Oh so sweet. As a white woman the age of these kids' grandparents, what I loved most about it was how real the kids voices felt. They are all individual people, first. Teens, in NYC, African-American, all that is there of course, but none of that stuff fully defines them. And every single one of them is adorable (though not perfect of course) and if I were their godmother or something I would be so proud. ( )

YA short story anthology, with all the stories set in NYC around a major blackout and a final destination of a block party in Brooklyn. Each story is written by a famous YA writers.
All the stories deal with romantic pairs of teens of color, some with LGBTQ+ themes (which have a nice, accepting air about them, which I found refreshing).
I always love stories set in NYC.
Things seemed to end abruptly to me: I THOUGHT that there would be an epilogue-type chapter with more interactions at the block party. ( )

Gr 9 Up—Powerhouse authors Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola
Yoon intertwine tales of romance over the course of a New York City blackout. Love is represented in many
forms—sizzling and sweet—and these resonant entries featuring different Black characters will have readers longing
for summer nights and first love.

Six loosely interconnected and incredibly engaging stories about Black teens finding loving amidst a blackout in New York. ( )

I like how some of the characters are reoccurring in other short stories, really makes the New York setting feel real. Some stories may not blow you away, but I acknowledge it’s very hard to set up a romance with convincing characters and chemistry in only a few pages. Overall, not a bad collection.

Looking forward to the Netflix series for this!

The Long Walk (3.5 stars)
I liked this one. It’s one of those “lack of communication ruins everything” stories … but fun. Tammi and Kareem were interesting, and I wanted to know what caused their fallout so badly. Ms. Jackson has this tendency to slowly feed you the plot in her stories (Monday’s Not Coming, Grown, etc). It’s annoying lol but certainly one of her author trademarks.

Mask Off (2 stars)
This one was okay, but JJ’s narrative and dialogue felt so unrealistic at times. Maybe he’s got the range for it, I guess but I just don’t believe the average, 16ish boy is going to care about how women should be able to breastfeed in public without scrutiny. Some of the teenaged boys I’ve known would’ve been straining their necks to see a titty pop out.

Made to Fit (4 stars)
As always, I love Woodfolk’s ability to make us care about characters in few words. And her character descriptions? Stellar. The conversations between Nella and Joss flow so easily, even the flirting. Loved how soft Nella was.

All the Great Love Stories … And Dust (2 stars)
This one felt a little dry even though it takes places in a library and involves books. I didn’t care for Tristán. He wasn’t much beyond a ladies’ man. Lana’s insecurities about finding love and worries about growing apart from her friend were relatable.

No Sleep Till Brooklyn (4 stars)
I enjoyed this one. The dialogue/narrative was strong and entertaining, and I definitely understood Kayla’s FOMO (fear of missing out). Love triangle vibes.

Seymour and Grace (3 stars)
Surprisingly gets philosophical. It ends fitting, but I think it could've been extended. Not sure if the ladies had word counts for this project. ( )