by Dhonielle Clayton, et al.

This YA collection of short stories written by YA superstars such as Angie Thomas, Tiffany Jackson, Nic Stone, and Nicola Yoon is super charming. The stories sweetly entangle during a NYC summer heatwave as 6 pairs of Black teens navigate a city-wide power outage as well as their complicated feelings for new crushes, exes, and best friends. With the subway shut down, one pair sets out on foot to get from Harlem to Brooklyn. Another pair gets trapped underground in a subway car and an anxiety attack unravels their connection. Another pair meets through a ride share trip that gets stuck in gridlock. Will they make it to their destination and what will they figure out along the way? It's a pleasure to be along for the journey.

I've been eagerly awaiting the release of this anthology and was very satisfied with the audio book (each story read by a different narrator). I was also very pleased to find out that the Obamas are backing a Netflix series based on this collection (no release date yet). This is fine example of YA fiction that is #ownvoices and celebrates #blacklove.

See the Jones Library Antiracism Book List for recommended titles for all ages.