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writehollydavis's review
4.0
What a wonderful way to celebrate black boy joy with these short stories with diverse characters and authors alike. I appreciated the overarching story that connected them all, too. I wished there had been more than 1 poem and 1 comic since the description said 'collection of short stories, comics, and poems'. I was looking forward to consuming the different forms of media, but I still enjoyed reading most of the short stories here! With tons of voice, poignant messages, and funny lines, this is a collection for all to enjoy.
sarah_david1979's review
4.0
What a collection of powerhouse writers! There is such a wonderful variety of stories and genres within this book. The ending by Jerry Craft was perfection.
gemmapz's review against another edition
5.0
The JOY is for everyone, but celebrates the imagination, humanity, and depth of black boys and their families. Beautiful, lyrical and magical.
sasavino's review
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
readingintothevoid's review
4.5
The story where the gay boy gets accepted by his dad and then his grandma comes out as bi!! 😭😭
bushrasbookbabbles's review
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
1.0
This book is targeted to boys ages 9-12. There were a minimum of EIGHTEEN instances of queer attraction or identity. Two of the 11-12 year old boys are gay. Two are non-binary (albeit one is a side character). One of the stories is literally about coming out as non-binary. There is a bisexual grandma, a gay brother, a gay uncle, a gay sister and an inappropriate moment where a 12 year old girls keeping referring to a character’s father as “fine”.
katelynprice's review
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I loved the range of stories in this collection. The fantasy/magical realism elements were some of my favorites. Months later, the story that stood out to me the most was of the boy who baked with his father and "friend" from school. There is so much heart and hope and beauty in these pages, and this would make a great chaser to a book with lots of trauma and heavy content. I'm so glad I read this!
japamela's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this anthology. It was not what I thought it was going to be. There was more fantasy/sci-fi pieces than I expected, but that wasn't bad. The stories were lovely and pure joy. Several of them made me actually laugh out loud.