7th through 12th Grade Horror - The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories

The Black Girl Survives in This One: Horror Stories edited by Desiree S. Evans and Saraciea J. Fennell

SGCL's catalog places this item within several genres: paranormal fiction, short stories, and horror fiction.

The target audience is children ages 12 to 18, and patrons searching for topics relating to African American - Juvenile Fiction, Monsters - Juvenile Fiction, Survival - Juvenile Fiction, Young Adult Fiction, and Horror Tales.

This collection of 15 horror stories will take campfire tales to a whole new level! From stories taking place in old houses, cemeteries, outer space, school theaters, and desolate cabins, readers will enjoy each tale as each story’s characters entice to see what happens next! Will at least one character survive, or will everyone succumb? Will the curse be broken, or endure? What are the mysterious lights seen in the theater? Not only will these questions be answered, but will incite more!

The Black Girl Survives was chosen as horror is a popular genre among teens and young adults, and I felt a compilation of various authors composing stories across a vast array of themes would well represent female and male authors of color. The primary selling point for me was that while many stories occur in traditional settings (i.e., old houses, cemeteries), new settings such as outer space were utilized, which is appealing to modern audiences whom are highly interested in science and technology.

For this book, I will be evaluating style and language, character, and setting(s).

As each story was submitted by various authors, the differing styles and languages contributed unique elements to the specific stories. In Welcome Back to the Cosmos, the terms hologram, vessels’ names, and equipment are unique to outer space, in Ghost Light, and usage of crew, transition, lights, and sound are what one would expect in a theatre (Evans & Fennell, 2024). By using specific terminology, readers experience the story alongside the characters - enhancing their enjoyment, and increasing the probability of recommending it to others.

Each submission contains unique, yet relatable characters: frustration within teenage relationships, a precocious sophomore directing a stage production, or anxiety when relocating are universal emotions expected when encountering the very same scenarios. Such characters are tributes to authors’ abilities to effectively tell compelling stories while simultaneously instilling an adequate pace within stories. From participating in a spacewalk to encountering ferocious figures, and outrunning monsters, the characters connected well with each story’s plot (Evans & Fennell, 2024).

Each story’s setting is aptly suited and by incorporating a vast array, concerns regarding the predictability of specific environments are alleviated; with a collection, readers know that the stories are short, and the sequential ones will feature something entirely different. As each submission has a short amount of time to accomplish several objectives, I felt that each author did well in establishing effective, realistic settings at the immediate start as readers were drawn in while characters were being introduced.

I will recommend this work to be included in displays for Black History Month, authors of color, and horror collections. For colleagues and readers seeking diverse characters and settings, and fast-paced, short stories, there will be no need to look beyond this book.

Evans, D. S., & Fennell, S. J. (Eds.). (2024). The black girl survives in this one: Horror stories. Flatiron Books. 

Macmillan Publishers. (n.d.). The Black Girl Survives This One cover images. Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved June 5, 2024, from https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250871657/theblackgirlsurvivesinthisone.