2015 Rainbow Awards Honorable Mention: Hope and Love Anthology by Áine P Massie

[reviews_and_ramblings]

Hope and Love Anthology by Áine P Massie
LGBT Anthology / Collection / Young Adult
Paperback: 370 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (September 30, 2014)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1502522357
ISBN-13: 978-1502522351
Amazon: Hope and Love Anthology (A Donation Anthology for the Milwaukee LGBTQ Community Center Book 1)
Amazon Kindle: Hope and Love Anthology (A Donation Anthology for the Milwaukee LGBTQ Community Center Book 1)

It starts with hope. That’s what LGBTQ Centers all over the world give us, the hope, the community, the care and education we need in a world that is often hate filled, scared of the unknown, and downright scary. When first introduced to community many of us rejoice as it’s often the first time we’re able to be out and be our true selves without fear or shame. This anthology is for the benefit of one such center, one that touches many many lives, and like others, needs help and nourishment as well. Centers like the MKE LGBT Community Center depend on the love and support of others so that they may help and support us. Within this collection of stories, you will find hope, family, love, and community. Take a chance on a new author or one of your beloved… read, enjoy, and know that you are helping children, adults, teens, and elderly alike in our greater LGBTQ community! One hundred percent of the income from this volume goes directly to The MKE LGBT Community Center in Milwaukee, WI USA.


I really enjoyed almost every single story in this anthology. They all displayed stories of young LGBTQ people discovering themselves and finding love in spite of adversity, homophobia, rejection, homelessness, abuse, and heartbreak. Each story was told with a fresh array of characters, some fully developed, some with the setting fully described, some with a plot so rich that I found myself pulled in and fully engaged until the end. However, there were two: Breath Of Life and My Book Boyfriend which seemed to interrupt the flow of the reason the anthology. With Breath Of Life the story was disjointed, had the worst editing, was confusing, and had a lack of focus. My Book Boyfriend contained confusing references regarding who was speaking and who was doing what. While I was also disappointed by the lack of lesbian stories (only 2) and transgender, genderqueer, genderfluid, and asexual stories in the anthology, this was only my personal preference and didn't have any weight on the score. However, the placement of the lesbian stories in the anthology did, as they were at the very end.