I really wanted to love this collection of short stories. I'm typically a fan of short stories, including slice-of-life style stories like most of these happen to be. Unfortunately, I was mostly underwhelmed. Of the seventeen short stories presented in this collection, only two really stood out to me. "Out of the Silence" by Kekla Magoon and "Oreo" by Brandy Colbert were my favorites and the only two stories that will stick with me. I'm surprised because I expected to love the stories by authors that I've previously read, such as Jason Reynolds, Nic Stone, and Ibi Zoboi... but I didn't. There's a world of difference between writing a short story and a full-length novel, I suppose. I'll continue to look for full length novels on the topic of black identity. Maybe I just want more than most short stories can offer.