A review by veronicaleigh46
The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2023 by R.F. Kuang, John Joseph Adams

4.0

As many reviews have stated not every story is a hit for everyone. However here were my favorites (in  order of when they appear in the book)

• “Beginnings” by Kristina Ten. my poor queer heart broke during this. incredibly impressive how 1560 words could make me feel so much for June and Nat. 
• “Sparrows” by Susan Palwick. I feel like the apocalyptic trope is used a lot. However, I really enjoyed this story. Choosing that one last goal, one last task in the face of death. 
• “The Six Deaths of the Saint” by Alix E. Harrow. Amazing, pure talented writing. The POV shifts between second and first was incredible. I love this story
• “Rabbit Test” by Samantha Mills. Holy shit this was a masterpiece. The importance of autonomy over ones body. the ending gave me chills. “it is 2022 and it isn’t over. It is 2022 and it is never over” The fucking fight for women to choose, to own their bodies, to make decisions for themselves. Rabbit Test is a masterpiece. 
• “The CRISPR Cookbook: A Guide to Biohacking Your Own Abortion in a Post-Roe World” by MKRNYILGLD. As a molecular biologist, I really enjoyed this one. I loved how the author took genome editing and the implications of living in this post-roe world.
• “Three Mothers Mountain” by Nathan Ballingrud. I love just a good, creepy horror. This storytelling was great coupled with the open-ending. The father was so creepy and I just really enjoyed this as a horror lover. 
• “Pre- Simulation Consultation ZF007867” by Kim Fu and “In the Beginning of Me, I was a Bird” by Maria Dong Both of these lowkey made me sob. It made me feel all the love I have for those in my life and how much I want to keep them in my life.