Young Warriors edited by Tamora Pierce and Josepha Sherman

Title: Young Warriors: Stories of Strength
Editors: Tamora Pierce and Josepha Sherman
Genre: Short stories, Young Adult
Publisher: Bluefire (24th October 2006)
Blurb:

WHAT MAKES A WARRIOR?

This collection of fifteen original short stories offers a variety of answers to this question with thoughtfulness, heart, and the occasional wink. Compiled by New York Times bestselling author Tamora Pierce and folklorist/author Josepha Sherman, Young Warriors includes stories by some of today’s most acclaimed and beloved fantasy and science-fiction authors for both adults and young adults.

Holly Black * Doranna Durgun *
India Edghill * Rosemary Edghil *
Esther Friesnser * Laura Anne Gilman *
Brent Hartinger * Janis Ian * Margaret Mahy *
Lesley McBain * Tamora Pierce *
Mike Resnick * Bruce Holland Rogers *
Pamela F. Service * S. M. & Jan Stirling

Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:

I enjoy reading short story collections every now and then, so when I came across this collection I thought I would give it a go. I thought the question of what makes a warrior was an interesting one and I couldn’t wait to dive in.

Young Warriors has a collection of 15 unique short stories which cover a wide spectrum of ideas. Some fo the stories were in India, some in South America, whilst others were set in fantasy worlds. All 15 stories have something interesting to add to the idea of what a warrior is/does. The warriors in question are a mixture of male and female, from different cultures, and different times.

On the whole I really enjoyed all 15 stories, but none of them really stood out to me. I thought the ideas and the characters were interesting, but not spectacular. Reading Young Warriors was a pleasant way to spend my day. It was nice to read a re-telling of Helen of Troy’s story, and to see the way some of the authors set their story in a non-Western setting. Some of the ideas about what made a warrior were interesting, and I thought the authors explored this idea in a unique fashion on the whole. I also enjoyed that the short stories were framed by two essays – the introduction and conclusion. Pierce’s musings on the different incarnations of a warrior was really interesting.

If you are a fan of one of the authors in this anthology then you may want to consider checking it out. Although there is nothing spectacular about Young Warriors it is a great read.