I feel like there should be a category on this blog called “Books I Wish Existed When I Was A Teen” because this book would be first on this list.
Black Enough is a wonderful anthology that tells the varied experiences and stories of Black teens; from the suburbs to the hood to the country and even the inner sanctum of heavy metal rehearsals. It’s just a masterful blend of experiences. These are not struggles stories, they are funny, poignant and some of them are emotional but they never “gut” you. One of my favorites was Jay Coles’ Wild Horses, Wild Hearts which I felt was like “response” to Brokeback Mountain.
I think the book is best read straight through. I’m not a big contemporary reader, so I was glad to see there were two magical realism stories. The titular story, Black Enough, I think really sets the tone for the anthology and the last story is meant to be more reflective. I got snippets of black authors I’ve been meaning to read and right now Jay Cole is moving up on my TBR list.
I’m all in for these YA anthologies!