As a horror fan, The Black Girl Survives in This One completely blew me away. This powerful anthology reclaims space for Black women in horror. Each piece explores fear, resilience, and survival in ways that feel fresh and necessary. While some stories were more captivating than others, I still think it's a must-read for anyone who loves horror that challenges and expands the genre.

Thank you to the publishers for sharing this with me! I really enjoyed reading horror that centers Black girls and Black stories. As a lover of the horror and thriller genre, it's always refreshing to see oneself reflected in these narratives. The collection of various stories was a fantastic touch, offering different layers of fear, survival, and empowerment. This is the perfect read for the Fall/Halloween season—or honestly, all year round for anyone who enjoys a thrilling scare with meaningful representation.

I am a sucker for a themed horror anthology and this one seemed like it would be a lot of fun - I even thought the fact it's YA would be even more fun, because YA tends to take itself less seriously and I was open to some fun horror (besides, look at the title! It's screaming trope flipping fun!).

Unfortunately most of what I read in this collection was just blah. Not original or exciting. A lot of the authors seemed to take the twist reveal in the title of the collection and used it as an excuse to not need tension or suspense because we, the read, of course know that each story's MC will survive. But that doesn't mean the story can't be tense or good or exciting or scary! So it made me sad that so many of the writers here chose boring.

I also don't think the stories were organized well, as all the best ones were in the second half of the book.

My favorites of the 15 stories:

Inheritance by Camara Aaron - A girl and a boy exchange summer stories during their turn in a game of 7 Minutes in Heaven. The ending fizzled out but started strong. The meat of it is in the story-within-a-story, about the interesting Aunt. 4/5 stars

The Skittering Thing by Monica Brashears - Two girls hang with a new girl and play a strange family game. This one surprised me! It had a few twists that I don't want to give away so I won't say anything else! Probably my 2nd favorite in the collection. 5/5 stars

The Black Strings by Vincent Tirado - A teen girl with an unusual gift makes bad decision after bad decision lol Again another story with more than just the titled twist, plus a fun, unique concept. I do think the author intended this to go one direction and last minute changed their mind, but I still really liked it and think it would make for a fun full-length novel! I think this one was my favorite in the book. 5/5 stars

Local Color by Eden Royce - A girl whose parents died while Indiana Jonesing goes on a surprisingly spooky local adventure of her own. Again there was an expected but unexpected twist. It started strong but I think the ending kind of petered. 4/5 stars

Foxhunt by Charlotte Nicole Davis - A teen with an unavoidable sense of dread finally faces her fears. This had some fun potential but the author was clearly knee-capped by word count. This would make an excellent full-length novel, or better yet a fun movie! The concept itself isn't unique but I loved the MC. 4/5 stars

Overall, even though this isn't my favorite horror anthology, I think I'd still like to recommend it for the unique perspectives and trope flipping. I just wish some of the authors handled it with more finesse, or at least had more fun with it. Not that there weren't comedy stories in the bunch (ex: Queeniums for Greenium is an OTT satire of MLMs) or that I wanted a lot of comedy, I just think most of the authors went basic.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I love horror, and short stories. This book just arrived at my library when I was able to place a large YA order and I'm so glad it will be processed and ready in time for the spooky season. Some of the stories in this anthology felt very Twilight Zone while others were down right classic spooky and I loved each one.

The Black Girl Survives in This One is a refreshing and much-needed addition to the YA horror genre, giving Black girls the spotlight as both heroes and survivors. With a foreword by Tananarive Due that perfectly captures the significance of this collection, the anthology offers a diverse range of chilling tales that explore everything from supernatural threats to real-world horrors. The strength of this collection lies in the variety of voices and the way each story brings something new to the table, making it a memorable read.

As someone who doesn’t usually gravitate towards anthologies, I found this one to be a pleasant surprise. While some stories resonated more than others, each one was distinct and brought its own flavor to the mix. There were a few standout pieces that left me wishing for more, but even as short stories, they packed a punch. The anthology not only entertains but also makes an important statement about the power and resilience of Black girls in horror, offering readers a collection that’s both terrifying and empowering.

These short stories were compelling, scary, and fun to read. YA readers will love the horror aspect, as well as the survivalist aspect as a Black girl is highlighted as a main character and a survivor. The foreward by Justine Ireland really helped shed light on black characters in literature and film, and how their portrayal previously had been secondary and easily spared. Now these authors change that narrative and really provide chills in these stories. I highly recommend for anyone who likes scary stories.

Meh. I don't think this one was for me all the way. Too preachy and too "woke." The black girl should already survive anyways. This was just a mess of different plots and stereotypes ans tropes all in one huge conglomeration.

I don't usually enjoy reading short story anthologies. I was a little hesitant going into this one, but was pleasantly surprised to find that each story was nicely put together. I didn't feel like there was anything lacking in the stories. Usually, I am left feeling unresolved like there was no ending or beginning. But each story did a good job of not only being its own story, but also having a good beginning, climax and ending. Were there cliffhangers? Yes. But they were used excellently and properly. I still find myself thinking about a few of the stories and that doesn't happen very often.

Like with all short story collections, there are some here that shine...and some that don't. But that highlights the beauty of reading: the ones I loved others will hate, and vise versa. Everyone will have to read to find out!

THE BLACK GIRL SURVIVES IN THIS ONE is an anthology that truly stands out in the world of YA horror. As a fan of horror, I was captivated by the chilling and thought-provoking tales that place Black girls front and center as heroes and survivors.

The foreword by Tananarive Due sets the tone perfectly, celebrating the strength and ingenuity of Black girls in horror. This anthology is a must-read for anyone who loves horror and wants to see diverse, strong protagonists who not only confront their fears but conquer them. THE BLACK GIRL SURVIVES IN THIS ONE is a breath of fresh air.

Individual Story Ratings:

Harvesters: 5💫
Welcome Back to the Cosmos: 4.5 ⭐️
Ghost Light: 5 💫
The Brides of the Devil’s Bayou: 4 ⭐️
TMI: 3 ⭐️
Black Pride: 3 ⭐️
The Screamers: 3.5 ⭐️
Queeniums for Greenium!: 5 ⭐️
Inheritance: 4 ⭐️
Black Girl Nature Group: 5 ⭐️⭐️
Cemetery Dance Party: 2.5 ⭐️
The Skittering Thing: 5 💫
The Black Strings: 4.5 ⭐️
Local Color: 4 ⭐️
Foxhunt: 5 ⭐️


My absolute favorite stories were Harvesters, Ghost Light, and The Skittering Thing! Those legitimately scared me. I was grabbing my chest, and sat up straight reading those!

As someone who is not the biggest fan of anthologies for many reasons this was a great bunch of stories! Obviously I enjoyed more stories than others, but I can definitely say that all the stories were unique! There are a few that I would have loved to see become full blown books, but as short stories they hit that sweet spot.

This was such a a fantastic anthology of black YA horror stories! I flew through the book. This is like nothing I have ever read before. It is creepy but not gory at all. Some stores were better than others, of course, but overall this is a great book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron press for a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. This is a collection of short stories that are horror stories with a twist. All of the heroines survive in this. The book was an enjoyable read and I would definitely recommend.

This is the first short story collection I've read for a while where I found every story interesting and worthwhile. Bonus for me that it's horror, my favorite genre. I love collections based on a theme, and this was particularly fun, because it subverts expectations. I loved the heroines in these stories. I'll be watching for more by these authors.
Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

“If bad things can happen to white kids, it’ll be even worse for you.”

A collection of YA Horror Tales with a play on the trope that the Black People die first. But in these stories the "black girl" is the last to meet her demise. Good Anthology, none too story. Perfect YA!

This was such an interesting anthology. I’ve never enjoyed watching horror movies, so I haven’t spent much time reading any horror books. The thought of stories filled with Black Final Girls reeled me in and kept me engaged as I read each story. My favorites were Harvesters, The Brides of Devil’s Bayou, Black Pride, Black Girl Nature Group, and Foxhunt. It was great to read something in a new genre from authors that I already knew and loved!

The Black Girl Survives in This One is a YA short story collection. This collection features fifteen horror, thriller-ish stories all with Black girl leads. And YES, they all survive. The Black girls are the final girls.

The stories are chilling, spooky, creepy, and fun. A few had some laughable moments among the horror. These stories are thought provoking. They gave us gore, paranormal, space, werewolves, zombies, rituals, cults, curses and more. Loved the varied plots, types of horror. This was just quality story telling.

Although all were enjoyable my absolute fav was Harvesters. I need a full Harvesters story! A few other standouts were The Brides of Devil’s Bayou, TMI, Black Pride, Queeniums for Greenium!, Inheritance, Black Girl Nature Group (p.s. I hope they jumped Patricia for setting them up!), and Cemetery Dance Party.

This is memorable collection. I will be on the lookout for other works from these authors.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. These thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was perhaps the first collection of short stories I didn't have to slog through. The characters were interesting, the plots were varied, and yet all sat comfortably within familiar horror tropes. It started stronger than it ended, but an overall enjoyable read. I'll definitely be looking for full-length titles from a few of these authors.

Short story collections are hard for me to keep focused on. I usually get distracted by other books and end up forgetting to pick them back up. Not this one!

There is not a single story in this collection that I did not enjoy. They’re a fun mix of traditional horror, slashery-vibes, folklore, and social commentary.

I loved catching up with authors I’ve read before and getting to add a ton of new books to my TBR from new-to-me authors!

My favorites included:
📖 The Black Strings by Vincent Tirado
📖 Foxhunt by Charlotte Nicole Davis
📖 Harvesters by L. L. McKinney
📖 Queeniums for Greenium! by Brittney Morris