Reviews

A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh

zabcia's review against another edition

4.0

85%

I truly think some of these stories would make fantastic short films - most are richly detailed with unique, beautiful stories. The authors did a fantastic job of "modernizing" these folktales to be more relatable to readers in the current era.

I only wish the authors would have had a little more room for the reasonings behind their choices at the end of each story; it was fascinating to see the thought process, and I would've liked to learn more about that.

sezinserficeli's review against another edition

informative medium-paced

3.0

twizz95's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

spiderfelt's review against another edition

4.0

By turns fantastic and then not captivating at all, as many anthologies are. And still, I recommend it for a few stellar stand out stories that made me scratch my head. The Spear Carrier was my favorite head twister. 

my_life_full_of_stories's review against another edition

3.0

- Forbidden Fruit by Roshani Chokshi: 4.5 stars
- Olivia's Table by Alyssa Wong: 3.5 stars
- Steel Sking by Lori M. Lee: 4 stars
- Still Star-Crossed by Sona Charaipotra: 3 stars
- The Counting of Vermillion Beads by Aliette de Bodard: 3.5 stars
- The Land of the Morning Calm by E. C. Myers: 5 stars
- The Smile by Aisha Saeed: 4.5 stars
- Girls Who Twirl and Other Dangers by Preeti Chhibber: 3 stars
- Nothing into All by Renée Ahdieh: 4.5 stars
- Spear Carrier by Rahul Kanakia: 2.5 stars
- Code of Honor by Melissa de la Cruz: 2.5 stars
- Bullet, Butterfly by Elsie Chapman: 4.5 stars
- Daughter of the Sun by Shveta Thakrar: 4 stars
- The Crimson Cloak by Cindy Pon: 3 stars
- Eyes like Candlelight by Julie Kagawa: 3.5 stars

deelisch's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

dalinarsreads's review against another edition

4.0

Definitely a fantastic anthology. I don't have a favorite story because to be honest I really liked all of them?

100% Recommend.

nataliejwong's review against another edition

5.0

I enjoyed this book far more than I was expecting to. I was just reading this for a book bingo, but ended up loving the stories within this book! I really liked the way this book was formatted: retelling first and author's note/original explanation after. I found this helpful because you still got to enjoy the retold story with no strings attached regarding required themes or sticking to the script of the original myth/epic. But, then, once the story was complete, you were able to see how it strung together with the original. As an Asian American woman who does not know anything of Asian folklore, I found this to be an enticing and diverse novel that taught me about mythology from my Asian heritage. I also appreciated that this book did not focus on just one Asian group, often East Asian with South Asian left out, but did a good job of containing stories from all over the continent. Finally, the creativity and imagination these authors wrote with was impressive and endearing. I would highly recommend this book.

rachel_faerie's review against another edition

3.0

Some stories were better than the rest. I don’t think I like short stories though lol I prefer longer stories so we get more details. But overall enjoyable

jebba_debba_doo's review against another edition

5.0

I really enjoyed these stories and learning other fairytales and myths that I’m not familiar with. There were a few that would make really awesome full length novels.