I had been wanting to read this anthology collections for years and had finally got to it this year. It has a great introduction which sets put the collection well. With a lot of collections, I feel like there are some hits and misses and it was the same for this collection. While I don't think that any of the stories are bad, I did have some favourites and memorable ones. Overall, I would recommend this collection and it is important for anyone looking for read more BIPOC fiction and to discover a new favourite author.

3.7 rounded up to 4 stars

Half a Moon (Renee Watson) - 3 stars
Black Enough (Varian Johnson) - 3.5
Warning: Color May Fade (Leah Henderson) - 3
Black. Nerd. Problems. (Lamar Giles) - 3.75
Out of Silence (Kekla Magoon) - 4*
The Ingredients (Jason Reynolds) - 4*
Oreo (Brandy Colbert) - 4
Samson and the Delilahs (Tochi Onyebuchi) - 3.5
Stop Playing (Liara Tamani) - 4*
Wild Horses, Wild Hearts (Jay Coles) - 4
Whoa! (Rita Williams-Garcia) - 4
Gravity (Tracey Baptiste) - 3.5
The Trouble With Drowning (Dhonielle Clayton) - 5*
Kissing Sarah Smart (Justina Ireland) - 4
Hackathon Summers (Coe Booth) - 3.5
Into the Starlight (Nic Stone) - 3
The (R)Evolution of Nigeria Jones (Ibi Zoboi) - 3 [This one is getting its own spin-off novel?!]

*My absolute favourites in the collection

I absolutely adored this anthology! Although I picked it up to specifically read certain author's stories, I found myself completely hooked by every single one.

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.

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.

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

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.

[this review will be up on my blog, acquadimore.wordpress.com, on 01/12/2019]

Black Enough is an anthology of short stories written by Black authors about young Black characters living in the Unites States. It follows characters from many different backgrounds - there are stories about rich Black people, Black immigrants, biracial Black people, queer Black people - with very different living experiences, because as Ibi Zoboi says right from the introduction, there isn't just one way to be Black.

First, I want to say that this review is from a perspective who is neither Black nor American. Some things may be lost on me, or I may be missing the context, and English isn't even my first language. I often did not understand the American pop culture references here, but as this is a book specifically about American experiences, it won't affect my rating significantly.

Half a Moon by Renée Watson – ★★★★
A heartwarming story about family and healing from the point of view of a seventeen-year-old girl working as a teen counselor at Oak Creek Campgrounds. Trigger warning for fat shaming, challenged by the narrative.

Black Enough by Varian Johnson – ★★★★
A Black boy feels out of place around his friends and the girl he likes because he doesn’t feel like he’s “Black enough” since he doesn’t fit certain stereotypes. It’s a story about community and what it means to be Black that touches also on themes like feminism and police brutality. Really liked it.

Warning: Color May Fade by Leah Henderson – ★★★
A story about appropriation set at a boarding school; specifically, it involves a white girl trying to profit from a black girl’s artwork by claiming it as her own. It was a bit confusing at the beginning, but I ended up liking it.

Black. Nerd. Problems. by Lamar Giles – ★★
This was really confusing. Not only because I was probably supposed to at least vaguely know what the characters were talking about – there were so many names of brands, it kind of relied on the pop culture references – but also because I didn’t really get the plot.

Out of the Silence by Kekla Magoon – ★★★★
This was really well-written and also a difficult read. It’s about a girl who discovers that the girl who made her question her sexuality has died. I liked that we don’t actually know whether the dead girl was queer, but it was heartbreaking to read anyway. Really short, beautiful writing, gave me a lot of feelings.

The Ingredients by Jason Reynolds – ★★★
A summer-y short story following Black boys just… being happy and being friends and talking about food. Fun, if plotless and too short to get invested in the (many) characters.

Oreo by Brandy Colbert – ★★★
A story about a girl meeting the cousins she hasn’t seen in years – and she doesn’t know how to feel about them because the last time she saw them, one of them called her an Oreo. It’s a story about family that also talks about gatekeeping and internalized hate for one’s culture.

Samson and the Delilahs by Tochi Onyebuchi – ★★★
The son of a couple of Nigerian immigrants practices for his debates, discovers metal music, meets a girl and tries to reconnect with his family’s past. While this story was contemporary, it reminded me that I really want to read Beasts Made of Night.

Stop Playing by Liara Tamani – ★★★★
I really liked this one! Which surprised me because I didn’t love the beginning, but the character development and the girl friendships were so great. Anyway, this is set at a church beach retreat and it involves untrustworthy boys asking for inappropriate selfies.

Wild Horses, Wild Hearts by Jay Coles – ★★★½
The m/m romance in this one was adorable, but I didn’t love the writing and the ending wasn’t as strong as I hoped it would be. It involves horse racing and a Black boy getting together with his neighbors’ son, whose parents are racist and homophobic.

Whoa! by Rita Williams-Garcia – ★★★★½
This was… surprising. It’s the only story with a maybe magical element, and it follows a gay Black model as he unexpectedly manages to talk with one of his ancestors, a slave living before the Civil War. It felt so sad and hopeful at the same time, and I loved the writing.

Gravity by Tracey Baptiste – ★★★★
This was one of the most original stories in the collection, as it takes place in the span of a few seconds. It talks about sexual assault, victim blaming and immigration (the main character is Trinidadian).

The Trouble With Drowning by Dhonielle Clayton – ★★★★½
A story about light-skinned Black sisters and mental health awareness – or, rather, the lack of it. It was a beautiful story I can’t talk about in-depth without spoilers, but trigger warnings for suicide.

Kissing Sarah Smart by Justina Ireland – ★★★★★
I am predictable. Yes, this was my favorite story, and it involved an f/f romance between a biracial Black girl and a white fat girl. It was cute and funny and it also dealt with microaggressions, mental health and homophobia.
So, I really need to read Dread Nation.

Hackathon Summers by Coe Booth – ★★
This one didn’t work for me. It’s about Garry, who is falling in love with a muslim girl, Inaaya, at a hackathon. I couldn’t connect with them in so little space with so many time jumps, I guess.

Into the Starlight by Nic Stone – ★★★
A story about a girl learning to confront her internalized prejudices and the idea of being “not like [those] other Black people” while falling in love with a boy who also really liked Percy Jackson.

The (R)evolution of Nigeria Jones by Ibi Zoboi – ★★★
This one follows a girl who was raised in an almost cult-like environment by activists. It had some really powerful parts – about activism failing people because nuance is often forgotten, about the way some people are more interested in advocating for the rights of animals before people (that part about asking for the liberation of “tree people and animal people” while their movement treats women as if their main role is to make babies and acts like gay people don’t exist was… something) – but overall I didn’t feel strongly about this.

Overall, I liked this anthology and its messages, even though – as it always happens – not every story worked for me as much as I hoped. I definitely want to read more from some of these authors now.

Average rating: ★★★½