Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space

Last year, I fell in love with Zoraida Córdova‘s writing, reading three of her novels back-to-back in an August whirlwind. I was excited when she released a new anthology of short stories, Reclaim the Stars: 17 Tales Across Realms & Space. Zoraida Córdova edited the anthology, which also features stories from other young adult latine authors. Of them, I’ve only read Isabel Ibañez, but several are on my TBR already. This book offers a taste of the kinds of stories each author writes, and I loved reading it.

Summary

Divided into three sections, Reclaim the Stars features short stories in the realms of fantasy and science fiction. Five stories in the “To the Stars” section take place in space; six in “The Magical Now” are contemporary speculative fiction; and the final six in “Other Times, Other Realms” are fantasy, mostly historical. These 17 stories represent a range of themes and characters, and there is surely something for everyone, regardless of the speculative fiction you most enjoy.

Review

Reclaim the Stars begins with science fiction, set both within space and on a dystopian future Earth. I personally do not always enjoy sci-fi; it’s just not the genre for me. As such, while the stories in this section were well written and imaginative, with a range of themes and emotions, they largely weren’t quite to my taste. Of the five, my favorite was “The First Day of Us” by David Bowles. Written in the second person (which is so rarely used in fiction!), the perspective shifts between three teens in high school. It’s a beautifully queer story of a polyamorous throuple, including one character who is nonbinary. 

The second section features contemporary stories with a touch of fantasy. Overall I enjoyed these stories quite a bit. I particularly liked “Eterno” by J. C. Cervantes. It’s a longer story about Sebastián, a consumer of Darkness as people die. His is a tragic, doomed love story with a teenaged girl. It made me cry, but I loved it! My other favorite was “Color-Coded” by Maya Motayne. In it, 14-year-old Flor “changes” two years earlier than most girls do. As such, her hair changes color and she gains a magical power. She’s like a mood ring, but it takes some time for her to gain control over it. This story reminded me of being in middle school and always feeling awkward, with the message that we’re all perfect just the way we are. 

Finally, my favorite section of Reclaim the Stars was the last one, made up of mostly historical fantasy. That is my genre! “Rogue Enchantments” by Isabel Ibañez was a wonderful opener to the section. The author is Bolivian, but with the currency of soles, I think this might be set in a Peru-inspired world? (My husband is from Peru, so I’m predisposed to like anything Peruvian!) Graciela’s abuela has passed away, so she takes over her market stall… making some others quite angry. Mateo from Hispalia (see: Together We Burn!) seems helpful and nice as Graciela tries to uncover whoever is trying to sabotage her. 

And then the final story, “Tame the Wicked Night” by Zoraida Córdova, is probably my favorite of them all. It’s the longest story here, but it flew by! In 1897, Aurelio is a magically gifted farmer who can make even nearly dead plants grow. The local marqués wants him to marry his daughter, but he refuses, so he must go “tame the wicked night” (i.e., go to the doom mountain and behead the beast there). It turns out that the beast is a trapped sun goddess who’s been there for 300 years. She devours souls, and nothing can grow there. Aurelio may die… but what if love can prevail? I won’t spoil it, but I loved it and want a sequel please.  

All in all, Reclaim the Stars is a rich tapestry of different kinds of fantasy and science fiction. There is a wide range of settings, themes, and types of relationships, so there’s certainly something for everyone. 

Final Thoughts

Between the sections in Reclaim the Stars, my favorite was “Other Realms, Other Times.” Historical fantasy is what I tend to love! Standout stories throughout the book included “The First Day of Us” by David Bowles; “Color-Coded” by Maya Motayne; “Rogue Enchantments” by Isabel Ibañez; and especially “Tame the Wicked Night” by Zoraida Córdova.

This whole anthology is full of magic and wonder, and it was a joy to read. While the stories were a bit uneven in my personal enjoyment, they represent a great diversity within young adult speculative fiction, especially the centering latine voices. This is a beautifully arranged anthology, and I look forward to reading more from these authors.

Get the Book

You can buy Reclaim the Stars here – it’s available as a hardcover, ebook, and audiobook.

Reclaim the Stars edited by Zoraida Córdova
Audience	Young Adult
Genre	Fantasy; Science Fiction
Setting	Space;
Number of Pages	432
Format I Read	Hardcover
Original Publication Date	February 15, 2022

Official Summary

From stories that take you to the stars, to stories that span into other times and realms, to stories set in the magical now, Reclaim the Stars takes the Latin American diaspora to places fantastical and out of this world.

Follow princesses warring in space, haunting ghost stories in Argentina, mermaids off the coast of the Caribbean, swamps that whisper secrets, and many more realms explored and unexplored; this stunning collection of seventeen short stories breaks borders and realms to prove that stories are truly universal.

Reclaim the Stars features both bestselling and acclaimed authors as well as two new voices in the genres: Vita Ayala, David Bowles, J.C. Cervantes, Zoraida Córdova, Sara Faring, Romina Garber, Isabel Ibañez, Anna-Marie McLemore, Yamile Saied Méndez, Nina Moreno, Circe Moskowitz, Maya Motayne, Linda Raquel Nieves Pérez, Daniel José Older, Claribel A. Ortega, Mark Oshiro and Lilliam Rivera.