Homemade Kitchen Spells; there was a four-volume set on Discerning the Fog (Strategies, Tactics, Symbols, and Befriending Elementals) squished between Romancing the Rogue and Strunk's Elements of Style.
I also appreciate that Never Have I Ever is full of queer and non-white protagonists, yet it never feels like it's beating you over the head with its wokeness.
Not all the stories are equally successful, but it's a hell of a collection as a whole, and I'm eager to see what Isabel Yap comes up with next.
March 14, 2022
Finally read all the remaining stories since the book is on Scribd.
I think I will nominate A Spell for Foolish Hearts for Hugo's novella category. It is such a sweet romance story which normally I don't like but this one is fluffy good.
Isabel Yap is one of my fave short story writers and I was so happy when I found out she published a collection. Her stories are almost always vivid and heartfelt, from dark fantasy to SF. This collection might have just cured me from my reading slump; it is like slurping fresh mango juice in a very hot day.
This was the book of the month in the World Beyond the Margins group. (theme: La Diaspora)
I think I will nominate A Spell for Foolish Hearts for Hugo's novella category. It is such a sweet romance story which normally I don't like but this one is fluffy good.
Isabel Yap is one of my fave short story writers and I was so happy when I found out she published a collection. Her stories are almost always vivid and heartfelt, from dark fantasy to SF. This collection might have just cured me from my reading slump; it is like slurping fresh mango juice in a very hot day.
This was the book of the month in the World Beyond the Margins group. (theme: La Diaspora)
March 30, 2021
“one answered prayer among so many abandoned, one dim ember sparked to flare all of your guttering hopes.”
never have i ever is a collection of short stories, many of which are based in filipino folklore and myth. it holds tales of the afterlife and ghosts, legends come to life and summoning evil with your friends. some are horror stories that you’d tell late at night with your cousins sitting around the living room of your family’s ancestral home. some stories are passed from friend to friend, province to province, with each iteration changing as the teller changes.
i don’t know if seeing my own language and culture reflected in books will ever stop feeling like magic. many of these stories take place in the philippines, with the tagalog language sprinkled throughout. it happens so rarely that i get to see the language i grew up hearing in books. the amount of pride i have seeing the familiar words that i whisper to myself to understand the syllables. descriptions of foreign cities that i haven’t seen in years, but i can still close my eyes and see and hear and feel. that’s home. this book, despite its spookiness, made me feel at home.
my favorite story from this however, takes place in san francisco (california is also home). a spell for foolish hearts is about a gay witch who falls in love for the first time in his late twenties. it was one of the longer stories at about 50 pages, but i already know it will be a comfort read i come back to time and time again. (i could honestly write a whole essay just on this story.)
a couple of the other stories in this featured queer characters—another favorite being how to swallow the moon, a fantasy story about how a servant falls in love with the princess-like girl she cares for. these stories written by a queer filipino woman show me that stories about me (maybe even stories by me) want to be told and read and celebrated.
isabel yap’s writing is incredible. i don’t read a lot of short story anthologies, but she somehow has a unique voice in every story that still is distinctly hers no matter the story’s length. each takes you into its world. it amazes me how quickly yap is able to build a world, build a narrative, and then have it end. some are a little more open ended, but that just goes off the scary stories that are told. how the story will haunt you even as you begin the next one in the collection.
[a copy of this book was gifted to me for @pridebooktours in exchange for a review]
cw: gore, violence, rape, parental homophobia, murder, suicide, death, deadnaming & misgendering, blood, statutory rape, ghosts and the occult
May 14, 2021
Absolutely wonderful collection of fantastical stories spanning a range of SFF genres and tones. I am not a huge horror reader, but Yap's haunting tales were beautifully unsettling. Her forays into lighter and more romantic stories made a nice counterpoint, and helped keep the collection from being overwhelmingly dark.
Some of my favorites:
"Good Girls"
"Milagroso"
"Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez?"
"Syringe"
"Asphalt, River, Mother, Child"
Some of my favorites:
"Good Girls"
"Milagroso"
"Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez?"
"Syringe"
"Asphalt, River, Mother, Child"
February 2, 2021
Never Have I Ever is not quite what I'd expected. First of all, this cover is *gorgeous* beyond words. I think I was expecting a collection of stories that were more like fairy tales. Instead I was happily surprised to find a collection of mostly urban fantasy, some with a strong horror element, with a few historical and futuristic stories folded into the mix to keep it spicy. Most of these stories are set in the Philippines and/or are based on Filipino myths and urban legends. There are a lot of Filipino terms and phrases so I found myself hitting up Google a fair number of times, especially when it came to some of the creatures and characters from Filipino myth that popped up in the stories. Much of the time there were context clues so a reader unfamiliar with Filipino culture could probably piece things together, but I personally was more comfortable doing a search for terms and phrases I didn't know. I feel like I know a little more about the Philippines now!
The stories vary so much in setting, in tone, and even what tense and POV they're written in, and yet Isabel Yap's voice remains true through all of them. It's so incredible how she manages to weave such different stories, and yet they're all compelling! Here's a very short rating, breakdown of genre/POV, and mini-review for each story.
The stories:
*Good Girls - 4 stars | urban fantasy, horror | present tense, alternating POV between third person limited (Sara) and second person ("you" are Kaye) | This story was the first indication that I was in for a different book than I'd been expecting. "Oh, is this horror?" I also had to run to Google to see what a manananggal looks like. (It looks... just like you'd expect from the story. *shudder*)
*A Cup of Salt Tears - 3 stars | urban fantasy | third person present tense | This one is... a little bit horror? But more subtle than the first story. I did Google what a kappa is and some more on the lore surrounding them (and wow, uh... it's pretty wild).
*Milagroso - 4 stars | speculative fiction/urban fantasy | third person present tense | In the future we've solved the problems of world hunger by manufacturing safe and nutritious synthetic foods. This story gave me some Margaret Atwood vibes.
*A Spell for Foolish Hearts - 5 stars | urban fantasy, romance | third person past tense | This was one of my two favorite stories in the collection, because I'm a sucker for a romance plotline, haha. And finally, a happier story that didn't leave me with a vague sense of unease! This is also one of the longer stories in the collection, which I was glad for because it's SO good.
*Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez? - 4 stars | urban fantasy, horror | first person past tense | This story alternates between the story itself and several short urban legends about Anamaria Marquez ("a student at St. Brebeuf's, just like us"). But those urban legends are clearly just stories... or are they?
*Syringe - 5 stars | science fiction | third person omniscient, present tense | Set in a future where androids are our Nurses(TM) and Doctors(TM), this is the story of one Ada model's... relationship?... with a patient, Mrs. Romauldez. Big Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep vibes.
*Asphalt, River, Mother, Child - 4 stars | urban fantasy? contemporary mythology retelling? | third person present tense | I had to Google a lot for this one (who is Mebuyen and why does she have so many boobs? what's a sando? what's Barong Tagalong?) but was still pulled completely into the story. Mebuyen is a Bagobo goddess who nurses children who've died while still nursing until they are weaned and sent on to the underworld where the rest of the dead reside. For some reason, people who are not babies start showing up in Mebuyen's domain. Alternates between Mebuyen's POV and that of JM, one of the police in the "war on drugs" who is involved in the deaths of those showing up in Mebuyen's home.
*Hurricane Heels (We Go Down Dancing) - 4 stars | contemporary fantasy? | first person past tense | Magical girls! Except they're all grown up, one of them is getting married, and they're too old for this shit. Can't they just have one night of peace to have a bachelorette party? (The answer is no. No they cannot.)
*Only Unclench Your Hand - 4 stars | urban fantasy | first person present tense | I was so compelled by this story, but it also left me going "...what just happened?" a little bit. It reminds me a lot of the vibe in the movie Practical Magic - maybe it's all the bugs!
*How to Swallow the Moon - 5 stars | fantasy, romance | second person present tense | This is my other favorite story in the collection, and surprise! it's the other one with a strong romance element to it. (Yes, I am predictable, okay!) The world building, language, and imagery in this story are so beautiful and heartbreaking. This is the type of story I was expecting this entire book to be, and if there was only going to be one true classic fairy tale in this book I'm so glad it was this story.
*All the Best of Dark and Bright - 4 stars | urban fantasy | third person past tense | A modern retelling/spin on the story of Maganda and Malakas (which, yes, I had to Google). The story is left rather open-ended (like some of the others in the collection, but I felt it the most with this one), which I liked.
*Misty - 2 stars | horror | third person present tense | This story left me going "WTF??" and was by far my least favorite story in the collection. It alternates between the story of Ramona and her sister visiting their dad, with some strange flashback moments thrown in, and then a story about a woman named Susan that Ramona is telling her sister. There aren't really good transitions between the current action, Ramona's memories, and Ramona's story, so this was really confusing to read.
*A Canticle for Lost Girls - 4 stars | contemporary fiction? horror? I'm not even sure? | first person, alternating between present and past tense | This story alternates between the main character present day spending time with her daughter, interspersed with a past tense recounting of her relationship with her two best friends, how they drifted apart and then how a terrifying incident at a school retreat drew them back together closer than before.
Overall I give this collection 4 stars, and I'll definitely be reading more by Isabel Yap in the future!
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
The stories vary so much in setting, in tone, and even what tense and POV they're written in, and yet Isabel Yap's voice remains true through all of them. It's so incredible how she manages to weave such different stories, and yet they're all compelling! Here's a very short rating, breakdown of genre/POV, and mini-review for each story.
The stories:
*Good Girls - 4 stars | urban fantasy, horror | present tense, alternating POV between third person limited (Sara) and second person ("you" are Kaye) | This story was the first indication that I was in for a different book than I'd been expecting. "Oh, is this horror?" I also had to run to Google to see what a manananggal looks like. (It looks... just like you'd expect from the story. *shudder*)
*A Cup of Salt Tears - 3 stars | urban fantasy | third person present tense | This one is... a little bit horror? But more subtle than the first story. I did Google what a kappa is and some more on the lore surrounding them (and wow, uh... it's pretty wild).
*Milagroso - 4 stars | speculative fiction/urban fantasy | third person present tense | In the future we've solved the problems of world hunger by manufacturing safe and nutritious synthetic foods. This story gave me some Margaret Atwood vibes.
*A Spell for Foolish Hearts - 5 stars | urban fantasy, romance | third person past tense | This was one of my two favorite stories in the collection, because I'm a sucker for a romance plotline, haha. And finally, a happier story that didn't leave me with a vague sense of unease! This is also one of the longer stories in the collection, which I was glad for because it's SO good.
*Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez? - 4 stars | urban fantasy, horror | first person past tense | This story alternates between the story itself and several short urban legends about Anamaria Marquez ("a student at St. Brebeuf's, just like us"). But those urban legends are clearly just stories... or are they?
*Syringe - 5 stars | science fiction | third person omniscient, present tense | Set in a future where androids are our Nurses(TM) and Doctors(TM), this is the story of one Ada model's... relationship?... with a patient, Mrs. Romauldez. Big Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep vibes.
*Asphalt, River, Mother, Child - 4 stars | urban fantasy? contemporary mythology retelling? | third person present tense | I had to Google a lot for this one (who is Mebuyen and why does she have so many boobs? what's a sando? what's Barong Tagalong?) but was still pulled completely into the story. Mebuyen is a Bagobo goddess who nurses children who've died while still nursing until they are weaned and sent on to the underworld where the rest of the dead reside. For some reason, people who are not babies start showing up in Mebuyen's domain. Alternates between Mebuyen's POV and that of JM, one of the police in the "war on drugs" who is involved in the deaths of those showing up in Mebuyen's home.
*Hurricane Heels (We Go Down Dancing) - 4 stars | contemporary fantasy? | first person past tense | Magical girls! Except they're all grown up, one of them is getting married, and they're too old for this shit. Can't they just have one night of peace to have a bachelorette party? (The answer is no. No they cannot.)
*Only Unclench Your Hand - 4 stars | urban fantasy | first person present tense | I was so compelled by this story, but it also left me going "...what just happened?" a little bit. It reminds me a lot of the vibe in the movie Practical Magic - maybe it's all the bugs!
*How to Swallow the Moon - 5 stars | fantasy, romance | second person present tense | This is my other favorite story in the collection, and surprise! it's the other one with a strong romance element to it. (Yes, I am predictable, okay!) The world building, language, and imagery in this story are so beautiful and heartbreaking. This is the type of story I was expecting this entire book to be, and if there was only going to be one true classic fairy tale in this book I'm so glad it was this story.
*All the Best of Dark and Bright - 4 stars | urban fantasy | third person past tense | A modern retelling/spin on the story of Maganda and Malakas (which, yes, I had to Google). The story is left rather open-ended (like some of the others in the collection, but I felt it the most with this one), which I liked.
*Misty - 2 stars | horror | third person present tense | This story left me going "WTF??" and was by far my least favorite story in the collection. It alternates between the story of Ramona and her sister visiting their dad, with some strange flashback moments thrown in, and then a story about a woman named Susan that Ramona is telling her sister. There aren't really good transitions between the current action, Ramona's memories, and Ramona's story, so this was really confusing to read.
*A Canticle for Lost Girls - 4 stars | contemporary fiction? horror? I'm not even sure? | first person, alternating between present and past tense | This story alternates between the main character present day spending time with her daughter, interspersed with a past tense recounting of her relationship with her two best friends, how they drifted apart and then how a terrifying incident at a school retreat drew them back together closer than before.
Overall I give this collection 4 stars, and I'll definitely be reading more by Isabel Yap in the future!
A digital ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via Edelweiss+ for review. All opinions are unbiased and my own.
Like this review?
Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Elley the Book Otter
June 25, 2023
I'm a fan! I truly enjoyed my slow read of this great collection of stories mostly featuring girls and young women in the Philippines and abroad. It includes mythological horror, urban fantasy, romance and a couple of near future science fiction. I enjoyed reading Yap's modern interpretations of Filipino myths and legends, but it was her speculative fiction that intrigued me the most. I hope we get to read more of this from Yap in the future.
A number of the stories are available for free online, check them out.
Yap has some beautiful art covering her works!
artist: alexa sharpe and it's for sale here
artist: Victo Ngai, for sale here
A number of the stories are available for free online, check them out.
Yap has some beautiful art covering her works!
artist: alexa sharpe and it's for sale here
artist: Victo Ngai, for sale here
November 6, 2021
I truly appreciated the many Filipino cultural references that this book has. The folklore and urban legends I heard growing up were retold in such unique and creative ways.
Fiestas set in a future where there is only artificially manufactured food? Malakas and Maganda reemerging from the bamboo once again? A story featuring Mebuyen, the goddess of the underworld tending to EJK victims? A queer story set in a time before the colonizers arrived? Yes, please.
Fiestas set in a future where there is only artificially manufactured food? Malakas and Maganda reemerging from the bamboo once again? A story featuring Mebuyen, the goddess of the underworld tending to EJK victims? A queer story set in a time before the colonizers arrived? Yes, please.
May 27, 2022
I absolutely loved this debut short story collection. It contains thirteen stories, some spooky, some sweet, many queer, many infused with Filipino myths or set around Manila. Every story was special in its own way but "How to Swallow the Moon," a fairytale drenched with lesbian yearning, and "A Spell For Foolish Hearts," a gay meet-cute story about a part-time witch who works at a tech startup in San Francisco really stood out to me. But there was also "Milagroso" about a future of fully human engineered food and a saint's day miracle; and "Hurricane Heels" about the bachelorette party of a Sailor-Moon-esque crime fighting magical girl. So much to enjoy! I plan to keep an eye on this author.
Read
January 14, 2024i finished this one quickly, but had to sit down and actually stew in my thoughts about it because i was so enamored by the stories present that i couldn’t immediately articulate what i loved about this collection so much. yap’s writing voice is a consistent delight, as she is able to deliver different shades of personality and emotions in all the stories included within the book. she has this exacting ability to capture the atmosphere of the stories so well that makes you feel properly pulled in and waiting at the edge of your seat as her writing takes you to new places. yet at the same time, her stories pull from all things familiar that further adds to the curiosity of investigating these things in new light.
the innovative and speculative charm of yap’s stories were amazing, but i also loved how most of them were an intimate nod to philippine culture and society, both in its myth and more pressing social issues such as duterte’s war on drugs. there were also stories that felt like inside jokes told between old friends, like the stories revolving around friendships in private all-girls catholic schools, which felt like revisiting my own complicated memories about spending my formative years in that kind of environment. all of these themes and ideas were tackled with meticulous, yet evocative grace that compliments the writing genre, showing yap’s masterful approach in striking that good balance of feeling satisfied by a short story, but not feeling opposed to a lengthier, more elaborate version of it.
on a personal level, i really quite enjoyed all the stories included that i can’t name favorites. i also loved that all of the stories were tied by different identities of wanting: romantic desire, satiating a pressing curiosity, an acknowledgement of sins, seeking change to a life you feel predisposition to fulfill, mending misunderstandings, and more. this made for a cohesive collection, but also a more humane probing using the speculative approach.
all in all, i am so, so terribly impressed by this short story collection and i cannot recommend it enough. isabel yap will remain on my radar of writers to watch out for, and i do hope you consider this for a read!
the innovative and speculative charm of yap’s stories were amazing, but i also loved how most of them were an intimate nod to philippine culture and society, both in its myth and more pressing social issues such as duterte’s war on drugs. there were also stories that felt like inside jokes told between old friends, like the stories revolving around friendships in private all-girls catholic schools, which felt like revisiting my own complicated memories about spending my formative years in that kind of environment. all of these themes and ideas were tackled with meticulous, yet evocative grace that compliments the writing genre, showing yap’s masterful approach in striking that good balance of feeling satisfied by a short story, but not feeling opposed to a lengthier, more elaborate version of it.
on a personal level, i really quite enjoyed all the stories included that i can’t name favorites. i also loved that all of the stories were tied by different identities of wanting: romantic desire, satiating a pressing curiosity, an acknowledgement of sins, seeking change to a life you feel predisposition to fulfill, mending misunderstandings, and more. this made for a cohesive collection, but also a more humane probing using the speculative approach.
all in all, i am so, so terribly impressed by this short story collection and i cannot recommend it enough. isabel yap will remain on my radar of writers to watch out for, and i do hope you consider this for a read!
May 26, 2021
Why isn’t this book getting more attention?!! It’s fantastic.
September 21, 2021
A fabulous story collection with heart and horror.
Yap's stories truly surprised and delighted me—this is an author to watch. Though I love reading short stories, I rarely walk away from a collection feeling like it was an all-around amazing read. They tend to have some hits and some misses. Not so here! Each story in this collection gave me a new perspective with interesting characters and legends and flawless writing.
Many of the stories focus on Filipino legends and creatures, and I loved this glimpse into a world that I don't have any background in. Yap mixes in Filipino terms in such an astute way so that contextual clues are enough for anyone to figure out what's being discussed. Plus, I felt like I got a little window of insight into Filipino culture. Where can I get more Filipino horror??!
Yap is especially talented at capturing that raw, curious energy of young characters—no easy feat! I especially loved the take on urban legends in "Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez?" and the mother and daughter story in "A Canticle for Lost Girls," which is a novelette-length work.
Yap's work shows range across the horror/speculative/fantasy spectrum too. I loved the take on modern witches in "A Spell for Foolish Hearts," and though it wasn't really scary, it was a story that I could have lived in and lived in—the characters and setting were so rich that I wished it could have been a full novel.
Highly recommended!
Yap's stories truly surprised and delighted me—this is an author to watch. Though I love reading short stories, I rarely walk away from a collection feeling like it was an all-around amazing read. They tend to have some hits and some misses. Not so here! Each story in this collection gave me a new perspective with interesting characters and legends and flawless writing.
Many of the stories focus on Filipino legends and creatures, and I loved this glimpse into a world that I don't have any background in. Yap mixes in Filipino terms in such an astute way so that contextual clues are enough for anyone to figure out what's being discussed. Plus, I felt like I got a little window of insight into Filipino culture. Where can I get more Filipino horror??!
Yap is especially talented at capturing that raw, curious energy of young characters—no easy feat! I especially loved the take on urban legends in "Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez?" and the mother and daughter story in "A Canticle for Lost Girls," which is a novelette-length work.
Yap's work shows range across the horror/speculative/fantasy spectrum too. I loved the take on modern witches in "A Spell for Foolish Hearts," and though it wasn't really scary, it was a story that I could have lived in and lived in—the characters and setting were so rich that I wished it could have been a full novel.
Highly recommended!
May 6, 2021
yap's prose is really lovely throughout and i'll be interested to read her next project but not all of these short stories hit the same, imo her editor might have suggested a few of them be cut, then it would be more consistent in tone. as a collection it would work more as a tight, focused set of folk horror stories as those were by far my favorites in the bunch. she's good at making you uneasy. the more lighthearted ones didn't fit because i was expecting things to get weird and then they never did. 3.5.
October 23, 2023
Never Have I Ever has been on my TBR for some time, principally because of its stunning cover. Many of Isabel Yap's imaginative and evocative short stories draw from Filipino folklore. There's dark here - from her take on the manananggal myth in 'Good Girls' to her brilliant evocation of the kind of urban legends that circulate in a girls' school in 'Have You Heard The One About Anamaria Marquez' and 'A Canticle For Lost Girls'. But there's also a surprisingly joyful, queer short story, 'A Spell for Foolish Hearts', which I adored, despite my usual problems with cozy fantasy (see above). Yap is obviously a versatile writer, and here she also moves between stories that feel like pretty faithful folklore retellings ('How To Swallow The Moon') to stories inspired by contemporary superhero movies ('Hurricane Heels (We Go Down Dancing)'). There were two kinds of story in this collection that worked less well for me. The two stories that engage with SF tropes ('Syringe' and 'Milagroso') felt a bit hackneyed. On the other end of the scale, there were a couple that drift into magical realism, becoming too mystical and vague for my liking ('Only Unclench Your Hand', 'All The Best Of Dark and Bright'). But overall, this is such an impressive collection, and I loved the way that Yap used the language of her Manila girlhood, bits of Tagalog and Spanish slang, without feeling the need to explain it to the reader - when a term is crucial to the story, we're given enough clues to work it out on her own. This is published by Small Beer Press, who also published one of my favourite short story collections of last year, Zen Cho's Spirits Abroad, so I'll need to watch out for more from them.
April 6, 2022
Have you ever had a book make you feel less lonely?
A collection of short stories by Isabel Yap. I enjoy short story compilations but have not read a novel-sized compilation by just one author. Short story compilations can be touch and go, but this compilation blew my mind, every story felt like it was part of an expansive and complete world. The stories also boasted a variety of complex emotions and metaphors. There was a lot of diversity between stories, there were sci-fi settings, fantasy, folklore, contemporary, and magical realism as well as gay, sapphic, trans, and ace representation. The main characters were of Asian descent with a major focus on different types of Filipino representation.
It is a wonderous thing to be able to find something that let me reconnect with my culture in a way that still feels nostalgic as if these were stories or cautionary tales passed down from my mother or grandmother.
If you are interested in reading stories from a Filipino perspective I cannot recommend this enough. I will caution that there are quite a few Tagalog words and slang that someone not familiar with the language may need to lookup. A dictionary and pronunciation guide does not accompany the book which can make it hard to keep the flow. It is worth mentioning that one of the short stories, A Canticle for Lost Girls, has attempted rape and mentions a student-teacher relationship.
A collection of short stories by Isabel Yap. I enjoy short story compilations but have not read a novel-sized compilation by just one author. Short story compilations can be touch and go, but this compilation blew my mind, every story felt like it was part of an expansive and complete world. The stories also boasted a variety of complex emotions and metaphors. There was a lot of diversity between stories, there were sci-fi settings, fantasy, folklore, contemporary, and magical realism as well as gay, sapphic, trans, and ace representation. The main characters were of Asian descent with a major focus on different types of Filipino representation.
It is a wonderous thing to be able to find something that let me reconnect with my culture in a way that still feels nostalgic as if these were stories or cautionary tales passed down from my mother or grandmother.
If you are interested in reading stories from a Filipino perspective I cannot recommend this enough. I will caution that there are quite a few Tagalog words and slang that someone not familiar with the language may need to lookup. A dictionary and pronunciation guide does not accompany the book which can make it hard to keep the flow. It is worth mentioning that one of the short stories, A Canticle for Lost Girls, has attempted rape and mentions a student-teacher relationship.
September 13, 2023
Never have I ever
colección de cuentos e historias cortas, variadas, desde tradicionales, terror, leyendas, romance, familiares, distopia.
La mayoría me gustaron, el único que desentona con el resto de la colección es “A spell for foolish hearts”.
Los tops, aunque como dije todos los demás son muy buenos.
-Misty (la forma de narrar, y el final)
- Jewel and Sword (Esta novela romántica me fascino, de lo mejor)
- Huurricane _Dancing (Si suena a fanfiction de magical girl manga, pero esta muy bien logrado)
- Have you Heard the one about Ana Maria Marquez (lo de las tipicas historias de colegio, pero creepy)
- Milagroso (Esa distopia me dio miedo)
- A cup of salt tears (la historia del Kappa)
4.45 me da el promedio, pero creo que si quito el cuento mas bajo, si pasa el 4.5, así que si se la subo a 5 estrellas
colección de cuentos e historias cortas, variadas, desde tradicionales, terror, leyendas, romance, familiares, distopia.
La mayoría me gustaron, el único que desentona con el resto de la colección es “A spell for foolish hearts”.
Los tops, aunque como dije todos los demás son muy buenos.
-Misty (la forma de narrar, y el final)
- Jewel and Sword (Esta novela romántica me fascino, de lo mejor)
- Huurricane _Dancing (Si suena a fanfiction de magical girl manga, pero esta muy bien logrado)
- Have you Heard the one about Ana Maria Marquez (lo de las tipicas historias de colegio, pero creepy)
- Milagroso (Esa distopia me dio miedo)
- A cup of salt tears (la historia del Kappa)
4.45 me da el promedio, pero creo que si quito el cuento mas bajo, si pasa el 4.5, así que si se la subo a 5 estrellas
March 23, 2021
What scared you most as a child?
I remember watching Cat’s Eye, a film anthology by Stephen King way back in the 80’s and there was this one story when a young Drew Barrymore talked her parents into taking in a cat, but her parents were so scared of the cat “taking her breath away”…as was the superstition. Little does anyone know, there’s a little creature (goblin? mini troll? no idea) living in her wall) I was terrified of a little monster like that living in my wall that I was convinced there was one in my room and I’d wake up hearing the little jingle bell the movie creature had worn on its hat. UGH, I still get chills thinking about it.
This was a fascinating collection of dark stories that will take you out of reality. Never has a book stuck with me the way this one has. Images of the situations portrayed haunt me just like that wall troll from Cat’s Eye. The thing about this is that this is what I want a book to do. I want it to stick with me. I want to make an impression. With each story I was transported to a new nightmare, a new world and I loved every second. Yap’s writing and her inclusion for diversity hooked me, but the way she molded these tales into so many words amazes me. I’m a novel writer so anyone who can tell a story in just 15-20 pages are talented people and they always put me in awe.
Hurricane Heels and Canticle for Lost Girls were my favorites.
I hope you guys pick up this book. If you love haunting stories, buy this book, but pick it up for the beautiful writing if not the gorgeous cover.
I was given a free copy of this book for my honest review.
I remember watching Cat’s Eye, a film anthology by Stephen King way back in the 80’s and there was this one story when a young Drew Barrymore talked her parents into taking in a cat, but her parents were so scared of the cat “taking her breath away”…as was the superstition. Little does anyone know, there’s a little creature (goblin? mini troll? no idea) living in her wall) I was terrified of a little monster like that living in my wall that I was convinced there was one in my room and I’d wake up hearing the little jingle bell the movie creature had worn on its hat. UGH, I still get chills thinking about it.
This was a fascinating collection of dark stories that will take you out of reality. Never has a book stuck with me the way this one has. Images of the situations portrayed haunt me just like that wall troll from Cat’s Eye. The thing about this is that this is what I want a book to do. I want it to stick with me. I want to make an impression. With each story I was transported to a new nightmare, a new world and I loved every second. Yap’s writing and her inclusion for diversity hooked me, but the way she molded these tales into so many words amazes me. I’m a novel writer so anyone who can tell a story in just 15-20 pages are talented people and they always put me in awe.
Hurricane Heels and Canticle for Lost Girls were my favorites.
I hope you guys pick up this book. If you love haunting stories, buy this book, but pick it up for the beautiful writing if not the gorgeous cover.
I was given a free copy of this book for my honest review.
January 30, 2022
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★☆ 4.25/5
'You press your lips to hers, still distantly hoping she’ll hate you afterward, so that you can take the years of falling for her and coil them into a ball in your chest and say goodbye to them forever.'
first read of the year. stumbled across How to swallow the moon randomly, and... after reading most of the tale in the Google Books preview of the Uncanny Magazine issue it was first published in, I knew i had to finish it. and thus i found isabel yap's anthology never have i ever. and so i'm in love with the tales told; the imagery!! the magical realism!! yap's style and the way she weaves the words together to form such beautiful(ly haunted) stories!! what else can i say? i simply loved it.
★☆ 4.25/5
'You press your lips to hers, still distantly hoping she’ll hate you afterward, so that you can take the years of falling for her and coil them into a ball in your chest and say goodbye to them forever.'
first read of the year. stumbled across How to swallow the moon randomly, and... after reading most of the tale in the Google Books preview of the Uncanny Magazine issue it was first published in, I knew i had to finish it. and thus i found isabel yap's anthology never have i ever. and so i'm in love with the tales told; the imagery!! the magical realism!! yap's style and the way she weaves the words together to form such beautiful(ly haunted) stories!! what else can i say? i simply loved it.
December 25, 2021
Whoop! My 200th book of the year!
Loved this amazing collection of stories.
Loved this amazing collection of stories.
October 20, 2025
Wonderful to find Filipino authors and this had Filipino folktales/legends that were fun and chilling to read.
August 17, 2021
So young and yet made so strong and wise by the power of God. - what an AMAZING way to end an already amazing anthology.
Full review to follow because I want to review all the stories in this collection. But suffice it to say you should definitely get this book because I think this may be the first anthology I've read where I loved all the stories!
Full review to follow because I want to review all the stories in this collection. But suffice it to say you should definitely get this book because I think this may be the first anthology I've read where I loved all the stories!
Want to read
March 3, 2021A speculative short story collection by a Filipina author? Just take my money and my soul.
March 3, 2021
"The first time she fell in love, she was drowning in a river."
March 23, 2022
I loved the diversity and cultural inspiration of this collection, and the author's writing is good. I do think there were some stories that should have been cut, as it would have made for a more cohesive collection - I wish the focus had been on the folk horror/mythology based stories, because the others felt like they didn't really fit. But I'd definitely read more by this author in the future!
January 20, 2022
"Those silent rules that plague us. The softness of our bodies, the spaces between our legs. The world's propensity take. Our instinct to be cruel and kind to each other—how we'll laugh at a clumsy bitch who falls, then feel benevolent when we help her up. We're so good at that sort of thing, this worldly secret: what we'll do to survive, which is anything, because nothing matters more."
Isabel Yap's debut story collection contains 13 stories, out of which 3 appear here for the first time. Its very short synopsis says - "Spells and stories, urban legends and immigrant tales: the magic jumps right off the page."That is a pretty perfect description of the book. I was genuinely astounded by the range of these stories which together evoke distinct registers of speculative fiction - from fantasy to sci-fi to horror. Most of them take place in the real world. These are places where magic exists, darkness is exacting, fell creatures exist, and legends prove truthful.
Yap's prose helps unveil the many layers of the world, beyond just the superficial facade that is tangible to us to unleash the unfamiliar and the strange, all the things lurking in the corner and behind the veil, waiting to be noticed. Many of these stories have dual narrative threads, either following different characters or revealing past events. Yap alternates the two to keep the tension alive across both. Many of her protagonists are young girls or women. There are a lot of queer characters and relationships. The stories also highlight fascinating Philippine mythologies.
There was no dud story and I really liked all of them but I do have a few favourites: "A Canticle for Lost Girls" where three schoolgirls reforge their friendship after vanquishing a sort of evil at a retreat; In "Asphalt, River, Mother, Child", a succession of innocent victims of Philippines' War on Drugs arrive at Mebuyen's house in the Underworld; "A Spell for Foolish Hearts" is slow burn queer meet-cute that is saccharine but not cloying. "Only Unclench Your Hand" is about a small village and how sometimes you have to take justice into your hands. A brilliant collection.
(I received a finished copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
October 30, 2021
Yap displays incredible range in this series of stories that explore the terrors of Filipino Paranormal, The War on Drugs, the mysteries of faith, urban-provincial dichotomies, and most interestingly, girl school politics. Yap evokes all sorts of familiar horrors and traumas of our spaces - the hospital, the classroom, Manila at night - and animates them with casts of complex, endearing characters. And how she manages that in such a contained format is really remarkable.
And you're in for an emotional ride. From the delightful queer romance of "A Spell for Foolish Hearts" to anguish of "Asphalt, River, Mother, Child" and fear in "Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez" Yap shows a lot of talent for writing yearning, loneliness and trauma. And I may be quite biased here, but these are probably the best stories I've read for the micro-genre of "Filipino all girl's Catholic school."
Highly recommend to everyone because the stories hit all sorts of tastes. But I'd especially recommend it to former all-girl's school students. Just don't read it at night.
And you're in for an emotional ride. From the delightful queer romance of "A Spell for Foolish Hearts" to anguish of "Asphalt, River, Mother, Child" and fear in "Have You Heard the One About Anamaria Marquez" Yap shows a lot of talent for writing yearning, loneliness and trauma. And I may be quite biased here, but these are probably the best stories I've read for the micro-genre of "Filipino all girl's Catholic school."
Highly recommend to everyone because the stories hit all sorts of tastes. But I'd especially recommend it to former all-girl's school students. Just don't read it at night.
October 9, 2021
A perfect read for spooky season! This was such an enjoyable anthology. I loved the writing and how much it set the tone and vibe of each story; a lot of the stories felt bittersweet to me and ambiguous endings sometimes gave me chills.
I was aware the author was born and raised in Manila but I wasn't expecting the stories to be reminiscent of something that would really go around a community, a catholic school, and even a retreat house in the Philippines (that last story, truly, wtf). I am REELING. I also liked how the myths and fantasy were woven with the current events in the Philippines
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"Manila is a city that sleeps only fitfully, and you love it and hate it for that reason."
"“Will you heal my husband?” she asks.
“Will you love me?” it asks."
“It’s okay, anak. You have a voice. You have hands. You have your life. You don’t have to fight anymore. You just have to open your eyes, and see.”
“I’ve loved you for a long time, my salt and stone, my ivory bone. And I will keep on doing so, and hurting for it, won’t I?”
I was aware the author was born and raised in Manila but I wasn't expecting the stories to be reminiscent of something that would really go around a community, a catholic school, and even a retreat house in the Philippines (that last story, truly, wtf). I am REELING. I also liked how the myths and fantasy were woven with the current events in the Philippines
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"Manila is a city that sleeps only fitfully, and you love it and hate it for that reason."
"“Will you heal my husband?” she asks.
“Will you love me?” it asks."
“It’s okay, anak. You have a voice. You have hands. You have your life. You don’t have to fight anymore. You just have to open your eyes, and see.”
“I’ve loved you for a long time, my salt and stone, my ivory bone. And I will keep on doing so, and hurting for it, won’t I?”
October 26, 2021
i love how this book is very reminiscent of the ghost stories and legends we filipinos have been told about while growing up. i also really appreciate how the author was able to capture and portray the filipino experience and culture in an authentic way and reading the stories felt very heartwarming, in a way, because of it. besides that, every short story holds up on its own as well and they were all very well written. there were a lot of standouts such as A Spell for Foolish Hearts, A Cup of Salt Tears, and Asphalt, River, Mother, Child to name a few. but i think my absolute favorites were definitely How to Swallow the Moon and A Canticle for Lost Girls. i can't wait to see what Isabel Yap's next book will be and i will for sure read it!
June 18, 2021
bit of a mixed bag in terms of quality here. the front half is a bit of a slog to get to but i think once you hit hurricane heels things pick up.
i also found the author had this real annoying habit of just listing pop culture trends to substitute personality in the characters. the amount of times pokemon was mentioned in this book was absurd.
that being said there were some genuinely unsettling pieces, and whilst i think some of the stories felt like they were caught up in the self importance of whatever message the author was trying to convey, when it got down to the ghouls it did get very good
i also found the author had this real annoying habit of just listing pop culture trends to substitute personality in the characters. the amount of times pokemon was mentioned in this book was absurd.
that being said there were some genuinely unsettling pieces, and whilst i think some of the stories felt like they were caught up in the self importance of whatever message the author was trying to convey, when it got down to the ghouls it did get very good
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