100 Short Story Challenge: Stories 81 to 90

A bit of a scramble to get the last few stories in before the new year. Luckily, the holidays have afforded more time than usual for reading and I think I will make it in time.

In this batch, I finished off the Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015, so keep an eye out in the new year for my full review of it. Other than that, we again have a mix of online fiction.

81. Entangled Web by E C Myers — A quick story set in a world with quantum smartphones that allow you to see how other versions of you are living. An interesting idea piece. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of the world. Source: Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015 edited by Julia Rios and Alisa Krasnostein.
82. Blue Ribbon by Marissa Lingen — An affecting story about a group of teens and younger kids who get locked out of their space station after quarantine is enacted during a series of races they competed in. Tragic. One of my favourite stories in this anthology. Source: Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015 edited by Julia Rios and Alisa Krasnostein.
83. Bodies are the Strongest Conductors by James Robert Herndon — A troubling story about a teen with an unusual medical condition and his friend. I didn’t exactly enjoy this story, but I also felt like I couldn’t look away. Source: Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015 edited by Julia Rios and Alisa Krasnostein.
84. Pineapple Head by Joel Enos — An odd story that didn’t go where I expected it to from the ominous hints (I thought) it gave the reader near the start. It’s about two gay boys connecting over time. Source: Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015 edited by Julia Rios and Alisa Krasnostein.
85. Grass Girl by Caroline M Yoachim — A shirt story about girls made of wood and the bamboo girl who feels out of place and uncool among them. I liked the symbolism. Source: Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015 edited by Julia Rios and Alisa Krasnostein.
86. The Birds of Azalea Street by Nova Red Suma — This story started out creepy and gross, but finished satisfyingly. I started out not very into it but ended up liking it more than the opening made me think I would. Source: Year’s Best YA Speculative Fiction 2015 edited by Julia Rios and Alisa Krasnostein.
87. How to Survive and Epic Journey by Tansy Rayner Roberts — A hilarious story about adventuring from the perspective of a female Argonaut (as in, Jason and the). It pulls no punches regarding how terrible the patriarchy and Jason were. And how justified/misunderstood Medea was. Source: https://uncannymagazine.com/article/survive-epic-journey/
88. That Seriously Obnoxious Time I Was Stuck at Witch Rimelda’s One Hundredth Birthday Party by Tina Connolly — An amusing story that unfortunately suffered from the comparison to the previous one I read, which was much funnier. An unhappy teenage not-witch surrounded by young and adult witches. Source: https://www.tor.com/2015/08/26/that-seriously-obnoxious-time-i-was-stuck-at-witch-rimeldas-one-hundredth-birthday-party-tina-connolly/ 
89. Waiting on a Bright Moon by JY Yang — A very engaging and unexpectedly epic space fantasy story. A tale of multi-planet empire, magic portals formed through song, a lot of women loving women, and rebellion. This one’s going on my Hugo nominations next year. Source: https://www.tor.com/2017/07/12/waiting-on-a-bright-moon/
90. The Martian Obelisk by Linda Nagata — A story about hubris and hope in a post apocalyptic world. I found the main premise, of instructing AIs to build an obelisk on Mars, a bit odd, for all that it made sense in the context. The story didn’t completely grab me, however, which is unfortunate because I think the ending would have had more impact if I’d connected more with the protagonist. Source: http://www.tor.com/2017/07/19/the-martian-obelisk/

Only ten more stories to go!