Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope
by Patrice Caldwell
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Mar 2020
368 pages
Genre: Essays
Publication Information
Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic.
Evoking Beyoncé'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.
"Fiercely fantastical and achingly honest, this book delivers a more inclusive means of self-discovery." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"All these well-spun tales are enjoyable and accessible to readers of any background. Magical and real, this collection lives up to its goal with stories as diverse as the black experience. #BlackGirlMagic indeed." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"This book is a wonderful assortment of genre-bending narratives. The stories allow readers to view racism and gender conformity through the prism of science fiction and fantasy, and the collection infuses the genre with color and complexity. This is a title for public and school libraries interested in diversifying and strengthening their short story collections." - School Library Journal
This information about A Phoenix First Must Burn was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Patrice Caldwell is a graduate of Wellesley College and the founder and fund-raising chair of People of Color in Publishing--a grassroots organization dedicated to supporting, empowering, and uplifting racially and ethnically marginalized members of the book publishing industry. Born and raised in Texas, Patrice was a children's book editor before shifting to writing full-time. In 2018, she was named a Publishers Weekly Star Watch honoree and featured on The Writer's Digest podcast, PBS's MetroFocus, and Bustle's inaugural "Lit List" as one of ten women changing the book world. She currently lives in New York City in an apartment overflowing with tea and books and is obsessed with purple lipstick.
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