I didn't realize it was YA! My fault of course, but I ended up enjoying this anthology quite a bit. I love horror, even YA horror.

This book was truly a celebration of Black writers and I recommend it to any horror reader. I am not always an anthology fan or short story fan, but this book kept the pace with evenly great stories throughout. I especially enjoyed Harvester and Ghost Lights and The Skittering Thing.

I love that Black Girls are the heroes and because of the title there is no double-triple twist trope where they will fail. Grab this anthology!

Authors included in the Anthology are
Erin E. Adams, Monica Brashears, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Desiree S. Evans, Saraciea J. Fennell, Zakiya Dalila Harris, Daka Hermon, Justina Ireland, L.L. McKinney, Brittney Morris, Maika & Maritza Moulite, Eden Royce, and Vincent Tirado.

#Flatironbooks #theblackgirlsurvivesinthisone #desireesevans #saracieajfennell

I love short stories and "The Black Girl Survives in This One" anthology reminds me of reading R.L. Stine's books as a young girl. Each story written is a page-turner and will intrigue the reader for the next story. I look forward to reading future books on all these authors.

Thanks Flatiron Books and Netgalley for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Exciting and thrilling stories! They end and will leave readers wanting to know so much more! Desiree Evans and Saraciea Fennell compiled a wonderful list of horror stories featuring strong black girls as the protagonists and final girls! From cults, zombies, monsters, ghosts, to weres there is something for all horror lovers! Each story as intriguing as the next, readers will consume it! Highly recommend if you like horror, especially if you like horror in which black girls thrive!

The theme for this collection of horror stories is..."Well, that escalated quickly." And it's a good thing! These are short stories, so we don't have a lot of time. They all pick up pretty quickly and wrap up nicely (obviously, we need the final girl!). I really enjoyed the diversity of the characters across stories - we get it all, from theater kids to introverts to scientists to popular girls and more. The first two stories were very similar in theme, but they were both good and had a different vibe.

Themes of racism, magic, paranormal, privilege, family, and friendship are also strong across the stories, but they all shine on their own. To call out a some of the stories, The Brides of Devil's Bayou and Black Pride would make awesome movies - they both left me wanting the story more fleshed out with character development, I was instantly hooked in! Tmi and Queeniums for Greenium had a witty spin on them that I liked. The commentary on toxic positivity and the wellness industry in Queeniums had me giggling, especially.

Now, this is YA, so I'd say that none of the stories are particularly super scary, but more creepy, eerie, or infuriating (Black Girl Nature Group and Foxhunt might make you mad!). Overall, a solid and engaging read - and I loved seeing us as the final girl AGAIN and AGAIN!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I’m obsessed with black final girl horror stories. A whole book about it? Take my money. I loved the representation and different versions of horror this book had. I will give a short thought of every story!

Harvesters ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I felt a sense of dread reading this one. It was a good pick for the first story.

Welcome Back to the Cosmos ⭐️⭐️⭐️
the only sci-fi story in the bunch, you can’t go wrong with space horror.

Ghost Light ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked the premise of this one. It felt a little cliche in some parts.

The Brides of Devil’s Bayou ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
A longer and more detailed story. Interesting even though I questioned the MC’s motives.

TMI ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I really liked this one. I haven’t seen a plot quite like this and I really liked the MC. I was rooting for her.

Black Pride⭐️⭐️
I got confused a little bit on this one. Not sure how I felt about it.

The Screamers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Grief used as a tool done very well. I teared up at the end.

Queeniums for Greenium! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This one was so funny to me for some reason. I just thought about how crazy MLMs are and how they could really be scary cults.

Inheritence ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This one spoke to me for some reason. I saw the twist at the end coming but the MC is still badass.

Black Girl Nature Group ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I liked the best friends to lovers (?) side plot.

Cemetery Dance Party ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Another one that made me laugh. This one was gory and funny.

The Skittering Thing ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The only one I thought was actually scary. There were plot holes (?) that I was wondering about. Why did Charlotte say she knew the house? I was confused about Ray throughout too. Was she evil or just weird?

The Black Strings ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I like Vincent’s writing. I was genuinely interested to see how it ended. The idea of someone being able to see death coming is always a cool power.

Local Color ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a story I would like to have seen adapted into a a longer novel. Like what happens next?! Why did all that creepy stuff happen?! Where are her parents?!

Foxhunt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A super strong ending. I figured what was going to happen, but Flex was so cool. I would have loved to actually be her friend. Did I feel bad for Kirsten? Maybe. She did seem like a true friend in the end.

These stories range from supernatural to real life terror, so it has everything for different cups of tea. I hope more anthologies like this come out in the future so I can read them all!!

As a woman who grew up reading and watching all things horror , the black girl always died. It was frustrating to watch horror movie after horror movie and find that the black characters always died. This book gives us 15 horror stories by 15 different authors where the black girl is the last girl standing .*excuse me while I ugly cry*. The dedication and forward before you even begin the stories really had me cheering with tears in my eyes . For these authors to come together to create stories where the black girl is not going to die, but survive and grow in their strength really empowered me. I really think any black and brown girl who loves horror will love this book . It’s one to keep and hold near and dear. I think this is a great book for teen girls to read. You have werewolves, generational curses, haunted houses, zombies, and so much more all within the pages of one book. If you ever wondered what it would be like for a black girl to be the last one standing in a horror story this is the book for you . To the authors of this book : I thank you from the very bottom of my soul . This book was such a pleasure to read. My younger self and my inner child are jumping for joy.I hope there is more like it to come. Job well done .

All opinions are honest and my own . I received this book as a ARC from Netgalley.

I always enjoy a collection of short stories because it gives the reader a look into an authors reading. This was a good collection of short YA horror stories. It took me back to my Goosebumps days. I, thought the stories were sold but like always there were some good standouts. I, enjoyed this collection!

This is truly a top-tier horror anthology, one of the best I've read in years. The centering of Black girls in YA horror is so awesome and necessary, and the vast majority of the authors featured here do a stunning job at playing with traditional horror tropes, channeling Black American traditions, and/or constructing new things entirely. There were a small handful of stories that didn't fully work for me, but even those had interesting resonances.