Dhonielle Clayton loves magic. She loves it more than anything ... even pizza or warm chocolate chip cookies. So she reads millions and millions of books to find some in the real world, because magic makes everything much more interesting. She grew up in Washington, DC, suburbs on the Maryland side and is a former secondary teacher and librarian. She is a New York Times bestselling author, the COO of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books, and owner of Cake Creative. The Marvellers was her middle grade debut. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @brownbookworm and online at dhonielleclayton.com.
Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teens in love to this charming, hilarious, and heartwarming novel that shines a bright light through the dark. A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks... A first meeting. Long-time friends. Bitter exes. And maybe the beginning of something new. When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight. Beloved authors—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—celebrate the beauty of six couples and the unforgettable magic that can be found on a sweltering starry night in the city.
This novel includes 6 short stories, each penned by one of the contributors, and each including unique characters and different tropes. The structure of this anthology is very different than anthologies that I've read in the past. Usually, it's just a collection of short stories, ordered sometimes to connect, but more often than not each of the stories stands alone. In Blackout, all the characters are connected to one another, some more than others. And, one of the stories is broken up into five parts and weaves through the other stories, providing an almost narrative to the night of the blackout, and as an introduction to some of the other stories. This is a really interesting structural choice, as it works to argue that we're more connected than we seem, and sets a bit of background up for the other characters before their stories.
However, I was sad to feel like each of the stories were too short, or not fully developed. I felt this to be especially true for All the Great Love Stories...and Dust and No Sleep Till Brooklyn. The tropes were there, and the characters were interesting, but the story cuts off before I feel like the story is over, leaving us in a rather unresolved place with the characters. The final story, Seymour and Grace, also had this wonderful opportunity to put all the characters into some type of further contact with one another, and when the story did not go that route, I was also a little disappointed, as it would have been fun to see all (or some) the characters come together. I understand that they may have been cheesy, but the ending as it stands feels just as unsatisfying as the other earlier short stories.
This novel does hit all the romance tropes, though, and does an excellent job of providing representation. The main thread by Tiffany D. Jackson had characters Tammi and Kareem who are struggling with a lot of miscommunication and are walking their way through New York to resolve that issue. Nic Stone's male/male love story dives into the complexities of bisexuality for teenage Black boys and athletes, which made for a super interesting and important read. Ashely Woodfolk's sapphic romance between Joss and Nella had an albeit predictable twist, but was a set-it-up type situation. Dhonielle Clayton's Lana and Tristan cover the friends-to-lovers trope, as well as having a super fun library setting. Angie Thomas's Kayla, finding herself stuck in a love triangle (love quadrangle?) has to choose who she does love. And Nicola Yoon's Seymour and Grace put into perspective what identity is, and how one should live their life. All-in-all, each of these stories is full of so much joy, it was easy to read and made for a really happy book.
While I didn't enjoy these short stories as much as I'd hoped, I do love these novelists' longer works. I have reviews for Nicola Yoon's works already on this page, as well as for Angie Thomas, and will be reviewing Nic Stone and Tiffany D. Jackson in the future! Stay tuned for more reviews.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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