Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America. A selection of the Schomburg Center's Black Liberation Reading List.

Black is...sisters navigating their relationship at summer camp in Portland, Oregon, as written by Renée Watson.

Black is…three friends walking back from the community pool talking about nothing and everything, in a story by Jason Reynolds.

Black is…Nic Stone’s high-class beauty dating a boy her momma would never approve of.

Black is…two girls kissing in Justina Ireland’s story set in Maryland.

Black is urban and rural, wealthy and poor, mixed race, immigrants, and more—because there are countless ways to be Black enough.

Contributors:

Justina Ireland

Varian Johnson

Rita Williams-Garcia

Dhonielle Clayton

Kekla Magoon

Leah Henderson

Tochi Onyebuchi

Jason Reynolds

Nic Stone

Liara Tamani

Renée Watson

Tracey Baptiste

Coe Booth

Brandy Colbert

Jay Coles

Ibi Zoboi

Lamar Giles

• A Star-Studded YA Anthology: Featuring seventeen acclaimed and bestselling authors including Jason Reynolds, Nic Stone, Renée Watson, and Justina Ireland.
• Authentic Coming of Age Stories: Explore the joys, heartbreaks, and questions of the modern Black teen experience, from summer camp revelations to first kisses.
• Exploring Black Identity: Tackles the question of what it means to be "Black enough" through stories about nerds, LGBTQ+ teens, rich kids, rural kids, and everyone in between.
• A Call for Empathy and Understanding: A powerful and moving collection that serves as both a mirror for Black teens to see themselves and a window for others to build understanding.

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★ Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Mixing gritty street life with the tenderness of first love, Haitian Vodou, and family bonds, the book is at once chilling, evocative, and reaffirming.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★ Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Filling her pages with magic, humanity, tragedy, and hope, Zoboi builds up, takes apart, and then rebuilds an unforgettable story. This book will take root in readers’ hearts.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Zoboi urges us to examine the American dream to see if there is room within it to hold the ones we love.” - Ebony Magazine

★ Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Zoboi’s stunning debut intertwines mysticism and love with grit and violence…Fierce and beautiful.” - Booklist (starred review)

Praise for PRIDE: “Jane Austen’s piercing comedy of manners provides the ideal template for Ibi Zoboi’s shrewd, timely second novel...”

- Chicago Tribune

Praise for PRIDE: “Brooklyn’s gentrifying Bushwick neighborhood offers the vivid backdrop for this entertaining update, adding complicating factors of cultural identity and racism to Austen’s classic tale.”

- Buffalo News

★ Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Mixing gritty street life with the tenderness of first love, Haitian Vodou, and family bonds, the book is at once chilling, evocative, and reaffirming.”

- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

★ “Each entry is deftly woven and full of such complex humanity that teens will identify with and see some of their own struggles in these characters... This collection presents the beauty of black humanity in all its many forms.” - School Library Journal (starred review)

★ “The stories, all worth savoring, share a celebratory outlook on black teenagers fully and courageously embracing life.” - Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Ibi Zoboi, author of National Book Award finalist American Street and Jane Austen update Pride, dazzles again with this stunning, marvelously diverse collection of 17 stories of the teen experience by black authors [writing] ‘about teens examining, rebelling against, embracing, or simply existing within their own idea of blackness.’” - Buffalo News

★ “A poignant collection of stunning short stories by Black, rock star authors” - Booklist (starred review)

★ “A breath of fresh air…nuanced and necessary.” - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“This collection seeks not merely to counteract society’s idea of blackness but to expand it to its fullest expression … a celebration of identity through vibrant narratives that will accurately communicate to all young people that they are enough—just as they are.” - The Horn Book

★ Praise for PRIDE: “This Bushwick-set, contemporary retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice tackles gentriciation, Blackness, and romance with honesty, humor, and heart. This excellent coming-of-age take on a classic belongs on all YA shelves.”

- School Library Journal (starred review)

★ Praise for PRIDE: “Stands solidly on its own while cleverly paralleling Austen’s classic… in a contemporary story about race, gentrification, and young love”

- Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for PRIDE: “A razor-sharp remix of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice that deals in gentrification, racism, love, culture, and heritage, all helmed by intelligent teens in New York’s Bushwick neighborhood.” - Booklist

Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Will reach young readers regardless of their background.” - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

★ Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “A breathtaking story about contemporary America that will serve as a mirror to some and a window for others, and it will stay with anyone who reads it.” - School Library Journal (starred review)

Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “A poignant meditation on one girl’s struggle to find her way in a new world.” - Nicola Yoon, New York Times bestselling author of The Sun is Also a Star and Everything, Everything

Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Brimming with culture, magic, warmth, and unabashed rawness, “American Street” is ultimately a blistering tale of humanity. This is “Manchild in the Promised Land,” for a new generation, and a remarkable debut from Zoboi, who without question is an inevitable force in storytelling.” - Jason Reynolds, award-winning co-author of All American Boys

Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Ibi Zoboi brings us a Detroit rarely seen: full of wandering spirits, suffused with magic and mystery. At once the story of one determined girl and a family at the crossroads as well as a powerful page-turner, American Street will leave the scent of Papa Legba’s cigar in the air and its mark on your heart.” - Laura Ruby, author of Bone Gap, National Book Award Finalist and Michael L. Printz Award Winner

Praise for AMERICAN STREET: “Zoboi’s nascent storytelling gifts ensnare from page one. To this spellbinding voice of the next generation, I bow.” - Rita Williams-Garcia, New York Times bestselling author and three-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award