Review: Foreshadow Anthology

Thirteen Short Stories from Bold New YA Voices & Writing Advice from YA Icons

Nova Ren Suma and Emily X.R. Pan are the much loved and highly acclaimed authors of such YA hits as The Astonishing Color of After and The Walls Around Us. In 2018, they partnered up to create Foreshadow, an online platform publishing underrepresented voices in YA fiction, covering genres from fantasy to romance to humorous realism.

FORESHADOW: Stories to Celebrate the Magic of Reading and Writing YA is the first time thirteen of these stories are published in print. A trove of unforgettable fiction makes up the beating heart of this book, and the accompanying essays offer an ode to young adult literature, as well as practical advice to writers.

Notable YA authors including Jason Reynolds, Gayle Forman, and Laurie Halse Anderson introduce each piece and tell readers what made the story so memorable to them.

Weaved throughout the book are writing prompts and pieces about technique, inspired by the stories themselves, and covering methods such as world-building, imagery, characterization and more.

Linda Cheng’s Sweetmeats is a retelling of Grimms’ Hansel and Gretel and I adore it. Cheng’s backdrop of the Chinese culture as proof of destruction is fascinating. I was immediately drawn into the story by the mystery and then sucked in by Mei’s dilemma. I was floored by one twist at the end, but not the two obvious ones. (I’m not telling, you have to read it!) I cannot wait to see what Cheng writes in the future.

Escape is a Hitchcockian tale that stayed in my mind long after I put the book down. Tanvi Berwah writes a tale of young love, lust, and folklore. It is creepy with suspense and just like a Twilight Zone episode you cannot stop watching. I kind of knew what was going to happen and said, “Damn, don’t do it…uh-oh…girl, leave it alone…”. (laugh) Berwah drew me in like a fly in a web. Once you get caught in the story, you can’t get out and you don’t want to.

The anthology is perfect for those who want to deepen their appreciation of art and craft, aspiring YA writers and fans of YA fiction.

Writers include: