The Black Girl Survives in This One

Starred review from February 5, 2024
Using authentic voices to detail Black experiences through a horror lens, debut creator Evans and Fennell (Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed) aim to ensure that Black girls survive their gruesome respective situations via a stellar lineup of 15 Black writers—including Zakiya Dahlia Harris, Justina Ireland, and Brittney
Morris—in this unforgettable collaboration. L.L. McKinney sets the tone with the fast-paced, spine-chilling “Harvesters,” in which teens attend a house party that goes awry and end up being hunted by monsters in a “ghost corn” field. Other stories feature genre-bending themes of fantasy, romance, and sci-fi; Kourtney Nash’s “Welcome Back to the Cosmos” paints a terrorizing picture of a space explorer struggling to do her job while remembering the myths her mother told her about beings “stealing faces.” Through vivid dialogue and descriptions of ancestral practices like hoodoo, Black culture remains at the forefront of each story, as in anthology editor Desiree S. Evans’s “The Brides of Devil’s Bayou,” in which a Black teen fights a demon that for generations has been abducting girls from one family the day they turn 19. An insightful foreword by Tananarive Due outlines a brief history of how Black girls are portrayed in horror. Ages 12–up.

Starred review from February 1, 2024
A well-crafted horror anthology containing 15 stories that cleverly reimagine familiar tropes and cliches. In their dedication, editors and contributors Evans and Fennell address "all the Black girls who have been aching to...come out on top as the Final Girl." Defying the genre's preference for centering white heroines, this collection features Black girls who are fighters and survivors, breakers of generational curses and slayers of evil. The stories contain deft social commentary, and many investigate the monstrosities of the human condition. Cinematic standouts include Justina Ireland's "Black Pride," a radical take on werewolves set during the era of the Black Panther Party; Brittney Morris' "Queeniums for Greenium!," about a reluctant newcomer to a cult disguised as a multilevel marketing group; and Charlotte Nicole Davis' "Foxhunt," starring a high schooler who becomes the intended prey for a fatal game based on the brutality of chattel slavery. Other authors delve into paranormal frights shaped by cultural folklore, such as Evans' "The Brides of Devil's Bayou," which follows a college student from rural Louisiana who returns home to confront a maternal inheritance involving a terrifying deal with a demon. This collection provides much-needed representation of Black girls who refuse to be martyrs, sassy sidekicks, or casualties on the path to a white character's inevitable triumph. An engaging volume that breathes necessary life into the horror genre, showcasing the best of what goes bump in the night. (contributor biographies) (Horror anthology. 13-18)

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Starred review from May 31, 2024

Gr 10 Up-This short story collection delivers exactly what it promises-five chilling tales where Black girls survive heart-pounding encounters with werebeasts, demons, zombies, and MLMs. A foreword from Tananarive Due declares that this collection stands in defiance of decades worth of horror movies and books that exclude Black women, turn them into "mystical," one-dimensional side-characters, or kill them off. With an incredible lineup of Black YA authors that includes Brittney Morris (The Cost of Knowing), Vincent Tirado (Burn Down, Rise Up), and Justina Ireland (Dread Nation), each story presents a quick but vivid portrait of a different Black girl who must use her strength and smarts to grapple with malicious forces, both supernatural and manmade. Some stories are just good, creepy fun; others use gristle, magic, and gore to tell stories about white supremacy, colonialism, and ancestral trauma. With contributions from accomplished novelists, it is no surprise that some stories read like the first chapter of a novel that may leave readers wanting more. Standouts include Ireland's "Black Pride," about a girl who unwittingly enters a pride full of werelions, and Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite's "Black Girl Nature Group," where two girls encounter a coven that literally spills Black women's blood to remain powerful. Points to Morris's "Queeniums for a Greenium!" for its humorous and horrifying take on multi-level marketing schemes. VERDICT A rich short story collection for any teen horror fan, especially those who are tired of the same old tropes.-Joanna Harris

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