Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of this book on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This anthology has a very interesting and cool premise and I absolutely loved that we got to see so many different kinds of stories about adoption. Some were told from the perspective of the parent (both the adoptive ones and the ones who gave their child up for adoption), many were told from the perspective of the adopted children themselves. It was a really nice insight into these stories and I really liked that. However, sadly many of these stories were way too short to fully show their potential. And while there were barely any stories I disliked, there were also only a selected few that I absolutely loved. Anyway, let's start!

Charlos and the Fifteen-Year-Old Heart - Adi Alsaid: This story features a fifteen-year-old boy from Mexico City, who has been adopted by white parents, who survived the 1985 earthshake and are since then seemingly stuck in that year. At first, this was really confusing to figure out and it only made sense in the end. Another thing I didn't like about the story was the Insta-Love. 2 Stars

Strong Enough - Karen Atkins: Gracie has had super strength since she was a baby. Her adoptive parents went to classes and all to figure out how to handle a baby who was strong enough to punch holes in brick holes when she had a temper tantrum. Now her time has come to prove her powers for the first. This story is really interesting and super cool, but sadly way too short. 3 Stars

The Sign - Erica M. Chapman: About a girl who wants to meet her biological father. When she meets him, she finds out he's dying. Really interesting and emotional, but also pretty short. 4 Stars

Up By a Millon - Caela Carter: In this story, a girl visits her mother who is in prison. They talk about her life, but never about her new mother, Coach K. This story is quite sweet with a really awesome mother-daughter relationship and I really enjoyed it. 4 Stars

Mama's Eyes - Libby Cudmore: Trigger warnings in this story for murder, abuse and kidnapping. This story has a quite terrifying setup, about a girl whose nightmares are hunted by a tattoo her biological mother had. And now her past is reaching for her. Another story that could have benefited from more words. As long as it was, many things felt rushed and superficial, as well as very unbelievable. 2 Stars

A Kingdom Bright and Burning - Dave Connins: This story is about a mute boy and features a magical kingdom. It was a really cool story, but also could have benefited from being longer. 3 Stars

The Inexplicable Weight of Mountains - Helene Dunbar: This story features a girl who was adopted from Eastern Europe. She's not really sure if she wants to look for her family. She never knew them after all. And yet she is curious what kind of people they were. 3 Stars

Webbed - Julie Esbaugh: This story was really sweet. It was about an adopted girl with webbed toes, whose dad once told her that her birth mother was a mermaid. It is quite sweet. 3 Stars

Life: Starring Tallulah Grey - Lauren Gibaldi: In this story, an actress of a popular TV-Show is outed by the press as adopted. Apparently, her mother is sick. But since her mother has already contacted her once, just to ask for money, she is not sure what to do. It was an interesting story. 3 Stars

Salvation - Shannon Gibney: Trigger warnings for pedophilia and child abuse. This story is partly told through the eyes of an outsider and switched with the view of the adopted boy. The boy is adopted after an earthquake in Haiti, by a family that feels like God commanded them to do it. When they realize that the kid is trouble, they quickly give him to another family. However, that family is a really bad one. Sadly there was no satisfying resolution to this story and the end just left me sad. 2 Stars

Twenty-Seven Days - Jenny Kaczorowski: Trigger warnings for drug use. This story was really heartbreaking. It was about a girl who has already spent a lot of time in foster homes since her mother has been using on and off. When she finally finds a friend she really likes, she only wants to stay. 4 Stars

Ink Drips Black - Julie Leung: I really enjoyed reading this story. It is about an adopted girl who struggles with the feeling of not belonging. It is pretty mythical and I really enjoyed the writing style. It was pretty confusing too and had a few huge plot twists that due to its length (or lack off) didn't really work well for me, since they couldn't be explained and only confused me. 4 Stars

Upon The Horizon's Verge - Sangu Madanna: This story is about a pregnant teenager that's thinking about giving her daughter up for adoption. It is really sweet. There is a twist at the end that I wasn't expecting, but it worked well. 4 Stars

Lullaby - Matthew Quinn Martin: This story is very Sci-Fi and weird. I really enjoyed the part about orphaned children hoping to find out that there was a noble reason why they ended up parentless. 3 Stars

Census Man - Mindy McGinnis: This story seems to be historical fiction set in an Orphanage, about a girl who really wants to be adopted. It's quite sweet. 3 Stars

Invited - Lauren Morril: This story is about a woman, who goes to visit the daughter she gave up for adoption. I really enjoyed the writing in this story. 4.5 Stars

Empty Lens - Tameka Mullins: Another one of my favorites. Told in interview and blog post format, this story is about a photography project about family. It is really sweet and I enjoyed it a lot. 4 Stars

A Lesson In Biology - Sammy Nickalls: This is a story about why family trees don't always apply to families. It is really well told and with a really nice point. 3.5 Stars

Tunneling Through - Shannon Parker: Trigger warnings for child abuse. In this story, a teenage boy is preparing to come out to his mother. It's really a heartwarming story and I enjoyed it. This is also the first story about a transgender person in this book, which was really nice to see. 4 Stars

These broken Stars - C.J. Redwine: This story is about a sixteen-year-old girl, who might finally be adopted from the orphanage she's in. It is a nice enough story, but all in all pretty unremarkable. 2 Stars

The Snow-Covered Sidewalk - Randy Ribay: This is a quite interesting story about an adopted girl who recently reached out to her birth family, but so far she hasn't found anybody. But then a boy starts pestering her about her adoption. The ending is quite abrupt, but the story was interesting to read. 3.5 Stars

Deeply - William Ritter: Trigger warnings for Child Abuse and Bullying. This story features a very young narrator and a supernatural parent. Another story that could have been way more interesting, if it just had been longer! 2 Stars

Meant To Be Broken - Stephanie Scott: A girl finally found a trace of a childhood friend, who disappeared one day without a trace. This story features a strong friendship between two girls and it was really great to read it. 4.5 Stars

Moving The Body - Natasha Sinel: Trigger Warnings for Nazism, islamophobia, antisemitism and murder. In this story, an adopted boy finds out that his brother has an internet friend, who doesn't seem to have his best interest at heart. When he searches out that friend to check him out, he soon gets more than he bargained for. This was a quite interesting thriller and I really enjoyed it. 4 Stars

In Pieces - Eric Smith: This story is a sci-fi story about a boy, who wants to visit his birth family. It is very, very short and I didn't like it at all. 1 Star

Peace of Paper - Courtney C. Stevens: This is a quite nice story, about a boy who's planning to marry. And there's only one person he can ask for advice. Luke, the man who gave him an apartment and helped him get a job. But will Luke agree with his decision to marry a girl he's only known for 4 months? 3 Stars

Happy Beginning - Nic Stone: Told in reverse chronological order, we get to know the story of two adopted girls. One of them, Ny, has been adopted by white parents and never quite felt like she fit in with them and so she ran away to find her birth mother. Now her girlfriend Jenna misses her. Even though this story is just ten pages, we get a wonderful insight in Ny's and Jenna's relationship. It's probably one of my favorites in this collection. 5 Stars

The Take Back - Kate Watson: This story is told from the perspective of an adopted boy. His parents wanted to adopt a daughter, but at the last possible moment the mother of the girl decided otherwise and called the adoption of. It's really heartbreaking and deals with how it feels to lose family. 5 Stars

Jar of Broken Wishes - Tristina Wright: Trigger Warnings for pedophilia. A young girl has realized that she can see wishes. There are wishes people don't mean, those fall to the ground and break into pieces and Daisy collects them. But it seems like she doesn't have any wishes for herself. When she tries to recycle other people's wishes, it all always turns out wrong. 4 Stars