Review: Marie Seltenrych www.runawayprincesses.com
On the Edge of Tomorrow
Edited by Sara Daniell and Tracy Hewitt Meyer

Nine budding authors bring a smorgasbord of short stories to entice every reader and a variety of age groups.

Emerald Barnes: Love in Death gives antagonist Charity and protagonist Gabe must deal with supernatural issues when letters arrive from the dead. Young love flounders as main characters’ voices are heard until the mystery is solved and all is revealed. But will these mysterious letters destroy a budding friendship or solder it? Story extends over a year and a half with intrigue.

Elise Manion: A Sister’s love, brings pathos and sibling characters to life as Charlie negotiates his mind into a new era confronted by his new position in life and in the life of his sister and her friend, along with legal beagles. Everyone wants to control his life from this day forward but antagonist Charlie struggles to comply. Facing contemporary issues along with loss and finding his feet again, Charlie must make life changing decisions amid his grieving soul. Issues of anger, rebellion, violence, sibling responsibilities and discovery are played out in his life. Can Charlie make a good decision or will he rebel for ever? Or will he die?Tension packed reading!

Tracy Hewitt Meyer: Tender is the Deception.
Gender confused protagonist/antagonist struggles deeply with the problems of finding out who he or she is and the confrontations to be endured from psychiatrists to paediatricians and countless school counsellors, and the hunger for a true friend in a lonely world.

Caytlyn Brooke : And Then I Blinked: Protagonist Ali must face darkness in a blink and respond to the bleak possibility of an unfulfilled life because of her seizures. Personalised detailed experiences give the reader a close encounter with a near-to-the-edge existence. The tangle between getting the correct medication, generic and branded, take the reader on a sleigh-ride journey, with intense detail.
Readers get a glimpse into the normal running of a hectic household and the care of children, alongside support for Ali. Family wraps itself around their member as she struggles to find her footing in living with uncertainty on a moment by moment basis. Cost in monetary terms, quality of life for a loved one, burden on time and love of family make this a genuine help for people suffering with medical problems.

Jean Booth: Trial
A crime of vengeance and justice! In a heated courtroom, antagonist defendant confronts the jurors with her description of events and her motive for her crime.
Protagonist Kira waits in the wings of her young life for the verdict. Openness and justice are in danger as technicalities overshadow a criminal act. Can the verdict be predicted. Not until the last page. Riveting reading!

Sara Daniell: So It Ends Here!
True test of true love! When a serious accident occurs, Protagonists Connor and Ava’s lives are connected in a dramatic way. Can they connect their dreams or must they separate? Deep decisions must be faced over a period of three years. But what will be the outcome and can they face reality? Can they do what they want to do or what is truly the best for both of them? Read and see!

Landen West: Twelve Months
Protagonist Roman takes the reader on a month by month journey of a romantic.
There is a lot more to this young man as he shares his intimate thoughts, emotions and romantic dreams. He also delves into his grief and loss of family member and how he deals with it. Jealousy issues also arise and Roman. Protagonist Sade, who shares his love of poetry, is his rock. Once again he must find strength to deal with a critical loss! A personalised story with an intriguing ending!

Margaret Nerz Iribarne: Puppets
Eight grader, mysterious antagonist shares intense self-esteem issues as the teen battles gender identification questions! Teen banter is hot on the list as Protagonist Brad uses puppets in an attempt to impress and a skit turns meaningful. The antagonist rethinks the part to play in this drama and eventually makes a move.

John Darryl Winston: The Paternal Order of Dominic
Protagonist Dominic III is surprised when his religious robed passenger reacts in ways that he never could expect or fathom. What this passenger, an old man with flowing white hair says and does astounds the teen so much that he almost crashes the vehicle! Jazz is on the agenda for a wake and later at a bar. Dominic is not prepared for a profound invitation that connects across generations and transformations are the new trend as emotions shudder and the joint is vaporised.
Haiku:
Authors nine are one
Taking reader on the road
To rethinking Life ( )

*POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD… BEWARE*

I went into this book without knowing anything about it. By the name alone, I predicted it might be something similar to Edge of Tomorrow (the movie based on the manga and light novel All You Need is Kill) which was about aliens and time travel. But it turned out to be an anthology about loss in real life and how that affects the people around you, mainly your families and friends.

My go to genre for novels and manga (and pretty much anything) is fantasy. Magic and demi-humans give me an escape from my reality (which is dull). However, this book dives headfirst into real issues, something which I try to avoid in the books I read. I was a bit reluctant at first, but I warmed up to it pretty quickly.

Now onto the reviewing part…

I usually avoid anthologies because I prefer one bigger story rather than many small ones. It’s harder to rate anthologies because of that fact. In the same anthology, some stories are good while others might be okay or bad which might bring the overall score down. But overall it was good. A solid 3 out of 5 stars.

“Love in Death” – 3.5 stars
- This was a great story. It showed a family dealing with the death of the dad which affected the daughter the most due to her closeness with the deceased. Through a series of events and letters she learns to cope with the loss. This was the first time I read something like this. There was character growth, especially at the end. We see her move on and find happiness.

“A Sister’s Love” – 1.5 stars
- This one was not as good as the previous one. It felt incomplete. There were characters that were mentioned, but were not really explained such as Billy. And that left me confused.

“Tender is the Deception” – 3.5 stars
- Short & Emotional

“And then I Blinked” – 3.5 stars
- This story was very real. It portrayed a realistic situation of the struggles an individual and their family faces with epilepsy. The mother and her relationship with her daughter was very emotional and that was amazing.

“Trial” – 5 stars
- POWERFUL

“So it Ends Here” – 2.5 stars
- The love between the main two characters was something that happens once in a lifetime kind of deal. But that was a bit too unrealistic for me.

“Twelve Months” – 2.5 stars
- Some of the months were unnecessary here, but I understand why they were included. The main guy just attracts misfortune; I truly feel bad for him. However, there was big cliché: “the girl goes on date saying nothing will happen afterwards (BF/GF) but ends up happening.” That one is overused in so many things that at this point I hate it.

“Puppets” 1.5 stars
- I was confused throughout the entirety of this story. Is the kid younger than her? If that answer is yes, do different grades get mixed together for classes? I don’t know, haven’t been to middle school or elementary school (or whatever) for a while now so I’m no expert.

“The Paternal Order of Dominic” – 3.5 stars
- This was a good story. Shows moving on from the loss like the first one. And the growth of the characters through music. This reminded me of one of my favorite Animes Your Lie in April.

*I would like to thank the authors and LibraryThing for giving me a free copy of this book. * ( )

I found this collection of YA short stories very hit and miss. Some of the stories were too cheasy and overly dramatic, whereas others dealt more realistically with topics of being transgender and familial death. Unlike other YA fiction, this was not an enjoyable to read as an adult. ( )

Solid ya anthology about finding yourself in the midst of hardship. ( )

On the Edge of Tomorrow is an anthology of short stories, mostly for and about young adults. The stories deal with topics such as love, family problems, medical problems, and death. ( )