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A Phoenix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope edited by Patrice Caldwell
Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic.
Evoking Beyonce 's Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler's heirs, have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that centers Black women and gender nonconforming individuals. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A Phoenix First Must Burn shine brightly. You will never forget them.
Review from School Library Connection Star:
The subtitle says it all for this one. Edited by Patrice Caldwell, each of these 16 short stories demonstrates the power, resiliency, and determination of the lead female character. An intriguing introduction by Caldwell sets the tone for this collection, which could fit within many reading genres, including LGBTQ+. The list of authors includes Amerie (a sci-fi account with a lemon-y twist), Elizabeth Acevedo (a tale of a ladina slave with the power to bend metal and obtain freedom), Rebecca Roanhorse (a fantasy set in the West about breaking a covenant with evil), Dhonielle Clayton (a creepy chronicle of calamity when a conjure woman's love match is broken), Ibi Zoboi (a yarn about witches, love, and vengeance), and Danny Lore (a reminder that the young have a lot to learn from their elders). Caldwell includes one of her own stories, a tale woven of vampires and love. Each story is satisfying to read by itself, yet more powerful when read together as there is an evenness in the narratives which is not frequently found in most short story collections. Like the best short stories, each jumps right into the action and character growth is demonstrated quickly. There are twists and turns aplenty to be found between the covers of this book. This is an outstanding collection, with an evenness to its stories, unique characters, and a wide range of tales.
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