My Rating - 4/5
Six critically acclaimed, bestselling, and award-winning authors bring the glowing warmth and electricity of Black teen love to this interlinked novel of charming, hilarious, and heartwarming stories that shine a bright light through the dark.A summer heatwave blankets New York City in darkness. But as the city is thrown into confusion, a different kind of electricity sparks…A first meeting.Long-time friends.Bitter exes.And maybe the beginning of something new.When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths. Love blossoms, friendship transforms, and new possibilities take flight.Beloved authors—Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon—celebrate the beauty of six couples and the unforgettable magic that can be found on a sweltering starry night in the city.
Summer days often remind people of hot weather, ice cream, and romance. It may also remind you blackouts if you are from certain areas. A group of powerhouse young adult authors teamed up to write a novel with interconnecting stories that celebrate Black joy, summer love, and the magic that can be found even in the dark.
The most impressive element of this novel to me was the way in which the story flowed. Each of the interconnected stories progresses naturally into the next with the narrative feeling continuous while still shifting to a new couple. Each section offers up a different kind of love story for you to enjoy and the way they all swirl together only adds to the enjoyment of the story. It also features characters with different sexaulities furthering the variety and representation.
The writing also flows naturally together. Each author has a distinct voice but they all harmonize together perfectly. The shift in tone never felt jarring or out of place. The similarities and differences felt like the entire point to me. It just blended together perfectly to me and it is all the more impressive with this many authors. There is a collaboration here that is different than an anthology where the stories are normally just linked by theme and stand on their own
This book's other highlight is that it is a short, breezy read. It is perfect for the subject matter and also makes it a page turner. You can easily finish this in a day while at the beach or poolside because it reads so quickly. The sections are like little doses of sunshine so it makes you want to keep going.
As for the stories themselves there will be some you love more than others but I found them all to be a good read. I especially enjoyed the ones by Angie Thomas, Tiffany D Jackson, and Nic Stone.
If you are a fan of fun, light reads that focus on teen romance (and all the joy and heartbreak that comes with it) I recommend picking this one up. It pairs perfectly with summer and I expect it to be a reading choice for many teens (and fans of young adult novels in general) this summer.
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