Blackout

“To Black kids everywhere: your stories, your joy, your love, and your lives matter. You are a light in the dark.”

BLACKOUT is a contemporary YA romance collaboration between six powerhouse voices in YA — Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. Need I say more?! Honestly, no… probably not. BUT I WILL!

A series of six interconnected love stories all taking place during a sweltering summer blackout in NYC, BLACKOUT is truly a delight to read. Each chapter follows its own set of characters, with the novel unfolding in alternating narrations as they all attempt to make their way to a block party in Brooklyn. It hits all of the best tropes — meet-cutes, longtime friends, show more bitter exes, love triangles, masquerade balls, and self-love — without feeling too juvenile or unrealistic.

All of the stories are fantastic in their own right, but it was so fun to make connections between characters and try to anticipate how all of the narratives would come together. And not to pick favorites, but my little librarian heart soared during the NYPL scenes between Lana and Tristán — which says A LOT because the characters in question were *gasp!* hiding in the library after hours. I don’t say this often, but I REALLY hope that this is optioned for a film because it is the YA “Love, Actually” that Gen Z deserves (and this millennial will co-opt).

BLACKOUT is very character-driven and perhaps in less adept hands it would have felt slow or disjointed, but these authors achieved the exact opposite. Seamlessly weaving in and out of narrative voices that feel distinct and yet complimentary, BLACKOUT is an ode to every type of love — romance, friendship, love for our communities, and for ourselves.

BLACKOUT brings a necessary joy to Black and queer love stories without centering the pain and suffering we often see in these narratives. It needs to be on every single classroom and library bookshelf so it can find its way into as many hands as possible. I can tell you with certainty that the next teen that comes into my library looking for a romance novel will be leaving with BLACKOUT in hand!

CW: panic attack show less

"That’s the thing about finding the right person to love. When someone loves you, all their hang-ups don’t really mean much. Because loving that person is a choice you have to make every day, even when that day isn’t what you expect."

I love the way the stories were woven together in this anthogy-ish book. What a fun read!

I love this book. Anthology series whether it is a book, movie, or series has a special place in my heart. This book has everything: representation, drama, growth, love (LOTS of it), diversity of bipoc (black, jamaican, puerto rican, hatian), queer (gay, lesbian, etc), cultural representation is food, music, people, such interesting characters that remind me of me and so many others in my life. Different from the stereotypes and assumptions made about black people diving more into who we are. Our passion for music, literature, expression, becoming our own, bonding with the ones we love, and changes in our lives. Young adult novels just connect to my deepest spirit. I was lucky enough to attend the Whiteout book tour (my first ever book show more tour) I was disappointed it only lasted an hour and a half due to flight conflicts. Hoping to get both books soon. Sharing with everyone I can who loves books to check this one out. All the couples reminded me of me and what I would like for myself.
Unofficial Book Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0GHzGKl6mPqIIwGroGMfNh?si=07355fc45e064fb2 show less

I like how some of the characters are reoccurring in other short stories, really makes the New York setting feel real. Some stories may not blow you away, but I acknowledge it’s very hard to set up a romance with convincing characters and chemistry in only a few pages. Overall, not a bad collection.

Looking forward to the Netflix series for this!

The Long Walk (3.5 stars)
I liked this one. It’s one of those “lack of communication ruins everything” stories … but fun. Tammi and Kareem were interesting, and I wanted to know what caused their fallout so badly. Ms. Jackson has this tendency to slowly feed you the plot in her stories (Monday’s Not Coming, Grown, etc). It’s annoying lol but certainly one of her author trademarks.

show more Mask Off (2 stars)
This one was okay, but JJ’s narrative and dialogue felt so unrealistic at times. Maybe he’s got the range for it, I guess but I just don’t believe the average, 16ish boy is going to care about how women should be able to breastfeed in public without scrutiny. Some of the teenaged boys I’ve known would’ve been straining their necks to see a titty pop out.

Made to Fit (4 stars)
As always, I love Woodfolk’s ability to make us care about characters in few words. And her character descriptions? Stellar. The conversations between Nella and Joss flow so easily, even the flirting. Loved how soft Nella was.

All the Great Love Stories … And Dust (2 stars)
This one felt a little dry even though it takes places in a library and involves books. I didn’t care for Tristán. He wasn’t much beyond a ladies’ man. Lana’s insecurities about finding love and worries about growing apart from her friend were relatable.

No Sleep Till Brooklyn (4 stars)
I enjoyed this one. The dialogue/narrative was strong and entertaining, and I definitely understood Kayla’s FOMO (fear of missing out). Love triangle vibes.

Seymour and Grace (3 stars)
Surprisingly gets philosophical. It ends fitting, but I think it could've been extended. Not sure if the ladies had word counts for this project. show less

Kind of a mixed bag. Angie Thomas delivers the goods, as usual (plus a perfect resolution that defied the trope) and Nicola Yoon did a neat job of tying things up (and managed to quell my lingering dislike of her over Everything, Everything). Tiffany D. Jackson offered a solid story that suffered from being told in instalments and Nic Stone’s contribution gave me all the feels although I think it needed another round of edits. I continue to feel no love for the writing of both Ashley Woodfolk and Dhonielle Clayton; neither story held my interest and ended in the exact formulaic way I was expecting.

Gr 9 Up—Powerhouse authors Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola
Yoon intertwine tales of romance over the course of a New York City blackout. Love is represented in many
forms—sizzling and sweet—and these resonant entries featuring different Black characters will have readers longing
for summer nights and first love.

It's a hot summer day and a blackout has hit New York City. In interconnected short stories that all take place in this same window of time the book explores love, new beginnings, and possibilities on the way to a block party in Brooklyn. I especially liked seeing the connections between characters in the stories and the exploration of romance for the Black teens centered in each of the stories.