Reviews

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America by Tracey Baptiste, Ibi Zoboi, Coe Booth

bet27's review against another edition

3.0

(more a 3.5 star) A broad range of short stories featuring Black kids and teens and their experiences. I listened to the audio version and it brought the different stories to life in a more personal way for me. Worth checking out even if only to be introduced to a lot of different authors.

melanieavila's review against another edition

inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.5

blkwwwaffle's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

francisopal's review against another edition

4.0

I enjoyed most of these stories, but a few in the middle didn’t hold up compared to the others. That said, this was my first anthology of 2019, and I really enjoyed it.

remigves's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

criticalreader's review against another edition

2.0

Damn, I was hoping for a lot from this. But many of the stories felt rushed and lacked fleshing out? Being a short story doesn't excuse the weakness of the stories. Did it cover a variety of topics that may affect a black youth in America? Yes but very few of the topics were handled well. For example, one of the stories is dealing with a young girl who has an ex trying to pressure her into sending a nude. A relevant topic for all teens in this day and age with technology, right? The way this was handled felt disingenuous. They tried to wrap the story up with a relatively positive ending, where she and another girl share their nudes with one another and complement each other. Great concepts, poor execution.

dpearson5257's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Such a fun and large collection of experiences here. I could definitely see myself in a couple of the stories. And highlighted a few authors that I’ve had my eye on for a while, but that’s the exciting thing about anthologies, get to sample an authors writing style and character creation and how they create a story. And I mean I love everything that Ibj Zoboi touches at this point! 

bookish_by_elle's review against another edition

3.0

This collection of short stories is a refreshing reminder that the black community is made up of a diverse group of people with a variety of interests, talents, histories. Most of the stories were fun and light-hearted and dispel the negative stereotypes often associated with the black community.

I gave this book 3 stars because while I enjoyed all of the stories in this book, many of them were not very memorable. The stories I liked though, I really liked. My favorites were Warning: Color May Fade, Oreo, The Trouble With Drowning and Hackathon Summers.

resslesa's review against another edition

5.0

An amazing collection of stories, and I love that they come from favorite authors and are not all about the struggle, but also about everyday concerns. Each story is unique, relatable, and accessible to students of many ages. Excited to try and push this to students (those who have read it really like it).

wilhelmina_reads's review against another edition

4.0

A pretty nice compilation of short stories! I don't think there were any that I didn't like. My personal favorites were: 
- Samson and the Delilahs
- Wild Horses, Wild Hearts
- The Trouble with Drowning
- Kissing Sarah Smart
- Into the Starlight