This is a wonderful anthology of stories about the diverse experiences of black teenagers. Individually, some of the stories were (of course) better than others, but as a whole the collection paints a beautiful and compelling picture that should be read widely. Each story was interesting, entertaining and eye opening. It dove into so many different lives and each one felt realistic. I feel like some stories could've been a bit longer than they were but other than that I definitely enjoyed this book and I'm happy I got to dive into it. The book offers an intersectional look at what it means to be young and black in America and beautifully demonstrates the diversity of experience that exists between young black people. I would highly recommend it.

This collection of short stories makes itself very clear in the title, and I 100% endorse reading more #ownvoices and #blackauthors in literature. I honestly think that it did a great job of capturing the black voice and experience in America too, choosing to focus on both heavy and everyday topics from a black perspective.

There were some standouts - 'Oreo' by Brandy Colbert speaks to the controversy that being 'too white' can cause in a black family, 'Wild Horses, Wild Hearts' by Jay Coles is an adorable LGBTQ+ story that centres on small-town mindsets, homophobia and racism, and 'The Trouble With Drowning' by Dhonielle Clayton deals heavily with grief. These stories were memorable, sharp, and well-executed. 'Samson & The Delilahs' by Tochi Onyebuchi was probably my favourite - I liked the protagonist and the way that it focused on self-expression vs. family expectations. Of course amongst the great, there were some that didn't catch my attention quite so much - 'Black Enough' by Varian Johnson, 'The Ingredients' by Jason Reynolds, and 'Stop Playing' by Liara Tamani didn't engross me in the same way that some of the others had as they lacked in character depth or plot.

This collection, for the most part, is very readable and I definitely found more positive than not.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley. 

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity. 
Natalie.

A fantastic and insightful collection that was brilliantly written and I would recommend as compulsory reading.

Black Enough is an amazing collection of short stories depicting a variety of Black teens lives from escaping their parent to dealing with grief to being part of Summer love stories. As expected with anthologies, I enjoyed some stories more than others and some were a lot more thought provoking but each story had passion and a purpose. 
The stories I would give five stars to were; Half a Moon  by Reneé Watson, Out of the Silence by Kekla Magoon, Oreo by Brandy Colbert, Whoa! by Rita Williams-Garcia and Into the Starlight by Nic Stone.
One of the things I love most about this anthology is that it has introduced me to some new authors I was not previously aware of, I spotted a few favourite names on the cover but also a whole host of unfamiliar names. I'm now very excited to take a look at other published books by these authors and add them to my TBR!

I loved this anthology full of stories of being young and Black in America - although it’s classed as Teen/YA fiction I would recommend this for anyone of any age who just wants to open their eyes to the experiences of others. 
I loved that there’s a story for everyone in here - whilst the common thread is of course the Black teenage experience, the stories were all so different, with stories about friendship, love, family and more, and it was great to see so many joyful experiences as well as struggles. 
Some stories could’ve been further fledged out and may have worked better as a stand-alone novel, mainly because I was just left wanting more, but these were all really well written and I’ll definitely be looking up some of the authors!

A brilliantly curated set of short stories for teens by Black authors. Moving between each tale, I loved discovering new writers and reading some new works from my favourites - Nic Stone being one of them. Each one is different and covers a wealth of issues, all solely from the perspective of Black people. This is an important collection, and I want to see more Black authors given platforms in publishing - Publishers need to acknowledge the discrimination and act to level the playing field.

Really enjoyed this book. It was a great collection of short stories showing many different things including racism, oppression, diversity and more. Some I really liked, some I could have left. I've definitely found some new authors to read from.

This book as very impactful and hard hitting. All the stories were great and easy to follow. Overall a really good book.

A very powerful read, heartbreaking, beautiful, just a whole mix of emotions reading this. I should state I am white and  I chose to read this as part of my ongoing education to be a lifelong ally and anti-racist (also due to the fact I am white please check out other reviews as not being Black, I do not and cannot know/understand what any of the authors or characters have experienced so please check out other reviews too) Although These stories are based in America, I pretty much know it isn’t really that much of a different story in the UK either.I liked how it covered full representation in the stories gender, LGBT+ , religion, mental health it really does cover most perspectives and show a true insight to life. This anthology, I believe is an important read for white people  trying to take the time to educate themselves , to learn about their privilege and make the changes in themselves (myself) that is so long overdue. This should definitely be placed on the UK curriculum and in libraries.

This anthology is what I've been asking for my whole life. Ibi Zoboi did an incredible job editing this anthology and the writers stories were incredible. I couldn't recommend this enough!

A heartbreaking and true account of black lives in America. I am black but live in the UK so my experiences are slightly different than this perspective. I learned a lot whilst reading this novel and I was thankful to the writers that different perspectives were offered. LGBT Black people and black characters coping with mental health were included to increase diversity.

The downside of this anthology is that some of the stories seemed too weak to be included amongst stronger pieces. I found myself skipping through parts that lost my interest. However, there were a few stand out stories which included Oreo - a tale about a black girl struggling to find her place in the world as she applies for university, and The Trouble With Drowning - the sad story of a teenager who has lost her sister to suicide. 

This book is an important read for those wanting to understand and educate themselves on the Black American experience. Though I believe some stories could have been left out, this is worth the read for the stories that do shine amongst the rest. Beautiful, poetic and heartbreaking, I recommend Black Enough for those looking to understand what it is like being Black and for Black readers who crave to see themselves represented within literature.

Thank you to both NetGalley for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

This is a wonderful anthology that gave me a real insight of what it is like to be black growing up in the united states, i felt like i learnt alot.

A great mix of stories, all featuring black protagonists, showing the diversity within the black community. I did find some where forgettable and didn't really pack any punch for me.

Black Enough is a young adult short story collection that is edited by Ibi Zoboi. The publishers kindly sent me an ARC via Netgalley. All views are my own. 

I want to say this first - Black Enough is not an anthology that was written for me. It is about black teens in America, and I am a white woman in the UK. So, please take all of my thoughts with a grain of salt, and refer to other reviews, not just this one. 

This is a truly magnificent collection. It is full of brilliant authors such as Justina Ireland, Jay Coles, Jason Reynolds, and Renée Watson. You should read it for these authors alone! But what I thought was great is that the overarching theme of being a black teenager was specific enough to give the collection cohesion, and wide enough that no story felt the same. That's something that I definitely feel that other YA collections like this lack. 

One of the real strengths of this collection was its intersectionality. There were black queer boys and queer girls, a black Muslim love interest and black characters dealing with mental health. There were black girls going into STEM. There were black teens going to university, and not. Some go to expensive private schools, and some live on ranches in the middle of nowhere. 

Not every story worked for me. For example, I felt that 'Black. Nerd. Problems' by Lamar Giles didn't have enough plot, it just kind of meandered through a night of the protagonist's life. Same with Jason Reynolds' story. However, there were a couple of stories that absolutely blew my socks off! 

Oreo by Brandy Colbert - this is about a girl who is applying to university. She has never felt like she fit in to majority-black spaces, as her cousin called her an oreo when she was little. 

The Trouble with Drowning by Dhonielle Clayton - this is about a teenager who has lost her sister to suicide. It talks about mental health within black communities. 

Into the Starlight by Nic Stone - this is about a black girl who has misconceptions about a boy because he's from the 'wrong' side of town. 

Other notable stories are Kissing Sarah Smart by Justina Ireland and The (R)Evolution of Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi. 

I do feel like it could have been really interesting to read more stories by relatively unknown or never-before-published authors, such as Leah Henderson. There are a lot of famous authors in here, like I said. There was room for a couple more new ones. 

That being said, I thought this was a great collection. Although I didn't personally connect with many of the stories, that's because this wasn't written for me. I'm so glad that this exists in the world. 

Trigger warnings: death, suicide, slavery, sexual assault, discussions of rape culture, and racial slurs.

Black Enough is a collection of very well written short stories reflecting on how it is to live in America young and black. 
Thank you to both NetGalley and Harper Collins uk for my eARC in exchange for my honest unbiased review

Black Enough is an incredibly diverse collection of stories from some truly amazing authors that seeks to showcase glimpses of Black life in the USA, ultimately succeeding in demonstrating that there is not one or two or twelve or a hundred ways to be "Black Enough" and that race is not a universal experience. (Before I launch into a summary or review, however, I immediately want to preface this review with the fact that I am not a person of colour and am not currently living in the United States, though I grew up there; for many of the books I review, this might not be an important factor, but given the premise of the collection, I wanted to make my own experience as a reader clear up front.) I found the vast majority of the stories poignant and thoughtful-- some were hilarious and some were sobering. Some are instant favourites that I will likely read and re-read and will live in my heart forever... and some just simply weren't for me. I feel like this is true of most edited anthologies and short story collections that I've read. 

In my typical review format, I generally break down a book by what I loved, what I liked, and what I didn't care for, but for a compilation of short stories, this wouldn’t quite work. I think it would just end with me ranking the whole anthology inadvertently and I don’t want to give stars to each individual story as a standalone (because in collections like this, it becomes so much more about personal preference rather than literary or story-telling merit). So instead, I’m going to highlight some of the themes and some of the unique facets of Black Enough and recommend that you check the book out for yourself!

There were so many different types of stories within Black Enough that I think there will be something for everyone-- regardless of gender, sexual orientation, race, or religion-- and the main message that all of these stories tell is that no one person's personal experience is universal-- or invalid-- because of their race. There were a few stories that touched on judgment within Black communities (or even individual families) in stories such as "Oreo" to "Black Enough" to "Into the Starlight" and each provided a different vantage point into bits of misunderstanding and miscommunication. "Oreo" in particular did an excellent job of showcasing how we remember what is hurtful to us while rarely holding onto the memories of what insensitive or spiteful things we might have said in turn. "Kissing Sarah Smart" and "Wild Horses, Wild Hearts" were some of the stories that focused on LGBTQ+ identities within Black families (each shaded by disapproval) and they were equal parts heart-breaking and beautiful. Other stories, such as "Whoa!" by Rita Williams-Garcia, were singular in their tone and their content; "Whoa!" follows the story of a young model preparing for a photo shoot who communes with an enslaved man on a plantation via a washbasin that is a family heirloom in a short story that is simultaneously comical and horrifying. Other authors chose to offer snapshots into a single afternoon, such as "The Ingredients" by Jason Reynolds, which gives us a whole slew of characters dreaming up sandwiches one summer afternoon beside a pool. 

Black Enough is an incredibly important compilation that is well-suited to reading all in one go or picking up in bits and pieces over a long period of time. Some of the stories it contained were 1.5 star reads, while many others were 5 star reads, so overall, I'd give this book 4 stars. I would definitely recommend this book to almost anyone, but especially to anyone who has ever had thoughts or questions about the monolithic endeavor of discussing or questioning identity and what it means to be "enough."

This collection of short stories may be classed as YA, but is an important read for anyone. The stories cover a wide range of topics, from racism to colourism, sexuality to feminism.

There are no bad stories in this, although there are a few a enjoyed more than others.
Among my favourites are -

Oreo by Brandy Colbert - I really loved how this story highlighted the prejudices faced by black people, even from within their own family, 
Whoa! by Rita Williams-Garcia - The imagined conversation between a modern day teen and a slave is wonderfully done.
The (R)evolution of Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi - The only thing I didn’t love about this story was it ended to soon. I would love a whole novel on Nigeria (and Kamau’s) adventures!

A wonderful anthology full of different ways to be black in America. I think it's so important with all the racial stereotyping in the world to show how many different ways there are to be black. It gives me so much hope that not only will it show the world how much diversity exists in just one part of the world, but also show black teenagers all over America that they are represented and that they are, as the title says, Black Enough. 

As with all anthologies, there were a range of stories on so many different topics. So many I loved and others I wasn't so keen on. Some of my particular favourites were: Half a Moon by Renée Watson, a lovely story about absent fathers and feelings between stepsisters, Samson and the Delilah's by Tochi Onyebuchi, a story about a boy meeting the girl next door and finding his true passion, despite what his parents want for him and Warning: Colour May Fade by Leah Henderson, a story about art and identity and breaking the mold at an exclusive private school. 

I love how anthologies share so many stories that you may not have picked up on your own and authors that you've never read before. It's a great way to showcase multiple authors and attract new readers. I'd love to see more by so many authors in these books and so I'll definitely see if I can find more by some of my favourites.

Black Enough, a compendium of seventeen short stories from a plethora of critically-acclaimed authors, is a bit of a mixed bag for me, and as a reader who appreciates and longs for more diversity throughout the book world, I was more than a little excited to dive right into this collection of which the objective was to illustrate the life experiences of many black youngsters. Not only that, but each story is written by some of the most-read black American authors of the last few years. 

As usual with these selections, there are always ones you enjoy more than others, but I found the quality varied quite heavily between each one. Some of the writing was sterling and immersive, and I found myself swept away in the narrative; others I found very convoluted and non-engaging. I can understand exactly what the intention behind this book was. However, I felt as though this was a solid but unspectacular collection. As you might expect, every story has contents and happenings that make for uncomfortable reading, although I think that's par for the course given the description and intention of the writers and editor. 

Many thanks to HarperCollins UK, Children's for an ARC.