An engaging volume that breathes necessary life into the horror genre, showcasing the best of what goes bump in the night.
A well-crafted horror anthology containing 15 stories that cleverly reimagine familiar tropes and cliches.
In their dedication, editors and contributors Evans and Fennell address “all the Black girls who have been aching to…come out on top as the Final Girl.” Defying the genre’s preference for centering white heroines, this collection features Black girls who are fighters and survivors, breakers of generational curses and slayers of evil. The stories contain deft social commentary, and many investigate the monstrosities of the human condition. Cinematic standouts include Justina Ireland’s “Black Pride,” a radical take on werewolves set during the era of the Black Panther Party; Brittney Morris’ “Queeniums for Greenium!,” about a reluctant newcomer to a cult disguised as a multilevel marketing group; and Charlotte Nicole Davis’ “Foxhunt,” starring a high schooler who becomes the intended prey for a fatal game based on the brutality of chattel slavery. Other authors delve into paranormal frights shaped by cultural folklore, such as Evans’ “The Brides of Devil’s Bayou,” which follows a college student from rural Louisiana who returns home to confront a maternal inheritance involving a terrifying deal with a demon. This collection provides much-needed representation of Black girls who refuse to be martyrs, sassy sidekicks, or casualties on the path to a white character’s inevitable triumph.
An engaging volume that breathes necessary life into the horror genre, showcasing the best of what goes bump in the night. (contributor biographies) (Horror anthology. 13-18)Pub Date: April 2, 2024
ISBN: 9781250871657
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner.
Bestselling author Faizal returns to the universe of We Hunt the Flame (2019) with a stand-alone duology opener.
Orphaned Arthie, brown-skinned with mauve hair, has created a criminal empire out of sheer pluck despite being Ceylani in Ettenia, where laws favor white people. She pulled legendary pistol Calibore from a stone plinth (though the prophecy that doing so would make her the nation’s leader turned out to be a hoax). She’s also built Spindrift, a teahouse-cum-bloodhouse, where she gathers secrets from wealthy humans and vampires, amassing power and security. Now Arthie has her sights set on vengeance—and the Ram, Ettenia’s masked monarch. When she and Jin, her brother-by-choice (who’s cued East Asian), are drawn into a heist, they assemble a diverse crew of immigrants whose roles riff on genre archetypes. The lush prose pulses with feeling as revelations are dropped and the tension ratchets up, keeping the pages turning as the motley gang plans to infiltrate a vampire society, retrieve a stolen ledger, and double-cross one of the Ram’s guards (who might be planning to double-cross them). Their ultimate goal: taking down the colonizing Ettenians and the exploitative East Jeevant Company. It’s all very exciting right up to the action-packed finale, which promises more conspiracy and (hopefully) justice to come. This compelling read offers interesting commentary on our society while feeling entirely real within the context of its own worldbuilding.
Crowd-pleasing fun laced with political fire: a winner. (map) (Fantasy. 13-18)Pub Date: Feb. 20, 2024
ISBN: 9780374389406
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Nov. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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