Scan barcode
A review by claudiaslibrarycard
Cool. Awkward. Black. by Karen Strong
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-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? No
3.5
Cool. Awkward. Black. is a short story collection with a wide range of genres within it. Many of the stories have an element of sci-fi or magical realism, while others are more literary and some that feel like fictionalized memoir. Two of the stories were absolute standouts for me, and unfortunately they were both in the first third of the book.
"Nina Evans, in the Round" and "Earth is Ghetto" were tremendous. In the former, Nina is finishing college and aspires to be in a theater production while her parents greatly discourage her. They want her to focus on her studies that can lead to a lucrative career, not acting which they feel can only bring her a pittance of success as a Black woman in a racist acting world. The later story is a sci-fi about space travel that was both on the nose in it's commentary and hilarious.
I wish I had resonated more with the later stories in this book, but I'm sure that's more about me and my interests than the writing. The authors in this book are all top notch and I'm so glad this YA compilation features them. I recommend this for nerds of all ages!
"Nina Evans, in the Round" and "Earth is Ghetto" were tremendous. In the former, Nina is finishing college and aspires to be in a theater production while her parents greatly discourage her. They want her to focus on her studies that can lead to a lucrative career, not acting which they feel can only bring her a pittance of success as a Black woman in a racist acting world. The later story is a sci-fi about space travel that was both on the nose in it's commentary and hilarious.
I wish I had resonated more with the later stories in this book, but I'm sure that's more about me and my interests than the writing. The authors in this book are all top notch and I'm so glad this YA compilation features them. I recommend this for nerds of all ages!