With thanks to netgalley, the authors and the publishers for allowing to review Proud

Proud is a collection of stories, comics and poetry all dealing with the theme of Pride and being LGBTQ+ so sad some not.

Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

A gorgeous anthology brimming with pride. I loved each and every story in this collection - all of them made me proud to be who I am today. A book I will absolutely share with others.

I will always pick up an anthology collection especially if it is gay, hence why I was excited for Proud. The anthology was a mix of poetry, short stories and artwork to match every story. It was a great mix of different sexualities and some really memorable stories and I had a really good time reading it! I just wish there was more ace stories involved.

I will not be giving feedback on this book as I couldn’t really get into it but I think others may enjoy it.

One of my all-time favourite anthologies! This collection had be laughing, crying (with happiness), sobbing into my blanket, and brought back so many memories from my own coming out story.

I enjoyed this collection of short stories and especially the artwork. This anthology which has various YA authors celebrating their queer identities.

A wonderful collection of stories and poetry with beautiful illustrations. There was such variety in the pieces included and it was all heart-warming and full of emotions. I really enjoyed this anthology.

I loved this collection of stories and the artwork. Penguins was such a cute story. All the other stories brought about different perspectives. Perfect for using in a classroom

An excellent anthology, one I hope will inspire and empower LGBT+ teens for years to come. I enjoyed each and every individual story in here which is extremely rare for me, and I only wish my younger self had had access to something like this.

This anthology is one of the best I've ever read, featuring some of my favourite artists and writers. All of the stories had amazing lgbtqia+ representation, amazing

A fantastic anthology celebrating all things LGBT, there is a little something for everyone within the pages of this book and I loved it!

We just need more books like this. Give me more LGBTQ+ stories please! Love discovering new authors in collections like this.

This anthology is filled with stories from all the bright young LGBTQ+ voices. The stories are sweet, cute and full of heart and friendship. I think this would be perfect for teenagers who are living this reality and making them realise they are not alone. But it's also perfect for any aged ally like myself. Love is love and it just happens that in this book boys love boys and girls love girls. Every story left me feeling good and happy with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
I loved every story but special mentions to Penguins written by Simon James Green, On The Run by Kay Staples and The Instructor by Jess Vallance.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

This was phenomenal. So happy something like this exists. I feel like there is such a focus on US centred queer stories. This was refreshing and I loved the addition of the illustrations.

I really enjoyed all of the stories in this book. I actually ended up devouring this book very quickly. I moved from one story to the next in quick succession and honestly, my only complaint is that there were not more stories inside.

To be honest, I am basically dying to get my hands on a Proud 2 anthology.

I'm so glad that Proud exists. It has something for everyone, be it Pride and Prejudice retellings, or penguins in love, you're bound to find a story you love. Juno Dawson did an excellent job curating the selection, and I hope this encourages everyone to go and pick up books by the established authors, and eagerly anticipate the debuts of the new writers!

A wonderful short story collection from a diverse range of YA voices looking at what seems to be pretty much the full breadth of the LGTBQIA+ experience. I loved the pride and prejudice retelling but there's a lot of lovely stuff in here.

Proud is the best anthology I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Every story in this collection captures a different aspect of the queer experience in a way that is genuine and validating. Some stories are sad, some are hilarious, but absolutely all of them are gorgeous. Even the pieces that weren't totally for me (I have never been big on poetry) had lines that felt incredibly powerful. What felt especially important is that many of these stories address the difficult parts of the queer experience in a variety of ways, from the pressure to explain or justify your identity to not having the finances to transition to fighting for marriage equality when love sometimes feels impermanent. A few of my personal favourites were 'Penguins', 'The Phoenix's Fault' and 'Love Poems to the City' (I'd list more if I could!) but even the ones that didn't speak to me felt incredibly real and so very filled with hope. This book needs to be in the hands of every queer teen.

Diversity note: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Non-Binary, and Questioning protagonists

Warnings: death, loss, homophobia, transphobia

I remember when Juno Dawson announced this anthology. I do not even know how long ago it was, but I remember how excited I was: too often our access to queer love stories have been dominated by a market by straight women, for straight women. But not anymore.
Proud is a collection from authors across the LGBTQ+ spectrum; people of different races, writing in different styles - prose, poetry, even illustrations to accompany each entry. The sheer vastness of the range that they all held made me proud, made me revel in how different we all are and how wonderful that is.
That is not to say that, like most other anthologies, Proud did not fall down the same cracks but that is something that is always to be expected; certain writing styles were not to my taste, whilst others have made me shake in anticipation of reading more from its author.
Case in point: Simon James Green’s tale of the two boys having their first kiss next to a penguin enclosure (sign me up) made everything inside me bubble up with joy and even though a month has gone by since I read it, I am still seriously mulling over whether or not to get Alice Oseman’s accompanying illustration tattooed somewhere on my body.
Overall, this was a beautiful and important collection of work; offering more diversity than I have seen in all of my years of reading. It provided a wonderfully queer platform for both established authors and unpublished new talent, and just looking at the book, both out in the wild and in the pride of place that it has gotten on my bookshelf, my heart sings just a little bit.