Reviews

Black Boy Joy by Kwame Mbalia

charliebnl's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

andeez's review

5.0

Black Boy Joy is necessary. For Black Boys. For those of us who know Black boys. For those who don't know Black boys. We all deserve to be represented - and stories from amazing authors tell the joy of being a Black boy.

Being a Black boy can be scary in this society. But being a Black boy is not all fear. They are beautiful. They are smart. They are our future. Thank you Kwame Mbalia for getting these guys together to collaborate on this amazing piece of work.

annalisenak97's review

5.0

I bawled my eyes out. This is a brilliant collection of short stories ties together by an overarching narrative, which I just love. These stories celebrating black boyhood, childhood, first crushes, winning a game, dreaming big, and so much more. But the reason this book rings true is because it doesn't just celebrate joy, but it celebrates joy in the face of pain and adversity, which is even more powerful.

thenextgenlibrarian's review

4.0

Black boy joy is…

readwithpassion's review

5.0

I loved this book so, so much. I am excited to share the stories with my students. My 7 year old and I read a story each night, and we had so many phenomenal conversations. He's not the marketed age group, but I can say that this book is a great read for people of all ages.

kvltprincess's review

5.0

Fantastic. Really puts a smile on your face. <3

mrs_bookdragon's review

5.0

A fantastic anthology with something for everyone.

nichols9117's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

sandlerpage's review

4.0

Some of these were magnificent.

mhfarmer's review

5.0

Genuinely joyful, page by page. I knew I would enjoy the book because of the writers I’ve read before (Kwame Mbalia, Jason Reynolds, Varian Johnson, B.B. Alston, Jerry Craft) but was especially thrilled to discover science fiction writers that I’m going to go check out (Tochi Onyebuchi, Davaun Sanders, Suyi Davies Okungbowa) and also all of the other writers in this collection.

I also think this would make an amazing film.