Thank you to the publisher who gifted me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A stirring, bold and moving anthology of stories and poetry by top LGBTQ+ YA authors and new talent, giving their unique responses to the broad theme of pride. Each story has an illustration by an artist identifying as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Compiled by Juno Dawson.
A celebration of LGBTQ+ talent, PROUD is a thought-provoking, funny, emotional read.
Contributors: Steve Antony, Dean Atta, Kip Alizadeh, Fox Benwell, Alex Bertie, Caroline Bird, Kathi Burke, Tanya Byrne, Moïra Fowley, Frank Duffy, Simon James Green, Leo Greenfield, Lewis Hancox, Saffa Khan, Karen Lawler, David Levithan, Priyanka Meenakshi, Alice Oseman, Michael Lee Richardson, David Roberts, Cynthia So, Kay Staples, K Vaentin, Jessica Vallance, Kristen Van Dam, Freja Nicole Woolf and Kameron White.
This year it is the 5th anniversary of the Proud Anthology and it is still one of my favourites. To celebrate there has been an anniversary edition released with a brand new story and artwork. So, I wanted to re-review the entire book.
Proud is an outstanding collection of stories and poetry which will not let you down. This collection is made up of 27 LGBTQ+ writers and illustrators and it champions in being an Own Voices book! Although I am not a part of the LGBTQ+ community myself, I am certainly one of the “friendly allies” that Juno Dawson mention at the start of this anthology. Therefore, I would love to share this book as much as possible and make is accessible to everyone.
I’m going to share a few thoughts I had about the different stories and poetry in Proud!
Dive Bar by Caroline Bird (Art by Saffa Khan) – As someone who isn’t usually a fan of poetry this one took me by surprise. I didn’t really understand it the first time round but the second time around I enjoyed it. I think this one deserves more than one read through especially to make you understand it a little more.
Penguins by Simon James Green (Art by Alice Oseman) – I loved this story! Penguins is such a funny, heart-warming and cute story all about the struggles of coming out and finding the right time to do so. This story made me laugh and warmed my heart. Also, it has penguins, cute gay penguins, what more could you want!
On the Run by Kay Staples (Art by Alex Bertie) – This is one of my favourite short stories in this anthology. It is a warm, tender story about two teens who have just won the lottery and run away from home. One of the teens is escaping an abusive family and the other is following the guy they love. This story has excellent characters, a non-binary teen and a wonderful non-binary/male romance.
The Phoenix Fault by Cynthia So (Art by Priyanka Meenakshi) – This is a wonderful little fantasy story about two girls who realise they love one another. I loved the involvement of a Phoenix and its wonderful easy to understand fantasy aspects. This one features a female/female romance.
Azrah and Abigail by Freja Nicole Woolf (Art by Lewis Hancox) – This is the new story in the anniversary edition of this anthology and I loved it. Full of trials and tribulations between then main characters trying to get to their first ever Pride. An adorable romance and some hilarious nicknames for one of the characters. It features a female/female romance and is an excellent edition to the collection.
As the Philadelphia Queer Youth Choir Sings Katy Perry’s ‘Firework’ by David Levithan (Art by Steve Antony) – The format of this story is quite different to all the other stories in this anthology. It is confusing at first, but I ended up being a fan of this style. Another wonderful story that involves a choir!
Almost Certain by Tanya Bryne (Art by Frank Duffy) – I was a big fan of this one, it is a tender and sad story about grief and anxiety as well as art. It has a lovely female/female romance at the centre of the story. I was a big fan of how anxiety was described in this story, Tanya is an excellent writer.
The Other Team by Michael Lee Richardson (Art by David Roberts) – This is possibly my favourite story in this anthology. It tells the story of a trans man and the discrimination and mis-gendering he faces whilst playing for a teen football group. It also shows the love and support that the football team show him for being trans and an excellent footballer. It made me even more emotional reading it again.
I Hate Darcy Pemberley by Karen Lawler (Art by Kameron White) – This story has the enemies to lovers trope which is one of my favourites! It is a female/female Pride and Prejudice retelling that is funny, entertaining and heart-warming. I enjoyed this story a lot!
The Courage of Dragons by Fox Benwell (Art by K Valentin) – This is a lovely little geeky story about a non-binary teen and their friends. It features a dungeons and dragons group, which I’ll be honest in saying I didn’t really understand. This didn’t put me off the story though as the group of friends are on a quest to make their school gender-neutral which I thought was excellent and is still something being fought for years later!
The Instructor by Jess Vallance (Art by Kip Alizadeh) – This is such a fun, hilarious, vibrant and heart-warming story about a girl who is learning to drive. This story is packed full of humour and features a female/female romance. This is another contender for my favourite story in this anthology!
Love Poems to the City by Moïra Fowley (Art by Kathi Burke) – This is yet another excellent one! It is a beautiful story all about a bisexual girl in Ireland who is fighting for marriage equality. It also features a female/female romance.
How to Come Out as Gay by Dean Atta (Art by Leo Greenfield) – This is just a nice, simple, supportive and beautiful poem all about coming out! It is also a beautiful way to end this collection of beautiful stories, poems and art.
This anthology is excellent and needs to be placed in the hands of so many people who are trying to figure themselves out. I feel like this will be a huge help to anyone confused about who they are and learning about themselves! I would love for more anthologies to be released in the future about other important topics in YA. I’m so glad it is still getting a lot of love five years after it was released.
Overall, Proud is such an excellent, accessible and beautiful anthology that celebrates being a part of LGBTQ+ community. All the illustrations in this anthology add to the stories and each one of the stories are spectacular and wonderful in their own rights. I will be continuing to recommend this collection to as many people as possible.
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