A review by shouldireadthis
Blackout by Angie Thomas, Dhonielle Clayton, Ashley Woodfolk, Nic Stone, Nicola Yoon, Tiffany D. Jackson
4.0
4 stars on average. However, individual ratings and mini review of each story below. This book is an anthology of short stories all set during the same blackout, and follows a group of teens with somewhat interlinking stories, which was a pretty cool concept.
3.75 stars - The long walk by Tiffany D. Jackson
- good start, it’s interesting and it gets the story going
- set across multiple parts so we pick up on this story at several points throughout the whole book
- there’s good character development
- allows you time to bond with the characters
- there are some loose ends here and things left open e.g the internship which doesn’t make for as satisfying of an ending as there could be
4 stars - Mask off by Nic Stone
- relatable characters
- features a queer teen who is closeted (bisexual rep)
- discusses some stigma around being ‘not straight’ in sports, which is an important discussion
- generally accomplishes a lot in the short space of time available
4.5 stars - Made to fit by Ashley Woodfolk
- Nella & Joss are so cute!!!
- we love queer romance
- love the setting of the residence for older people, feels very fresh and interesting to see snap shots into the lives of the residents
- my gay heart loved this story
3.75 stars - All the great love stories… and dust by Dhonielle Clayton
- cute story, cute characters
- not as memorable as some of the other stories in this anthology but still very heartwarming
- love the setting of the library (obv I love books so a good way to speak to my heart)
- heartfelt and tender story of ‘love’
- bit lacking in impact but could be because this is very much the middle of the wider book
4 stars - No sleep till Brooklyn - Angie Thomas
- love the message
- love the story
- love the personal growth for Kayla
- it’s mainly Kayla’s story, and that’s ok
- we get insight into other characters but it’s not super deep
- just enough info and development to work as a short story
- setting of the bus is cute
2 stars - Seymour and Grace - Nicola Yoon
- just didn’t work for me personally
- couldn’t gel with this story
- story would be so different in tone if the cab driver was not hot
- cause the driver (Seymour) is hot it’s excusable for him to be a little confrontational, forget to put gas in his car so they break down, and force his female passenger (Grace) to accept him walking her to the party she is attending as the city is ‘dangerous’, my dude - you could be dangerous and she doesn’t know you??
- couldn’t get behind their love story because of it as I would be so uneasy if in the same situation and she wasn’t vibing for most of the story either!
- some will love this story and find it cute which is fine but just not for me, if he was not hot then this would be a WHOLE other story and we’d be calling him a creepy weirdo
3.75 stars - The long walk by Tiffany D. Jackson
- good start, it’s interesting and it gets the story going
- set across multiple parts so we pick up on this story at several points throughout the whole book
- there’s good character development
- allows you time to bond with the characters
- there are some loose ends here and things left open e.g the internship which doesn’t make for as satisfying of an ending as there could be
4 stars - Mask off by Nic Stone
- relatable characters
- features a queer teen who is closeted (bisexual rep)
- discusses some stigma around being ‘not straight’ in sports, which is an important discussion
- generally accomplishes a lot in the short space of time available
4.5 stars - Made to fit by Ashley Woodfolk
- Nella & Joss are so cute!!!
- we love queer romance
- love the setting of the residence for older people, feels very fresh and interesting to see snap shots into the lives of the residents
- my gay heart loved this story
3.75 stars - All the great love stories… and dust by Dhonielle Clayton
- cute story, cute characters
- not as memorable as some of the other stories in this anthology but still very heartwarming
- love the setting of the library (obv I love books so a good way to speak to my heart)
- heartfelt and tender story of ‘love’
- bit lacking in impact but could be because this is very much the middle of the wider book
4 stars - No sleep till Brooklyn - Angie Thomas
- love the message
- love the story
- love the personal growth for Kayla
- it’s mainly Kayla’s story, and that’s ok
- we get insight into other characters but it’s not super deep
- just enough info and development to work as a short story
- setting of the bus is cute
2 stars - Seymour and Grace - Nicola Yoon
- just didn’t work for me personally
- couldn’t gel with this story
- story would be so different in tone if the cab driver was not hot
- cause the driver (Seymour) is hot it’s excusable for him to be a little confrontational, forget to put gas in his car so they break down, and force his female passenger (Grace) to accept him walking her to the party she is attending as the city is ‘dangerous’, my dude - you could be dangerous and she doesn’t know you??
- couldn’t get behind their love story because of it as I would be so uneasy if in the same situation and she wasn’t vibing for most of the story either!
- some will love this story and find it cute which is fine but just not for me, if he was not hot then this would be a WHOLE other story and we’d be calling him a creepy weirdo