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The Bones of Giants by Yoon Ha Lee
Candy and Me by Hilary Liftin
Color is Everything by Dan Bartges
The Dancers' War (in by N. K. Jemisin
Dolphins at Daybreak (Magic Tree House #9) by Mary Pope Osborne
Fairy Hunters, Ink. by Sheila A Dane
Falling into the Sun by Charrie Hazard
Fat Tuesday by Sandra Brown
The Frequency of Souls by Mary Kay Zuravleff
The Goddamned Tooth Fairy by Tina Kuzminski
Goldilicious by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann
Haunted (Mediator #5) by Meg Cabot
Horrible Harry and the Green Slime by Suzy Kline
Hunchster by Matthew Hughes
I Spy School Days by Jean Marzollo
Icarus Saved from the Sky by Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud
I'd Rather We Got Casinos: And Other Black Thoughts by Larry Wilmore
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux
The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare by G. K. Chesterton
A Matter of Feeling by Janine Boissard
The Navajo (True Books) by Alice Osinski
The Night Villa by Carol Goodman
No Elephants Allowed by Deborah Robinson
On the Wings of Heroes by Richard Peck
The Others by Lawrence C. Connolly
Painting the Invisible Man by Rita Schiano
Precious Jeopardy: A Christmas Story by Lloyd C. Douglas
Real Sofistikashun by Tony Hoagland
Robot Dreams by Sara Varon
The Secret of the Pink Pokémon by Tracey West
The Shepherd of the Hills by Harold Bell Wright
The Sky Rained Heroes by Frederick LaCroix
Synarchy Book 1: The Awakening by DCS
The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène Du Bois
The Wild Wood by Charles de Lint
Winter Walk by Ann Burg

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The Dancers' War: 10/28/09

Like Twin Starsis a collection of three science fiction short stories that center on bisexual characters and the interplay between sexuality and society.

The first story, "The Dancers' War" by N. K. Jemisin is set in a matriarchal tribal society. Before men can be married they must prove their worth to potential brides by a public show of prowess. The young man who must prove himself today is going against an outsider, a member of an enemy tribe.

To prove themselves, they must dance just as male birds often dance to win a mate. The moves they perform have names based around the forest in which they live. The dance is intense and demanding. It's also invigorating, creating a sexual tension between the two would be grooms.

While there are probably private moments between couples in Jemisin's society, displays of sexuality can also be public, and certainly are for the course of this story. The sexual act is described in the same terms and moves as the dance and the goal is the same: winning the right to marry well. But there are other reasons too which are explained at the end of the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed "The Dancers' War" and I am looking forward to completing the second and third stories in the collection. When I have finished reviewing the other two, I will post my final thoughts on the book as a whole.

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