Everything Under the Moon

Everything Under the Moon is the latest queer anthology edited by Michael Earp, who gave us Kindred: 12 Queer #loveOzYA Stories. For this new anthology, Earp has brought together another incredible line-up of some of Australia’s YA royalty including Lili Wilkinson, Gary Lonesborough, Alison Evans, Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, as well as much-loved international YA authors like Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Abdi Nazemian, and so many more.

Beginning with a beautiful foreword from Earp, this anthology is a love letter to every queer person who just wants to read about characters they can relate to getting the happy endings they deserve. The thing I love most about anthologies is that there’s always something for everyone, and this is true of Everything Under the Moon. Each story explores a different queer experience. Although there’s a wide range of writing styles and variety of voices, the stories lead seamlessly from one into the next, which kept me reading for hours.

Although I loved them all, my favourite story had to be Lili Wilkinson’s. It’s Cinderella meets The Bachelor! What more could you possibly want? There were some stories I wasn’t familiar with, but there were plenty of old favourites like Pinocchio and Rapunzel. The end papers reveal the fairytales each story was inspired by as a helpful guide. I would be fascinated to read some of the original stories.

Kit Fox’s beautiful cover and gorgeous illustrations scattered throughout the book truly add that extra level of magic. You will laugh, you will cry, but this is a celebration of queer love and identity that you won’t want to miss. For ages 14+.