A Phoenix First Must Burn Edited by Patrice Caldwell

So I've been hyping this book since I heard about it back in Feb 2019. So I was elated that in Feb of 2020 I could read this. I was determined to get an arc so thanks Bookish First (use my referral code  f2f0690dd0768f611 during sign up to get an additional 100 points towards books) and Penguin Teen for providing me a copy and the very cute matching stickers to go along with it.

Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic.

With stories by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Amerie, Patrice Caldwell, Dhonielle Clayton, J. Marcelle Corrie, Somaiya Daud, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, L. L. McKinney, Danielle Paige, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Strong, Ashley Woodfolk, and Ibi Zoboi.

It's always hard to read and review anthologies where multiple authors are involved. Each author has their own writing style and tone of voice and the stories though one over all theme are always very different. You're never sure how many of the stories you'll like. On the other hand it can give you a taste of an author you never read before and might put you onto their future work. Props to Patrice Caldwell for putting this collection together.

This was one of the stronger anthologies I've read. There were stories I adored, I liked and some that I found okay. But I liked that they were all so different. There is a story in this anthology for everyone and I appreciated the different themes. Mermaids, goddesses, vampires, witches, space opera, time travel,etc. And there was romance sprinkled throughout many of the stories but not in a way that was to the detriment of the story.

My top stories:
Gilded by Elizabeth Acevedo
The Rules of the Land by Alaya Dawn Johnson
Melie by Justina Ireland
Kiss The Sun by Ibi Zoboi
The Actress by Danielle Paige
Sequence by J. Marcelle Corrie

There are quite a few authors featured that I've heard great things about but had never read before so for me this was a chance to get a feel for their writing. While I thoroughly enjoyed most of the stories I picked my top 6 because they were all offered me something different.

I read my first story by Elizabeth Acevedo and I really enjoyed Gilded. This is a short story that takes place on the eve of a slave revolt in 1522. This is not usually the type of story I would read. I read The Deep recently and while I understand how important it is to tell these stories of perseverance sometimes I get overwhelmed with stories about slavery. I really liked this one. It was educational, it had a sweet romance, and just the right touch of magic.

The Rules of the Land by Alaya Dawn Johnson was another fun one. I've always been fascinated by the sea and this one features a descendant of the water goddess Yemaya.

I wasn't sure about Melie because I wasn't a fan of Justina Ireland's Dread Nation. This opened me up to her work. It had fun elements I love like mermaids, sorcerers, and unicorns. And it was a funny twist on the chosen one prophecy.

Kiss the Sun by Ibi Zoboi was a fun Caribbean folklore based tale that addressed colorism in a unique way.

The Actress by Danielle Paige was another one different in tone than what I was expecting. It's a very light and quick one to breeze through and I can easily see the concept expanding into a full time story.  A teen actress who plays a witch on TV discovers she's a real witch.

Sequence is by new author J Marcelle Corrie and features a futuristic society where they use a program called Sequence that predicts how your future will turn out based on the decisions you make.

All in all I do recommend this book for teens and even adults who want to get into the fantasy genre but aren't sure quite where to start. I'm hoping that this anthology opens the door to more fantasy stories by black women not just in the YA genre but also for adults. And that black girls can pick this book up and appreciate seeing themselves within the pages instead of just hoping to be included in the stories by white authors. Black girls read too and enjoy escaping to other worlds through the pages of a good book.




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