{"id":38689,"date":"2021-02-06T22:58:16","date_gmt":"2021-02-07T02:58:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38689"},"modified":"2021-02-06T23:00:54","modified_gmt":"2021-02-07T03:00:54","slug":"review-of-a-phoenix-first-must-burn-edited-by-patrice-caldwell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=38689","title":{"rendered":"Review of A Phoenix First Must Burn, edited by Patrice Caldwell"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>A Phoenix First Must Burn<\/p>\n

Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope<\/em><\/p>\n

edited by Patrice Caldwell<\/p>\n

Viking, 2020. 354 pages.
\nReview written December 7, 2020, from a library book
\nStarred Review
\n2020 Sonderbooks Stand-out<\/a>:
\n\t#9 Teen Speculative Fiction<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t usually have the patience for short stories, but I took up this collection as part of my reading for the first round of the Cybils Awards, and read a story between each full-length book I read, sort of as a way to cleanse my palate. And I ended up being delighted.<\/p>\n

I shouldn\u2019t have been surprised \u2013 there are some powerhouse writers included in this book. The ones I\u2019ve read before are Elizabeth Acevedo, Justina Ireland, Dhonielle Clayton, and Ibi Zoboi, and they and the rest of the authors told stories that contained magic along with a big punch.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an extended section from editor Patrice Caldwell\u2019s Introduction:<\/p>\n

But whenever I went to the children\u2019s section of the library to discover more tales, the novels featuring characters who looked like me were, more often than not, rooted in pain set amid slavery, sharecropping, or segregation. Those narratives are important, yes. But because they were the only ones offered, I started to wonder. Where is my fantasy, my future? Why don\u2019t Black people exist in speculative worlds?<\/em><\/p>\n

Too often media focuses on our suffering. Too often we are portrayed as victims. But in reality, we advocate for and save ourselves long before anyone else does, from heroes my parents taught me of to recent ones like Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi, the Black women who founded Black Lives Matter. <\/p>\n

Malcolm X said, \u201cThe most neglected person in America is the Black Woman.\u201d I believe this is even more true for my fellow queer siblings, and especially for those identifying as trans and as gender nonconforming. We are constantly under attack.<\/p>\n

And yet still we rise from our own ashes.<\/p>\n

We never accept no.<\/p>\n

With each rebirth comes a new strength.<\/p>\n

Black women are phoenixes.<\/p>\n

We are given lemons and make lemonade.<\/p>\n

So are the characters featured in this collection of stories.<\/p>\n

These sixteen stories highlight Black culture, folktales, strength, beauty, bravery, resistance, magic, and hope. They will take you from a ship carrying teens who are Earth\u2019s final hope for salvation to the rugged wilderness of New Mexico\u2019s frontier. They will introduce you to a revenge-seeking hair-stylist, a sorcerer\u2019s apprentice, and a girl whose heart is turning to ash. And they will transport you to a future where all outcomes can be predicted by the newest tech, even matters of the heart.<\/p>\n

Though some of these stories contain sorrow, they ultimately are full of hope. Sometimes you have to shed who you were to become who you are.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This collection does not disappoint. And take it from this white lady, you don\u2019t have to be a Black girl to thoroughly enjoy these stories in their variety, their surprise, and their magic.<\/p>\n

patricecaldwell.com<\/a>
\npenguinteen.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Teens\/phoenix_first_must_burn.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but the views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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