Title: Waiting
Author: Jen Wilde
In: Kindred (Michael Earp)
Rating Out of 5: 5 (I will read this again and again and again)
My Bookshelves: Australian authors, Contemporary, LGBTQI
Dates read: 2nd June 2020
Pace: Fast
Format: Short story
Publisher: Walker Books
Year: 2019
5th sentence, 74th page: I feel myself sinking into my shell, like I always do around him.
Waiting in line at a comi-con with her best friend, a young, bisexual girl starts to discover the true meaning of friendship and who she wants to be.
This was a bit of a first in the Kindred collection – it wasn’t a romance. The lead character was Neurodiverse and LGBTQI. But there was no romance. It wasn’t about finding a romantic connection at all for that matter. Rather, it was all about finding a friendship that works for you. And honestly, it seriously made me think about the friendships we find ourselves in. And what makes them healthy and good. And what makes them toxic.
Although this is an LGBTQI story, there isn’t a focus on that. Or, really, a Neurodiverse identity. Rather, it is about that moment when you find a new friend. A person that you can get along with and has similar interests. I love that there is a Brooklyn Nine-Nine reference and this whole story takes place in the line for comi-con.
All throughout this story, I absolutely hated the “best friend”. So I was super glad when the girl FINALLY decided to stand up for herself. It made me realise that maybe sometimes I should do the same…
Earth and Skye 
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