e-Audio, 12:10:19
Narrated by: Tashi Thomas, Langston Darby, Karen Strong
Release Date: January 17, 2023
Published by: Philomel Books
Read from: January 14-17, 2023
Stand-alone
Source: PRH Audio (I received a copy of this audiobook from the Publisher in exchange for a just and honest review. This did nothing to influence my review.)
TW: Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Religious Bigotry, Violence
For Readers Interested In: Nerdy activities, romance, Anthologies, Racial/Ethnic Diversity, YAA multi-genre YA anthology of bestselling, critically acclaimed Black authors challenging the concept of the geek, featuring contributions from Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Terry J. Benton-Walker, Roseanne A. Brown, Elise Bryant, Tracy Deonn, Desiree S. Evans, Isaac Fitzsimons, Lamar Giles, Jordan Ifueko, Leah Johnson, Amanda Joy, Kwame Mbalia, Tochi Onyebuchi, Shari B. Pennant, K. Arsenault Rivera, Julian Winters, and Ibi Zoboi.
A girl who believes in UFOs; a boy who might have finally found his Prince Charming; a hopeful performer who dreams of being cast in her school’s production of The Sound of Music; a misunderstood magician of sorts with a power she doesn’t quite understand.
These plotlines and many more compose the eclectic stories found within the pages of this dynamic, exciting, and expansive collection featuring exclusively Black characters. From contemporary to historical, fantasy to sci-fi, magical to realistic, and with contributions from a powerhouse list of self-proclaimed geeks and bestselling, award-winning authors, this life-affirming anthology celebrates and redefines the many facets of Blackness and geekiness–both in the real world and those imagined
*MY THOUGHTS*
Anthologies are always hard for me to rate. I always want to give it 5 stars because there’s some there that I really really love. But then while I’m reading, there’s also times when I really really want to DNF because I don’t like them. This one is no different. I didn’t love it, but I also didn’t hate it. So what I did was gave all the stories a rating and then averaged it. Soooooo, let’s see what I gave it!
So some of these stories were amazing. The one by Ibi Zoboi?! It was entertaining, but it also made me think! Would I leave or would I stay? Would it be the same thing on another planet by what they were doing? I loved it! The others I loved were Corner Booth by Leah Johnson because I love me a good nerdy love story. I loved this story so much I wanted more. And with Initiative Check by K. Arsenault Rivera, it was crazy because I was reading a physical book that had Dungeons and Dragons in it. Idk, it made my brain happy to be reading these two stories. Especially since I’m not a fan of the gaming part, but I am interested in the way the Dragon Master person makes up the stories. As a story person, that ish is just cool to me. But I remember wondering why they put all the 5 stars back to back in the anthologies because I was worried they wouldn’t have anymore out there.
There were others out there that were just ok too. Like the Kalynn Bayron story. But that could be because I’m not a huge fan of the theatre. And Cole’s Cruise Blues by Issac Fitzsimmons was cute and had a good premise, but I did NOT like the way they treated the kid? Is it just me? Am I the problem? I don’t know, but I thought that was extra. Be mad at the parents, not the kid. And wtf was that even about in Drive Time Lamar Giles. That was one of the weirdest stories ever lol I didn’t even know what to think of this.
And there of course were some duds, but none of them that were 1 stars of DNFs. For the most part they were just not memorable. I didn’t write notes on this one because it was an audio book, but for the most part, since I remembered all the others, if I didn’t remember a story in this one I’m sure I didn’t like it. I know it sounds harsh, but I never felt like I had to DNF them, so it’s fine. I don’t want to give any names on which ones I just didn’t like. Since it’s all about nerdy topics, you can make that decision on your own.
Basically this book is a smash and I really hope y’all go pick it up. When I say there’s something in there for everyone, I mean it. There’s a book story, there’s a story about theater, a story about DnD and so much more. If you do read it, let me know what you think!
Overall, I give this
