BmoreArt

This month’s book choice for Leo is just as bright and bold as the lions are: Blackout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon. I’m not even gonna front, I was absolutely dazzled by this book. This powerhouse of bestselling African American YA authors came together during the pandemic to write a collection of romance-genre short stories that celebrate young Black love in all its configurations. 

The setting for Blackout is a modern-day blackout in New York City during the summer, and this backdrop also becomes a character in the book. Of course, a blackout isn’t new to New York City; it has happened twice in NYC’s past—in 1977 and in 2003. No electricity or subway trains, just people, music, and cell phone lights moving against infinite darkness. However, just like vivacious Leos, the blackout will not be held back from its glory. The ten interconnected stories featured here all have protagonists who are fearful to shine a light on certain parts of themselves, as they move on their separate paths towards a block party in Brooklyn.

Blackout is anchored by Tiffany D. Jackson’s “The Long Walk,” written in five parts, with other diverse stories delicately sandwiched in between. Jackson’s story centers on Kareem Murphy and Tammi Wright, exes who bump into each other at a job interview just before the blackout. They end up spending the day walking back to Brooklyn, discovering what went wrong in their relationship and how they can move forward as adults. The heat between them is palpable when Tammi thinks, “Aching to move, to run from his touch, but desperate to stay in the dark with him like this . . . forever.” 

However, I’m much more interested in Nella and Joss, from Ashley Woodfolk’s “Made to Fit.” They’re two young ladies who meet while Nella visits her grandfather’s nursing home. Joss is the cool-as-shit health aid worker who works with Nella’s grandfather, but Nella is still getting over her crush on Bree. These two share a romantic moment while looking for a photo that Nella’s grandfather lost. 

Characters are constantly discovering each other’s tender parts. For instance, in “All the Great Love Stories … and Dust,” by Dhonielle Clayton, Lana and Tristán are friends who are locked inside the public library during the blackout. And when Tristán reveals, “I’ve always loved how your brain works. Remember when we made snow globes in fifth grade?” readers get a glimpse of his sensitivity.  

This book does so many things right. Its depiction of Blackness illustrates that Blackness is not a monolith. The queer love stories and the non-stereotyped professions (Grace’s parents in Nicola Yoon’s “Seymour and Grace” are an accountant and a sous chef) are bold, considering we rarely experience this sort of diversity about love and family ties within the Black community proclaimed on the page. In addition to being regionally on point with its dialect of New York City—the “yo”s and “mami”s prove that these authors know their stuff—the characters are not reductive in any way. This book has a big brassy heart at its core and even convinced a skeptic like me to love a little harder.

And despite all this fiery energy, this month’s tarot card is the Nine of Cups from the Motherpeace deck. In the card we see a group of women communing together in peace and harmony around a sacred wishing well. They bring gifts to a Priestess, and the water symbolizes rejuvenation. This card ultimately shows the collective that whatever we desire is ours for the taking at this moment. We are the people in the card sharing our hopes with the wishing well. Because of our pure open hearts and minds, no wish can be denied. Go forth this month and dream bigger, knowing that you have the support to reach the stars.