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Reviews tagging 'Self harm'
Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America by Ibi Zoboi
3 reviews
brookey8888's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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’m so glad I enjoyed this because I don’t love short story collections. Obviously I enjoyed some stories more than others, but nothing was below a three which is nice.
Half a moon-3
Black Enough-4
Warning: Color May Fade-3
Black.Nerd.Problems-3
Out of the Silence-5
The ingredients-3
Oreo-4
Samson and the Delilah’s-3
Stop Playing-4
Wild Horses, Wild Hearts-5
Whoa!-5
Gravity-4
The Trouble With Drowning-5
Kissing Sarah Smart-5
Hackathon Summers-3
Into the Starlight-5
The (R)evolution of Nigeria Jones-4
Half a moon-3
Black Enough-4
Warning: Color May Fade-3
Black.Nerd.Problems-3
Out of the Silence-5
The ingredients-3
Oreo-4
Samson and the Delilah’s-3
Stop Playing-4
Wild Horses, Wild Hearts-5
Whoa!-5
Gravity-4
The Trouble With Drowning-5
Kissing Sarah Smart-5
Hackathon Summers-3
Into the Starlight-5
The (R)evolution of Nigeria Jones-4
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Homophobia, Grief, Sexism, Sexual assault, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Colonisation, Cursing, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Violence
yas_mean_ie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Self harm, Death, Misogyny, Homophobia, Drug use, Death of parent, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts
plantbasedbride's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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 haven't read many anthologies in my life, and there's a good reason. I generally struggle with short stories (typically wanting more depth from them) and a collection of several, especially written by different authors and only tangentially related in theme, has the tendency to leave me feeling a bit overwhelmed and disconnected. That being said, Black Enough was a beautiful illustration of the diversity in the Black community, especially amongst teens. Exploring discovery of self and sexual orientation, identity and belonging, religion and freedom, community and family, trauma and loss, and more, this anthology has so much to share about the Black experience - in all its shapes and shades and frequencies.
As is to be expected, some of the stories resonated more deeply than others. Those that grabbed my heart the most were:
- Half A Moon by Renée Watson
- Oreo by Brandy Colbert
- Wild Horses, Wild Hearts by Jay Coles
- Gravity by Tracey Baptiste
- The Trouble With Drowning by Dhonielle Clayton
Gravity, especially, caught my attention. Baptiste uses stunning language to describe what is ultimately a single moment in time, a moment that drags on forever as a girl's thoughts race - coming to terms with what is happening to her, what it means, and what she can do to protect herself as she is "about to come back down to earth where all things fall apart, another fact of physics. Because it is the hardness of the floor, and the abrupt halt in momentum, and the unyielding nature of the surface, that causes a thing to crack. Even if it is not that thing's fault. And then we talk about this thing being broken, or it needing to be fixed, and not what part of the floor has played in the matter. Never the part about the floor being a constant threat. Even if it is a nice floor. Even if everybody wants one just like it.”
It was just beautiful and pulled me in more effectively than any other story in the collection.
My individual ratings for each story vary from 2-5 stars with the average rating coming in at 3.5, so I am rounded up to 4 stars.
I think this anthology is well worth the read but would recommend going into it knowing that some stories will resonate much deeper than others (and they likely won't be the same stories that grabbed me or anyone else)!
Trigger Warnings: bullying, slut-shaming, sexual harassment and assault, abortion, racism, homophobia, self-harm, suicide
As is to be expected, some of the stories resonated more deeply than others. Those that grabbed my heart the most were:
- Half A Moon by Renée Watson
- Oreo by Brandy Colbert
- Wild Horses, Wild Hearts by Jay Coles
- Gravity by Tracey Baptiste
- The Trouble With Drowning by Dhonielle Clayton
Gravity, especially, caught my attention. Baptiste uses stunning language to describe what is ultimately a single moment in time, a moment that drags on forever as a girl's thoughts race - coming to terms with what is happening to her, what it means, and what she can do to protect herself as she is "about to come back down to earth where all things fall apart, another fact of physics. Because it is the hardness of the floor, and the abrupt halt in momentum, and the unyielding nature of the surface, that causes a thing to crack. Even if it is not that thing's fault. And then we talk about this thing being broken, or it needing to be fixed, and not what part of the floor has played in the matter. Never the part about the floor being a constant threat. Even if it is a nice floor. Even if everybody wants one just like it.”
It was just beautiful and pulled me in more effectively than any other story in the collection.
My individual ratings for each story vary from 2-5 stars with the average rating coming in at 3.5, so I am rounded up to 4 stars.
I think this anthology is well worth the read but would recommend going into it knowing that some stories will resonate much deeper than others (and they likely won't be the same stories that grabbed me or anyone else)!
Trigger Warnings: bullying, slut-shaming, sexual harassment and assault, abortion, racism, homophobia, self-harm, suicide
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, Racism, Homophobia, and Suicide
Minor: Abortion and Self harm
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