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Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America by [Ibi Zoboi, Tracey Baptiste, Coe Booth, Dhonielle Clayton, Brandy Colbert, Jay Coles, Lamar Giles, Leah Henderson, Justina Ireland, Varian Johnson, Kekla Magoon, Tochi Onyebuchi, Jason Reynolds, Nic Stone, Liara Tamani, Renée Watson, Rita Williams-Garcia]

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Ibi Zoboi

Lamar Giles

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America Kindle Edition

by Ibi Zoboi (Author), Tracey Baptiste (Author), Coe Booth (Author), Format: Kindle Edition

770 ratings

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Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America. A selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List.

Black is...sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson.

Black is…three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds.

Black is…Nic Stone’s high-class beauty dating a boy her momma would never approve of.

Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland.

Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—because there are countless ways to be Black enough.

Contributors:
Justina Ireland
Varian Johnson
Rita Williams-Garcia
Dhonielle Clayton
Kekla Magoon
Leah Henderson
Tochi Onyebuchi
Jason Reynolds
Nic Stone
Liara Tamani
Renée Watson
Tracey Baptiste
Coe Booth
Brandy Colbert
Jay Coles
Ibi Zoboi
Lamar Giles

Print length

407 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Balzer + Bray
Publication date

January 8, 2019
Reading age

13 - 17 years
Grade level

8 - 9
File size

1274 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Not Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
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From the Publisher

Quotes from the stories within BLACK ENOUGH

Review

Each entry is deftly woven and full of such complex humanity that teens will identify with and see some of their own struggles in these characters...Offer[s] a rich tableau of the black teen diaspora in an accessible way.

-- "School Library Journal"

[A] poignant collection of stunning short stories by black rock-star authors

-- "Booklist (starred review)"

The stories, all worth savoring, share a celebratory outlook on black teenagers fully and courageously embracing life.

-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

A diverse and compelling fiction anthology...A breath of fresh air and a sigh of long overdue relief. Nuanced and necessary.

-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)" --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

About the Author

Various Authors --This text refers to the audioCD edition.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-A compilation of short stories that offers unique perspectives on what it means to be young and black in America today. Each entry is deftly woven and full of such complex humanity that teens will identify with and see some of their own struggles in these characters. In Leah Henderson's "Warning: Color May Fade," a prep school girl examines the cost of being and remaining invisible in a world carefully crafted to exclude her. Two girls take the peer pressure of naked selfies and turn it on its head in "Girl, Stop Playing" by Liara Tamani. A group of young black boys dream up food creations heavily influenced by the flavors of other cultures in "The Ingredients" by Jason Reynolds. This collection presents the beauty of black humanity in all its many forms. The teens in these tales are dealing with mental health issues, complicated family dynamics, sexuality and gender constraints, and being part of a marginalized group. The entries offer a rich tableau of the black teen diaspora in an accessible way. VERDICT A great volume for all libraries serving young adults.-Desiree Thomas, Worthington Library, OHα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Review

-- "School Library Journal"

[A] poignant collection of stunning short stories by black rock-star authors

-- "Booklist (starred review)"

The stories, all worth savoring, share a celebratory outlook on black teenagers fully and courageously embracing life.

-- "Publishers Weekly (starred review)"

A diverse and compelling fiction anthology...A breath of fresh air and a sigh of long overdue relief. Nuanced and necessary.

-- "Kirkus Reviews (starred review)" --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B078LY93MD
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Balzer + Bray; Reprint edition (January 8, 2019)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ January 8, 2019
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 1274 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 407 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #434,743 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #69 in Teen & Young Adult Black & African American Fiction eBooks
- #109 in Teen & Young Adult Short Stories
- #283 in Short Stories in Teen & Young Adult Literature

Customer Reviews:
770 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		82%
4 star		12%
3 star		4%
2 star 0% (0%)		0%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Allison Garwood

Heartwarming!

Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

It's hard to find YA books by Black authors. And when I find them, they are often about the very painful issues my son battles on a daily basis. But sometimes, we want a break from harsh realities AND a Black MC. Every once in a while, I find a book like Black Enough that walks this great, beautiful line, and serves up meaningful, fun, encouraging short stories featuring sharp, strong, creative, admirable Black kids. My son and I love to read this together. And I think he'll enjoy reading it again when he's in his teens.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

Snapshots of life, beautiful turns of phrase

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

This collection of vignettes is a lovely read, glimpses of self-discovery in a number of ways. Each story is a gem, filled with gifts of language like these:

"Tessa was a person who could wreak havoc with a sentence. Sixteen years doesn’t seem like long, but how many lives could a person with that kind of power have ruined in her time?"

"The man cried so badly, his tears glittered like constellations of stardust."

"All night, his fingers had flown over his keyboard, writing line after line of code so fast, it felt like he was playing music."

"It was the nerdiest, most backhanded compliment Mak had ever gotten, Kamari suggesting that Aphrodite, Greek goddess of love, beauty, and pleasure, was Mak’s mother."

I'd typically choose one quote as representative of the book, but with so many voices, just one feels like neglecting the others. Each character discovering and learning to embrace their true selves is beautiful, varying from Black enough to sexual identity, breaking free of parental rule, letting intelligence and horniness shine, and so much more.

It's a book of teens learning their place in this world, and making it their own with growing confidence and strength. Beautiful, I recommend for anyone who has ever felt not enough.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Deborah Zeman

Leaves you wanting more

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

As much as I enjoyed these stories, I wanted them to continue. This was a book that celebrates diversity of men & women, both in terms of race, religion, family values. The voices come across the page, grabbing the reader from the first word. Sometimes I forgot that this was a book of stories about young African Americans. These stories could have been about black, or white orAsian kids...amazing stories. I’ll now go and read each authors creations..

3 people found this helpful

Helpful

Paige B.

It's Okay!

Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2019

Verified Purchase

I love that this book exists, but, as a collection, it's just okay. There were a few standout stories but I"m not remembering which ones! The stories themselves are a bit forgettable, I guess.

7 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Awesome!

Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2020

Verified Purchase

Most anthologies are mixed bags - some stories you like, some you don't. But this one, there wasn't a single story I didn't love, not one that didn't make me feel deeply and care about each character and laugh and empathize and be completely immersed in their world and all its complexities.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

H2NaturalBeauty

Loved this book!

Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2019

Verified Purchase

All of the collection of short stories were very well written. There are a few that are my favorite for sure and some not so favs. However, I enjoyed the entire book.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

Alicia J.

Love

Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2020

Verified Purchase

I chose this book for my book club. I loved the stories in this book. Very informative, the audio was nice to listen to. There’s a lot of stories that I bookmarked. If you search “Page Turners Book Club” you will see in depth review of this book.

Helpful

Kindle Customer

Nice variety to the Stories

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2020

Verified Purchase

Some of the stories were goofy and fun, some were contemplative and melancholy, all had something to say about a wealth of topics: coding, heavy metal, colorism, divorce, patriarchy, rural America, geekdom, first love, family dynamics, queerness, class, and (most controversial of all) Ross from Friends.

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

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Joana Cabral

Esperava algo diferente mas foi bom para conhecer autores novo.

Reviewed in Spain on January 29, 2021

Verified Purchase

Confesso que esperava algo diferente desta história e essa expectativa, sem dúvida, acabou por influenciar a minha opinião.

“Black Enough” é uma colecção de contos escritos por autores pretos que visa mostrar situações comuns de ser jovem e pertencente a uma minoria nos EUA. No entanto, nem sempre esse facto é o que está em evidência nestes textos, afinal ser adolescente por si só pode ser um verdadeiro drama que é transversal a todos os seres humanos.

Translate review to English

muppetshow

schön divers

Reviewed in Germany on August 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

Sammlung von schönen Geschichten. sehr gutes Vorwort

Translate review to English

CerysAnne

Unforgettable and impactful - a collection not to be overlooked

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2019

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

Black Enough is a collection of short stories written by seventeen authors - none of whom I knew prior to reading this book, yet they're all now officially on my radar - on being young and black in America, and I was really excited to dive into this novel; luckily, I wasn't disappointed by it.

Told either in first, second, or third person perspectives', this collection includes a variety of stories that made this reader experience many different emotions.

Now, whilst some stories were fun and light-hearted to read: stories of unrequited crushes, being young, finding love and gaining freedom, other stories touched on more life-defining and serious moments a teenager could go through in their life: moments of discovering ones sexuality, the power of music, a forbidden romance between rival families, the tragedy of death, suicide, family issues, along with dealing with racism, homophobia, and so much more.

It's 400 pages of two Introductions and seventeen unique and (some) powerful stories that I could not get enough of.

When I wasn't laughing out loud and smiling big at the fun and entertaining stories included - such as ones like 'Black. Nerd. Problems.', 'Woah!', 'Kissing Sarah Smart', and 'Into the Starlight' - I was devouring the meaningful story that was being told; a story that made me think, feel, and listen to the message within - like with 'Black Enough', 'Warning: Color May Fade', 'Out of the Silence', 'Wild Horses, Wild Hearts', and 'The Trouble with Drowning'.

There is one story in particular - Gravity by Tracey Baptise - that is quite triggering as, told in second person perspective, this story shows how a young girl deals with being sexually assaulted in a public area, though being young and having made the first move, she weights the options on whether to tell or keep quiet as she knows from second-hand experience that some, if not many people will twist her story on her and say she asked for it. Whilst I liked the story, how it was written, and the way this author had me seeing the story play out so vividly in my mind, it was just too vivid for my taste, and considering it was told in second person perspective, it was hard to feel separate from the character, and left me feeling uncomfortable throughout the entire story.

My reason for the four stars however, has to do with the fact that considering each story is a short story, the lack of a blurb to let us know not what the story was about - but WHO - left me feeling confused at times; was I reading about a young girl, or a young boy? Sometimes the gender, along with the characters' name, wasn't revealed for pages later, and it made me struggle to connect with the story when I started reading one in a female's perspective, but all along it was a male's.

Overall though, this collection was perfect and really delivered some unforgettable and impactful stories that I'm still thinking about days later. You'll either love them, or hate them - each story is different enough to get a different reaction from its reader.

I'd definitely recommend this collection of short stories to anyone looking for one.

TW: sexual assault, words of racism and homophobia

Book Gannet

An excellent mix ranging from humour to heartbreak

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 16, 2020

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

This is an excellent anthology of teenage life in current day USA. I loved the range and depth of these stories dealing not only with race but love, family, religion, grief, school and social pressures with styles ranging from humour to heartbreak and even managing to include a couple of LGBTQ+ tales.

They were all wonderfully different, although I was amused to note that most of the stories about boys dealt with romance - one exception being Jason Reynolds' "The Ingredients", which was about food, that other teenage boy obsession. The girl-led stories were more varied with school pressure, friendship troubles, grief, family problems and religion also playing a part.

My favourites were probably "Black. Nerd. Problems." by Lamar Giles, because it made me laugh the most, and "Stop Playing" by Liara Tamani, which managed to be fun and thoughtful and kind of exasperating all at once. But there are so many good stories here that it would be easy to pick a handful more that I liked almost as much.

In all this is a great collection. There wasn't a single story I didn't enjoy, which is rare for me with an anthology, and I'll be eagerly shoving it into the hands of all the teen readers in my life.

Robbie

Very readable but somehow lacking a spark

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 2, 2020

Vine Customer Review of Free Product( What's this? )

This is a collection of really readable short stories, but somehow it never quite did it for me. I should admit that I only half read the description, and thought they were autobiographical stories, which they are clearly not. Either way, I wanted to learn something new about being young and black in America and... did I? I'm not really sure.

Overall, over the course of a set of fun, mostly page-turning, sometimes touching short stories, I learned that black american kids are kids, much the same as white British kids are kids. With the exception of a few words I had to look up and bits of slang, I'm not sure there was anything I learned here that I didn't know already from TV shows. That may be because I've watched a lot of TV shows which feature young black people in America, and have just been watching This Is Us, which deals with much more nuance with the theme of a black person in a majority white community. That crops up a few times here, as do the class divides that emerge in a socially aspirant population.

I am also very aware that in the 'woke' world we live in, there is a lot of messaging that goes on: this collection clearly has an agenda, and with that in mind I realised it's hard to know if this is an accurate representation of being young and black in America.

Overall, these are well-written, enjoyable stories, sometimes touching, often intriguing. Like all collections of short stories, it lacks something, for me, because just as you get to know the characters they disappear, but each of the writers in this collection have other novels, so you can use this to find out who you want to read next. Only one of the stories was so odd/dull that I found I had to skip it, and the last two were among the best, so make sure to read to the end.