4.0
Cool. Awkward. Black.
By Karen StrongPublisher Description
Real or imaginary, geekdom is where it's at in this multi-genre YA anthology that celebrates "the geek," with stories by some of today's top bestselling, critically acclaimed Black authors.
Contributors include Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Terry J. Benton-Walker, Roseanne A. Brown, Elise Bryant, Tracy Deonn, Desiree S. Evans, Isaac Fitzsimons, Lamar Giles, Jordan Ifueko, Leah Johnson, Amanda Joy, Kwame Mbalia, Tochi Onyebuchi, Shari B. Pennant, K. Arsenault Rivera, Julian Winters, and Ibi Zoboi.
A girl who believes in UFOs; a boy who might have finally found his Prince Charming; a hopeful performer who dreams of being cast in her school’s production of The Sound of Music; a misunderstood magician of sorts with a power she doesn’t quite understand.
These plotlines and many more compose the eclectic stories found within the pages of this dynamic, exciting, and expansive collection featuring exclusively Black characters. From contemporary to historical, fantasy to sci-fi, magical to realistic, and with contributions from a powerhouse list of self-proclaimed geeks and bestselling, award-winning authors, this life-affirming anthology celebrates and redefines the many facets of Blackness and geekiness—both in the real world and those imagined.
Contributors include Amerie, Kalynn Bayron, Terry J. Benton-Walker, Roseanne A. Brown, Elise Bryant, Tracy Deonn, Desiree S. Evans, Isaac Fitzsimons, Lamar Giles, Jordan Ifueko, Leah Johnson, Amanda Joy, Kwame Mbalia, Tochi Onyebuchi, Shari B. Pennant, K. Arsenault Rivera, Julian Winters, and Ibi Zoboi.
A girl who believes in UFOs; a boy who might have finally found his Prince Charming; a hopeful performer who dreams of being cast in her school’s production of The Sound of Music; a misunderstood magician of sorts with a power she doesn’t quite understand.
These plotlines and many more compose the eclectic stories found within the pages of this dynamic, exciting, and expansive collection featuring exclusively Black characters. From contemporary to historical, fantasy to sci-fi, magical to realistic, and with contributions from a powerhouse list of self-proclaimed geeks and bestselling, award-winning authors, this life-affirming anthology celebrates and redefines the many facets of Blackness and geekiness—both in the real world and those imagined.
Download the free Fable app
Stay organized
Keep track of what you’re reading, what you’ve finished, and what’s next.Build a better TBR
Swipe, skip, and save with our smart list-building toolRate and review
Share your take with other readers with half stars, emojis, and tagsCurate your feed
Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communities26 Reviews
4.0
thisissamreading
Created 4 months agoShare
Report
Arabia Bryant
Created 5 months agoShare
Report
Believable charactersDiverse charactersMulti-layered charactersBeautifully writtenDescriptive writing
Sophie
Created 6 months agoShare
Report
“3.75 stars, rounded up for Goodreads.
3.75 was roughly the average of all the ratings I gave the individual stories, and that seems like a nice place to sit. This was my first short story collection that I read, though, so keep that in mind when reading my review and looking at my rating.
This was a mixed bag of stories, in terms of enjoyment (in my personal opinion), genre and topics. There were some standouts for me, including Nina Evans, in the Round by Kalynn Bayron, Corner Booth by Leah Johnson, Cole's Cruise Blues by Isaac Fitzsimmons High Strangeness by Desiree S Evans, and Requiem of Souls by Terry J Benton-Walker. There were also a few that didn't do much for me.
I felt that a lot of these could've done with more. Maybe that's a feeling I'm supposed to get from a short story but multiple times, particularly in the more fantastical stories, I was left feeling like the background or the story was incomplete. I felt a few would've made excellent novellas, just to have that bit more detail and exploration of themes and world building.
Overall though, I did enjoy my experience with this anthology and look forward to reading a more in the future, as well as some full-length novels from authors in this collection.”
Bobatea
Created 7 months agoShare
Report
Nick
Created 8 months agoShare
Report
“Actual Rating: 3.25 stars”
About Karen Strong
Karen Strong is a lifelong technology and science geek and the author of the critically acclaimed middle grade novels Just South of Home and Eden’s Everdark. She has also written short fiction for Star Wars and other award-winning anthologies. A graduate of the University of Georgia, Karen lives in Atlanta. You can visit Karen Strong online at Karen-Strong.com or follow her on Twitter and Instagram @KarenMusings.
Other books by Karen Strong
Start a Book Club
Start a public or private book club with this book on the Fable app today!FAQ
Do I have to buy the ebook to participate in a book club?
Why can’t I buy the ebook on the app?
How is Fable’s reader different from Kindle?
Do you sell physical books too?
Are book clubs free to join on Fable?
How do I start a book club with this book on Fable?