5 stars overall. I'm rating each individual story by my personal enjoyment because all the stories are well-written and establish characters and plot quickly.

Half a Moon 4/5
Liked it a lot!

Black Enough 2/5
Wasn't feeling it at first but a good ending

Warning: Color May be Fade 2/5
I love art, so reading about an artist is fun. Gosh, I wanted to fight Ryan so badly.

Black Nerd Problems 5/5

"How do you win a fight you shouldn't have in the first place."

One of my absolute favorites! Hilarious! I love Shawn's friends and the mall setting. And that Javarious Jenkins play, "If Your Man Ain't Jesus, He Just Ain't." I couldn't stop laughing with this one. Lamar Giles is talented.

Out of Silence 3/5
Nice bit of mystery that unfolds quickly. The last line confused me a bit.

I think she was glad Tessa wasn't screaming or didn't seem to be in any distress when she died, right?

The Ingredients 3/5
A light-hearted, fun dialogue between friends about sandwiches! I like how effortlessly the conversation flowed. The ending's relatable too.

have y'all ever talk about getting some pizza all day just to eat leftovers in the end?

Oreo 4/5
Nice. Another one of my favorites from this anthology.

Samson and the Deliahs 5/5
Sobechi's narrative is adorable and innocent. AND a black girl (metal) rockstar? I'm here for it!

Stop Playing 1/5
Shenanigans at the church youth retreat! The writing is great, and I love Keri's friend Tish. Still, I'm tired of f**kboys and girls making dumb decisions. Just as it starts getting good then it ends ;_;

Wild horses, Wild Heart 2/5
Romeo and Juliet set in a hick town with 2 country boys.

Whoa! 2/5
Suprised. I didn't think an enslaved man and a modeling college student's convo in 2019 would be interesting. I wish Dante would've just referred to him as John instead of Slave John. Soooo glad John called him on it.

Gravity 4/5
Loved it. That's what kind of scares me about club settings. Be worried about disgusting gropey guys.

The Trouble with Drowning 1.5/5
Not a fan of the

dead sister

trope.

Kissing Sarah Smart 2/5

"Live in the moment."

Hackathon Summers 2/5

At school he came alive. At home he died."

Ehh?

sis, you were all up in his mouth without asking (mind you, he had just woke up), and how did she choose something else. boy, who said you were an option :p

Into the Starlight 2/5
Liked some parts

The (R)evolution of Nigeria Jones 1/5
The daughter of a hotep! I really liked some parts but others I had to eyeroll.

Fun, imaginative, and subversive stories. I really liked Space to Grow by N N Chan and Finders Keepers by Ahuenao.

3.5 stars

"I knew you'd save me."

Five books in and I still like this series.

Too dry, boring, and bland. I don't know why Liz and that guy like each other so fast. I'm just not invested enough to read volume 2.

Well, I will definitely be reading volume 4 because I feel like the plot is finally rolling. Ursa uncovers the truth about her family, Duncan and Rosalba's rocky relationship is explained, and there is the most random-last minute romance between

Trinh and the guy who fixes her poncho.

2.5

Thankfully less bickering than the first volume, but still a little slow. Charris is still understandably upset at Ursa for having controlled her mind, but then she's laughing and playing with her as if nothing happened in like 2 pages? Ehh? I thought the fight scene was nice and the monster was scary! Well, I'm onto volume 3.

SN: I really liked the color direction in this one, but I felt all the characters' arms were a bit too short.

Sweet. A love letter to comic book fans especially Marvel ones. I enjoyed the familial relationships a lot. Both Weldon and Mir's parents are awesome, and Emma Sanders, Weldon's ice-queen mother is particularly my favorite.

Overall, a fun story with some romance, but it's very very long/slow-paced. I feel like a chunk of the book could've been cut.

a bit of subversion from the Romeo and Juliet story.

There were some parts/elements I really liked (the girls' families, the poems/blog posts, and the school events; how the school staff acted was definitely realistic). However, Chelsea came off too annoying/almost like a caricature of the "angry tumblr feminist." Maybe they wanted to show how young teens are really gung-ho with good intentions and eager to change things. But dang, Chelsea get outta of people's face. I liked Jasmine, but I wanted to know a bit more about her.

I finished this in one sitting, and I liked the writing a lot. There's some last-minute romance that's not focus-stealing and cute. Anyway, I enjoyed reading it.

3.5 stars