The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories

Gr 10 Up–This short story collection delivers exactly what it promises—five chilling tales where Black girls survive heart-pounding encounters with werebeasts, demons, zombies, and MLMs. A foreword from Tananarive Due declares that this collection stands in defiance of decades worth of horror movies and books that exclude Black women, turn them into “mystical,” one-dimensional side-characters, or kill them off. With an incredible lineup of Black YA authors that includes Brittney Morris (The Cost of Knowing), Vincent Tirado (Burn Down, Rise Up), and Justina Ireland (Dread Nation), each story presents a quick but vivid portrait of a different Black girl who must use her strength and smarts to grapple with malicious forces, both supernatural and manmade. Some stories are just good, creepy fun; others use gristle, magic, and gore to tell stories about white supremacy, colonialism, and ancestral trauma. With contributions from accomplished novelists, it is no surprise that some stories read like the first chapter of a novel that may leave readers wanting more. Standouts include Ireland’s “Black Pride,” about a girl who unwittingly enters a pride full of werelions, and Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite’s “Black Girl Nature Group,” where two girls encounter a coven that literally spills Black women’s blood to remain powerful. Points to Morris’s “Queeniums for a Greenium!” for its humorous and horrifying take on multi-level marketing schemes.