sakisreads's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
This was truly such a joy to read. Thank you to all the contributors 🥹
Notable short stories for me include the ones by Chanté Joseph, Diane Abbott, Munya Chawawa and Theophina Gabriel ✨ However, in saying that, I felt like I was lucky enough to witness every single contributor’s Black Joy ❤️
Honestly a gorgeous and heart-warming read. You can pick it up and read it all in one go, or you can pick bits and pieces each time, it’s up to you 🙋🏻♀️
4 out of 5 stars for me, thank you ✨
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Racism, Bullying, Homophobia, Colonisation, and Cultural appropriation
196books's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Suicide
kirstenf's review
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Cultural appropriation, Police brutality, Fatphobia, and Colonisation
Minor: Murder, Slavery, Violence, and Hate crime
nd2712's review
3.0
This is a - for lack of a better word, joyful - collection of essays by writers, entertainers, designers and figures of Black British culture. Each of the essays celebrate an element of joy that the writer has found within their identities and the things they love - whether that's fashion, sport, film, the queer community, music and so much more. Essay collections, like short stories, are always going to have some essays you don't gel with and some you adore, and that was definitely the case with me - but I found wonderful writing from people who I'd like to read more from and explore. Ultimately, this is a wonderful book, full of joyful things that we should all be reading.
rebeccafarren's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
gabyk_lib's review
5.0
What is joy? And why is Black joy so little shown? This book does not hide away from racism or negativity but shows the wide range of experiences. I found it a beautiful view of a selection of people's lives.
ciars_x's review
5.0
August book club choice: An amazing anthology of essays, so present and lighthearted. Every essay ends with a joyful affirmation.
Particularly loved that it shone a light on emerging young talent and voices.
Particularly loved that it shone a light on emerging young talent and voices.
jendella's review
5.0
There are a lot of black essay anthologies floating about but don’t let fatigue make you pass over this one. This is truly a joyful collection of exquisitely written essays covering everything from nature, to friendship, to hall parties, to kissing, to having a work bestie to… I could go on. I breezed through this in a couple of days and was grinning, laughing and sighing in longing along the way. An antidote to everything bad in world. Highly recommended.