Firebirds Soaring. Edited by Sharyn November. Firebird. 2009. ISBN: 978-0-14-240552-9. Gr 9 and up.
-- School Library Journal, 6/3/2009
The Firebird fantasy anthologies are always exquisite, and this newest one lives up to its predecessors magnificently. Every story is different, and each one takes the reader to a new world or a new part of ours. The stories are a sampling of authors’ works, with many excellent writers included. Even the cover, which shows a phoenix-shaped cloud with fire radiating from its underside, represents the contents and the imprint very well.
Each Firebird anthology cover has the phoenix and fire on it somewhere, but this edition is particularly creative. Since the title is Firebirds Soaring, the cover focuses more on the sky than the previous two have, yet it still incorporates flame in a rather haunting manner. The greatest aspect of this book is its readability. Because it is a series of short stories, it's easy to put down from time to time, though it is also quite easy to just keep going. There is a story in it for everyone, since the selections range across many branches of fiction. At the end of every story there’s a paragraph by the author about why he or she wrote it, which is very interesting. Inspirations that are shared range from pets to people to sheer literary “accident,” but they all give insights into each writer's mind.—Lisa M., age 15
