katarina_kirishiki's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
A collection of a wide range of short stories and poems, from weirder ones to really emotional ones. I enjoyed some of them and others not so much, but I really liked the format of poems between the short stories.
slintangel's review
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
veeery hit and miss. the poetry was wonderful but a lot of the short stories just seemed half baked, rushed or like first drafts. regardless, a good collection for anyone looking to discover smaller authors.
justfoxie's review
4.0
Read as part of the Queer Book Box.
Some lovely little gems in this book and really loved hearing from an unusual (for me) set of queer voices. Extremely well curated and a great way to discover new authors in a variety of genres.
Some lovely little gems in this book and really loved hearing from an unusual (for me) set of queer voices. Extremely well curated and a great way to discover new authors in a variety of genres.
viktorijam's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
autiedragon's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ambiiumm23's review
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
jmp_'s review
5.0
I moved away from Scotland when I was 17, before I really participated in a queer community. I found it very moving to read this book and see that, as the title said, it had been there all along. It wasn't that I didn't know other LGBT people as a teenager, but until I read this book I'd never really felt a Scottish queerness with the two parts essential to each other. Thanks for showing me!
fiendfull's review
4.0
We Were Always Here is an anthology of fiction and poetry showcasing Scottish LGBT+ writers across a range of genres and styles. Some pieces are historical or speculative, others look at modern life, love, and hints of the magical. As with many anthologies that contain a variety of styles across a common theme, there are certain pieces that will resonate with different people, and others that are less up someone's street, and it's a strength of the editing that the collection moves between different pieces so well, bringing different work together side by side. Some personal favourites were some of the contemporary-set stories looking at characters and their relationships (like Christina Neuwirth's 'Sequins') and a poem about a punctuation error around Mary Shelley.
This anthology is a chance to discover new writers, think about different genres and styles, and get a quick hit of varied LGBT writing all at once. It is important that collections like this keep coming out (no pun intended) as they give a chance to read both familiar and unfamiliar authors together in an accessible format.
This anthology is a chance to discover new writers, think about different genres and styles, and get a quick hit of varied LGBT writing all at once. It is important that collections like this keep coming out (no pun intended) as they give a chance to read both familiar and unfamiliar authors together in an accessible format.
ofbooksandtrees's review against another edition
3.0
Read June 2022
As expected with an anthology; Loved some, liked some & didn't care for some others.
Also, personally I wasn't the biggest fan of how it mixed poetry & short stories. I would have even preffered it if it had been split in the middle with the first half stories and the second the poetry (or the other way around) Reading them mixed for soem reason kept pulling me out.
As expected with an anthology; Loved some, liked some & didn't care for some others.
Also, personally I wasn't the biggest fan of how it mixed poetry & short stories. I would have even preffered it if it had been split in the middle with the first half stories and the second the poetry (or the other way around) Reading them mixed for soem reason kept pulling me out.
lucyhargrave's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, and Suicide
Moderate: Death
Minor: Animal death and Deadnaming