A review by karinreadsbooks
Glass and Gardens: Solarpunk Summers by M. Lopes da Silva, Sam S. Kepfield, Sarena Ulibarri, Gregory Scheckler, Jaymee Goh, Jerri Jerreat, Blake Jessop, Wendy Nikel, D.K. Mok, Holly Schofield, Commando Jugendstil, Shel Graves, Helen Kenwright, Charlotte M. Ray, Julia K. Patt, Stefani Cox, Jennifer Lee Rossman, Edward Edmonds

hopeful inspiring reflective

3.75

This short story collection was a bit of a mixed bag for me. What I enjoyed about the collection as a whole is that it gave me exactly what I wanted: multiple visions of futures in which humanity has learned (or is still learning) to use renewable energy instead of fossil fuels, to care for nature, to use sustainable materials and to reduce waste. Many of the stories also imagined different ways to structure societies and to be in community with other people, which is something I'm excited to see. Sadly, some of the stories just didn't work for me, for a variety of reasons. But, since all of them where quite short, it wasn't much of a struggle to get through them if I didn't vibe with them. And in the end, I enjoyed enough of them to make the collection worth my while. 
My favorite (though it is hard to choose!) was probably "Midsummer Night's Heist" which is cowritten by two real-world collectives, Commando Jugendstil and Tales from the EV Studio. It is set in a Milano that feels quite close to our world, and features a form of political protest that has an immediate positive impact while also making a political statement. And on top of that, I just had fun reading it!
All in all, this was a fun way to read a few solar punk stories, and to get to know some authors I might want to read more of.