My friend Sharyn is the editor of this book and I think she generally has good taste. So, when she was complaining that her [now ex] boyfriend had never read this wonderful book she edited, I decided I would read it. I’m normally not much of a fan of fantasy fiction and I don’t read a lot of young adult literature and yet I really enjoyed this book. Part of the reason is because the stories are all quite different, and yet somehow the same. There are a few “babies from someplace else raised by a town” stories and a few “dark stranger waltzes in from noplace” stories and a few retellings of better known folktales or myths, including one graphic novel-y one which mixes things up a bit. As a result, if you find even one story you like, there’s a good chance there will be another one somewhere in this thick book of stories that you will also enjoy. In any case, I am now a convert and have a short list of authors I would really like to read more of, which is probably the point of many compilations. Additionally, this book has short author bios and little “about the story” blurbs at the end of each story, which I am a total sucker for, and are also good fodder for the new reader of fantasy fiction.