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The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power
13 SCARY STORIES. 13 AUTHORS OF COLOR.
13 TIMES WE SURVIVED THE FIRST KILL.
The White Guy Dies First is a powerful and entertaining collection for YA readers featuring thirteen scary stories in which the white guy dies first.
Edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker, including stories from bestselling and critically acclaimed Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J. Benton-Walker.
13 TIMES WE SURVIVED THE FIRST KILL.
The White Guy Dies First is a powerful and entertaining collection for YA readers featuring thirteen scary stories in which the white guy dies first.
Edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker, including stories from bestselling and critically acclaimed Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J. Benton-Walker.
306 pages, Hardcover
First published July 16, 2024
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June 15, 2024
This inclusive horror anthology features 13 scary stories by 13 authors of colour including Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, Tiffany D. Jackson, Chloe Gong and more. 🤍🖤 My heartfelt thanks to NetGalley and Tor/Forge for the advanced copy & Mai for putting it on my radar.
If you liked 'Get Out' by Jordan Peele or if you've cheered anytime the Black guy makes it to the end credits in a horror movie, without being used as sacrificial entertainment fodder, then this anthology might be for you. It's smart and subversive and for me, it was relatable (try growing up as a timid brown girl in a privileged, predominantly white school in Australia in the 90s/00s) yet entertaining AF.
My favourites were Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson, and The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-Walker, but honestly, I had a blast from start to finish. I read this over many months, in between longer reads, using each story as a palate cleanser.
Intro: Ghoulfriends online blog | By Terry J. Benton-Walker | ★★★★☆
Short introduction story that ties the next 13 stories together. Self-aware, satirical and hilarious.
1. All Eyes on Me | By Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé | ★★★★☆
🎪 Where reality gets as twisted as a contortionist in a hall of mirrors. Trigger warning: Clowns, racist gas-lighting boyfriends.
2. Hedge | By Kalynn Bayron | ★★★★☆
🌳 Really grew on me.
3. The Golden Dragon | By Kendare Blake | ★★★★☆
🐲 What if Mean Girls stumbled into a Japanese cult horror flick?
4. Best Served Cold | By H.E. Edgmon | ★★★★☆
🍽 Don’t you hate it when you go to a dinner party and discover you’re the main course?
5. The Protege | By Lamar Giles | ★★☆☆☆
🧙♂️ This one had an interesting premise but it was a bit all over the place.
6. Docile Girls | By Chloe Gong | ★★★☆☆
🩸 Reminiscent of teen slasher flick fun!
7. Gray Grove | By Alexis Henderson | ★★★★☆
🏚 Ghost hunters mixing literal hauntings with the USA's abhorrent haunted past (slave plantations).
8. Everything's Coming Up Roses | By Tiffany D. Jackson | ★★★★★
🌹 Super unhinged and effective epistolary with a garden-obsessed girlie. Rose to the occasion. (Not sorry).
9. Heaven | By Adiba Jaigirdar | ★★★☆☆
🧟 In an underwater post-apocalyptic world, it's not just the sharks you have to watch out for. Intriguing M Night Shyamalan-style (iykyk) concept, but could benefit from more fleshing out.
10. Break Through Our Skin | By Naseem Jamnia | ★★★☆☆
🧿 How to deal with an asshole mansplaining boss: An ancient millenia-old-spirit's guide.
11. Wasps | By Mark Oshiro | ★★★★☆
🐝 How to get your entitled neighbour who wants to gentrify the neighbourhood to buzz off. Cosmic-horror-macabre and lots of fun, depending on what your definition of fun is.
12. Hell is Other Demons | By Karen Strong | ★★★★☆
👹 Nothing says I love you quite like exorcising and banishing a demon from your love interest's body.
13. The Road to Hell | By Terry J. Benton-Walker | ★★★★★
👻 WTH did I just read? You'll never look at the rare Ghost Orchid that grows in Florida's swamps the same way again. 1 bonus star for the most creative narrator POV and 1 bonus star for mention of 'ghost dick.'
Epilogue | By Terry J. Benton-Walker | ★★★☆☆
Sufficient, charming conclusion.
Overall: Lots of fun, highly recommend.
If you liked 'Get Out' by Jordan Peele or if you've cheered anytime the Black guy makes it to the end credits in a horror movie, without being used as sacrificial entertainment fodder, then this anthology might be for you. It's smart and subversive and for me, it was relatable (try growing up as a timid brown girl in a privileged, predominantly white school in Australia in the 90s/00s) yet entertaining AF.
My favourites were Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson, and The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-Walker, but honestly, I had a blast from start to finish. I read this over many months, in between longer reads, using each story as a palate cleanser.
Intro: Ghoulfriends online blog | By Terry J. Benton-Walker | ★★★★☆
Short introduction story that ties the next 13 stories together. Self-aware, satirical and hilarious.
1. All Eyes on Me | By Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé | ★★★★☆
🎪 Where reality gets as twisted as a contortionist in a hall of mirrors. Trigger warning: Clowns, racist gas-lighting boyfriends.
2. Hedge | By Kalynn Bayron | ★★★★☆
🌳 Really grew on me.
3. The Golden Dragon | By Kendare Blake | ★★★★☆
🐲 What if Mean Girls stumbled into a Japanese cult horror flick?
4. Best Served Cold | By H.E. Edgmon | ★★★★☆
🍽 Don’t you hate it when you go to a dinner party and discover you’re the main course?
5. The Protege | By Lamar Giles | ★★☆☆☆
🧙♂️ This one had an interesting premise but it was a bit all over the place.
6. Docile Girls | By Chloe Gong | ★★★☆☆
🩸 Reminiscent of teen slasher flick fun!
7. Gray Grove | By Alexis Henderson | ★★★★☆
🏚 Ghost hunters mixing literal hauntings with the USA's abhorrent haunted past (slave plantations).
8. Everything's Coming Up Roses | By Tiffany D. Jackson | ★★★★★
🌹 Super unhinged and effective epistolary with a garden-obsessed girlie. Rose to the occasion. (Not sorry).
9. Heaven | By Adiba Jaigirdar | ★★★☆☆
🧟 In an underwater post-apocalyptic world, it's not just the sharks you have to watch out for. Intriguing M Night Shyamalan-style (iykyk) concept, but could benefit from more fleshing out.
10. Break Through Our Skin | By Naseem Jamnia | ★★★☆☆
🧿 How to deal with an asshole mansplaining boss: An ancient millenia-old-spirit's guide.
11. Wasps | By Mark Oshiro | ★★★★☆
🐝 How to get your entitled neighbour who wants to gentrify the neighbourhood to buzz off. Cosmic-horror-macabre and lots of fun, depending on what your definition of fun is.
12. Hell is Other Demons | By Karen Strong | ★★★★☆
👹 Nothing says I love you quite like exorcising and banishing a demon from your love interest's body.
13. The Road to Hell | By Terry J. Benton-Walker | ★★★★★
👻 WTH did I just read? You'll never look at the rare Ghost Orchid that grows in Florida's swamps the same way again. 1 bonus star for the most creative narrator POV and 1 bonus star for mention of 'ghost dick.'
Epilogue | By Terry J. Benton-Walker | ★★★☆☆
Sufficient, charming conclusion.
Overall: Lots of fun, highly recommend.
August 27, 2024
👨🏻 💀 1️⃣
1. Ghoulfriends Online Blog by Terry J. Benton-Walker ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Zana found this blog a little cheesy, but I was very much into it. I'm a terrible person, and I find unfunny things very funny. Or the rest of your humor is wrong.
2. All Eyes on Me by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé ⭐⭐⭐⭐
While I loved this from the start, the ending nearly ruined it for me.
Helen reminds me a lot of my younger self. Maybe myself right now. I wouldn't like to unpack that. Her boyfriend, and the inner monologue she has with herself while trying to break up with him, gives me PTSD.
In what world is Hel a nickname for Helen?
If I lived in a place called Nowhere, I'd leave, too.
3. Hedge by Kalynn Bayron ⭐⭐⭐
Teenage boys are so sad. Not that men are much better, in my experience. Boohoo.
4. The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This story is about two Korean American sisters whose parents own an American Chinese restaurant. Racism abounds.
Sophie has started hanging out with the in crowd, a group of rich, white, entitled brats. One of them in particular has been paying close attention to her, and she is basking in it. Her sister tries to warn her off, but she doesn't listen.
I guessed the ending, but I'm a petty bitch and enjoyed the hell out of it, so whatever.
5. Best Served Cold by H.E. Edgmon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hannibal would be proud. IYKYK
6. The Protégé by Lamar Giles ⭐
Respectfully, what the fuck was that?
This was boring. Then it got weird. Then it made no sense.
7. Docile Girls by Chloe Gong ⭐⭐
As I have dnf every Chloe Gong book I have ever tried, I knew this would be a difficult read for me. We don't vibe.
To the people that feed their dogs and treat them better than their skin children, fuck you. I'll be over on /dogfree.
Looking back, mainly at myself, but also at these shorts, every WMAF relationship is making me cringe. I'm also mortally offended.
8. Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
To the people that look at the past and let racism slide, just because it was "the times," fuck you.
Being new to the South would suck. The weather. The allergies. The humidity. To be fair, I'm from there, and hate all of the above. But it would suck.
I'm tired of reading about jellyfish.
Another thing that mortally offends me is people getting married in former plantation houses. Like, just don't.
9. Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm fucked up. I'm not usually into epistolary style stories, but this was my favorite of the bunch as of yet. I will never look at gardening the same.
I thought this girl was just weird, but damn, the vibes are wrong with this one. I laughed so hard. The protagonist actually reminds me of a really obnoxious reviewer here. IYKYK
10. Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar ⭐⭐⭐
I call this one Mermaid Necromancy, which is not a spoiler, because it's obviously not exactly that, but kind of. Dystopian worlds are hit or miss, but keep in mind, the government is always keeping secrets!
As someone who grew up Catholic, I am triggered that this city is called Heaven, and that there are gates to get in.
11. Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia ⭐⭐⭐⭐
We've got racist white professors, deadnaming, and overprotective parents. What could go wrong with a school named the Oriental Institute?
I love when white men mansplain my culture to me. Thank you. I had no idea. Even worse is when they try to break out in my native language, and pronounce it so horribly I have zero idea what they're trying to say. At this point, I should just stop asking. I'm uninterested in this attention.
And I'm not usually one for unwillingly given sacrifices, but in this case, eat up.
12. wasps by Mark Oshiro ⭐⭐⭐
The gentrification is strong in this one. It's easy to argue both sides of the gentrification war. On one side, people deserve affordable housing, especially if they're the ones that lived in and built the neighborhood. On the other side, do I get excited to see a new hot yoga studio and juice spot? Guilty.
The anger quickly turned to surprise as this got a little more Stephen King than I was expecting. I enjoy sentient things.
13. Hell Is Other Demons by Karen Strong ⭐⭐⭐⭐
As an atheist, this spoke to me. I grew up Catholic, and the idea of Heaven and Hell are so ingrained in you to make you behave that it makes me sick. I like the lore here that there are other places to go to. Surely the afterlife, if it exists, is not as binary as American politics.
14. The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-Walker ⭐⭐⭐
I always enjoy an interesting POV, and this was interesting. The Shining level interesting. Book, not movie.
15. Epilogue ⭐⭐⭐
Related to the prologue, but infinitely shorter. It's fine.
📚 Buddy read with Zana
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Teen
1. Ghoulfriends Online Blog by Terry J. Benton-Walker ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Zana found this blog a little cheesy, but I was very much into it. I'm a terrible person, and I find unfunny things very funny. Or the rest of your humor is wrong.
2. All Eyes on Me by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé ⭐⭐⭐⭐
While I loved this from the start, the ending nearly ruined it for me.
Helen reminds me a lot of my younger self. Maybe myself right now. I wouldn't like to unpack that. Her boyfriend, and the inner monologue she has with herself while trying to break up with him, gives me PTSD.
In what world is Hel a nickname for Helen?
If I lived in a place called Nowhere, I'd leave, too.
3. Hedge by Kalynn Bayron ⭐⭐⭐
Teenage boys are so sad. Not that men are much better, in my experience. Boohoo.
4. The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake ⭐⭐⭐⭐
This story is about two Korean American sisters whose parents own an American Chinese restaurant. Racism abounds.
Sophie has started hanging out with the in crowd, a group of rich, white, entitled brats. One of them in particular has been paying close attention to her, and she is basking in it. Her sister tries to warn her off, but she doesn't listen.
I guessed the ending, but I'm a petty bitch and enjoyed the hell out of it, so whatever.
5. Best Served Cold by H.E. Edgmon ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hannibal would be proud. IYKYK
6. The Protégé by Lamar Giles ⭐
Respectfully, what the fuck was that?
This was boring. Then it got weird. Then it made no sense.
7. Docile Girls by Chloe Gong ⭐⭐
As I have dnf every Chloe Gong book I have ever tried, I knew this would be a difficult read for me. We don't vibe.
To the people that feed their dogs and treat them better than their skin children, fuck you. I'll be over on /dogfree.
Looking back, mainly at myself, but also at these shorts, every WMAF relationship is making me cringe. I'm also mortally offended.
8. Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
To the people that look at the past and let racism slide, just because it was "the times," fuck you.
Being new to the South would suck. The weather. The allergies. The humidity. To be fair, I'm from there, and hate all of the above. But it would suck.
I'm tired of reading about jellyfish.
Another thing that mortally offends me is people getting married in former plantation houses. Like, just don't.
9. Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm fucked up. I'm not usually into epistolary style stories, but this was my favorite of the bunch as of yet. I will never look at gardening the same.
I thought this girl was just weird, but damn, the vibes are wrong with this one. I laughed so hard. The protagonist actually reminds me of a really obnoxious reviewer here. IYKYK
10. Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar ⭐⭐⭐
I call this one Mermaid Necromancy, which is not a spoiler, because it's obviously not exactly that, but kind of. Dystopian worlds are hit or miss, but keep in mind, the government is always keeping secrets!
As someone who grew up Catholic, I am triggered that this city is called Heaven, and that there are gates to get in.
11. Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia ⭐⭐⭐⭐
We've got racist white professors, deadnaming, and overprotective parents. What could go wrong with a school named the Oriental Institute?
I love when white men mansplain my culture to me. Thank you. I had no idea. Even worse is when they try to break out in my native language, and pronounce it so horribly I have zero idea what they're trying to say. At this point, I should just stop asking. I'm uninterested in this attention.
And I'm not usually one for unwillingly given sacrifices, but in this case, eat up.
12. wasps by Mark Oshiro ⭐⭐⭐
The gentrification is strong in this one. It's easy to argue both sides of the gentrification war. On one side, people deserve affordable housing, especially if they're the ones that lived in and built the neighborhood. On the other side, do I get excited to see a new hot yoga studio and juice spot? Guilty.
The anger quickly turned to surprise as this got a little more Stephen King than I was expecting. I enjoy sentient things.
13. Hell Is Other Demons by Karen Strong ⭐⭐⭐⭐
As an atheist, this spoke to me. I grew up Catholic, and the idea of Heaven and Hell are so ingrained in you to make you behave that it makes me sick. I like the lore here that there are other places to go to. Surely the afterlife, if it exists, is not as binary as American politics.
14. The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-Walker ⭐⭐⭐
I always enjoy an interesting POV, and this was interesting. The Shining level interesting. Book, not movie.
15. Epilogue ⭐⭐⭐
Related to the prologue, but infinitely shorter. It's fine.
📚 Buddy read with Zana
📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Teen
July 25, 2024
This YA horror anthology features a diverse collection of stories with one commonality: they all feature a smug white guy as the first victim. The stories range widely, from a post-apocalyptic fantasy where a human settlement faces off against sea monsters to a series of diary entries from a girl who may or may not be a killer. The protagonists include a nonbinary teen of Iranian descent, a Korean-American girl working at her family’s Chinese restaurant, and a sentient haunted house.
As with any short story collection, some of the tales resonated with me more than others, but overall this was a super enjoyable read. The collection has a powerful anti racist message while being genuinely spooky and fun. I would love to see more collections like this!
As with any short story collection, some of the tales resonated with me more than others, but overall this was a super enjoyable read. The collection has a powerful anti racist message while being genuinely spooky and fun. I would love to see more collections like this!
October 26, 2024
**4.5-stars rounded up**
💀💖💀💖💀💖💀💖💀💖💀💖💀
From the publisher:
13 SCARY STORIES. 13 AUTHORS OF COLOR.
13 TIMES WE SURVIVED THE FIRST KILL.
The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power is a YA Horror Anthology with something for every Reader.
Spoiler Alert: I loved it!
Everything from the set-up preceding the stories, to the diversity of topics, the subgenres of horror displayed, to the narration was fantastic. I def recommend the audiobook.
The stories included are as follows:
1.) All Eyes On Me by Faridah Abike-Iyimide. Buzzwords: Circus setting, clowns, 'good for her' Horror, Queer.
2.) Hedge by Kalynn Bayron. Buzzwords: Sibling relationship (brothers), grief, argumentative teens, hedge maze, Eco-Horror.
3.) The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake. Buzzwords: Korean-American MC, sibling relationship (sisters), rich kids behaving badly, revenge ghost.
4.) Best Served Cold by H.E. Edgmon. Buzzwords: Indigenous MC, LGBTQIA+, Body Horror, .
5.) The Protege by Lamar Giles. Buzzwords: Absent parents/kids fend for themselves, sibling relationship (brothers), magician ((the showman kind, not the magic school kind)), Secret Society.
6.) Docile Girls by Chloe Gong. Buzzwords: Asian-American MC, High School drama, Teen Scream, Slasher, Revenge Thriller.
7.) Grey Grove by Alexis Henderson. Buzzwords: Southern Gothic, paranormal, podcast element, cold case investigation, seance.
8.) Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson. Buzzwords: Mixed media, obsession, disturbing behavior, hiding in plain sight.
9.) Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar. Buzzwords: Futuristic, post-apocalyptic, Eco-Horror, creature feature, isolation.
10.) Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia. Buzzwords: Iranian-American MC, non-binary MC, Persian culture, archeology, gender identity, ancient entity.
11.) Wasps by Mark Oshiro. Buzzwords: Latinx MC, gentrification, generational story/responsibility/lore.
12.) Hell is Other Demons by Karen Strong. Buzzwords: Demons, possession, religion, Queer.
13.) The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-walker. Buzzwords: Southern Gothic, Queer, haunted house, sense of place, unique perspective.
I really appreciated the diversity of topics which these authors brought to the page, and also, the arrangement of the stories within the collection.
I was always excited to see what was coming next. There were no two stories, even remotely similar, close to one another. It kept me fully-engaged and on my toes.
As someone who loves many Horror subgenres, I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite, but some standouts for me were from Edgmon, Giles, Gong, Jackson and Strong. With this being said, I would be happy to pick up more work from each and every one of these talented authors!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
'Tis this season for this type of collection and I absolutely recommend it for your Autumnal TBR!
💀💖💀💖💀💖💀💖💀💖💀💖💀
From the publisher:
13 SCARY STORIES. 13 AUTHORS OF COLOR.
13 TIMES WE SURVIVED THE FIRST KILL.
The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power is a YA Horror Anthology with something for every Reader.
Spoiler Alert: I loved it!
Everything from the set-up preceding the stories, to the diversity of topics, the subgenres of horror displayed, to the narration was fantastic. I def recommend the audiobook.
The stories included are as follows:
1.) All Eyes On Me by Faridah Abike-Iyimide. Buzzwords: Circus setting, clowns, 'good for her' Horror, Queer.
2.) Hedge by Kalynn Bayron. Buzzwords: Sibling relationship (brothers), grief, argumentative teens, hedge maze, Eco-Horror.
3.) The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake. Buzzwords: Korean-American MC, sibling relationship (sisters), rich kids behaving badly, revenge ghost.
4.) Best Served Cold by H.E. Edgmon. Buzzwords: Indigenous MC, LGBTQIA+, Body Horror, .
5.) The Protege by Lamar Giles. Buzzwords: Absent parents/kids fend for themselves, sibling relationship (brothers), magician ((the showman kind, not the magic school kind)), Secret Society.
6.) Docile Girls by Chloe Gong. Buzzwords: Asian-American MC, High School drama, Teen Scream, Slasher, Revenge Thriller.
7.) Grey Grove by Alexis Henderson. Buzzwords: Southern Gothic, paranormal, podcast element, cold case investigation, seance.
8.) Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson. Buzzwords: Mixed media, obsession, disturbing behavior, hiding in plain sight.
9.) Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar. Buzzwords: Futuristic, post-apocalyptic, Eco-Horror, creature feature, isolation.
10.) Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia. Buzzwords: Iranian-American MC, non-binary MC, Persian culture, archeology, gender identity, ancient entity.
11.) Wasps by Mark Oshiro. Buzzwords: Latinx MC, gentrification, generational story/responsibility/lore.
12.) Hell is Other Demons by Karen Strong. Buzzwords: Demons, possession, religion, Queer.
13.) The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-walker. Buzzwords: Southern Gothic, Queer, haunted house, sense of place, unique perspective.
I really appreciated the diversity of topics which these authors brought to the page, and also, the arrangement of the stories within the collection.
I was always excited to see what was coming next. There were no two stories, even remotely similar, close to one another. It kept me fully-engaged and on my toes.
As someone who loves many Horror subgenres, I'd be hard pressed to pick a favorite, but some standouts for me were from Edgmon, Giles, Gong, Jackson and Strong. With this being said, I would be happy to pick up more work from each and every one of these talented authors!
Thank you so much to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review.
'Tis this season for this type of collection and I absolutely recommend it for your Autumnal TBR!
February 18, 2024
Buddy read with Mai because we both loved the title and couldn't restrain ourselves from requesting the arc.
Why does Terry J. Benton-Walker have two stories in this collection? Lmao wtf
This was an okay anthology. There were very few standouts for me. Honestly, I probably would've skipped this if it weren't for the anthology's title and bright cover.
I'd recommend:
Best Served Cold by HE Edgmon
Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia
wasps by Mark Oshiro
brb, off to check out these three authors' longform work. ✌🏼
Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for this arc.
Below are reviews of each short story:
Ghoulfriends Online Blog by Terry J. Benton-Walker
4/5 stars
William, a blogger, writes a post about Jakobi Warren, a film graduate and founder of Level 13 Studios. Warren disappeared without a trace, leaving a box with thirteen film reels titled, "THE WHITE GUY DIES FIRST." A commenter mentions that there's a collection of thirteen short stories written after the studio was closed.
Okay, now I know why the editor has two stories in this collection. This "intro" (written in the style of a blog post, with dumb comments included!) really sets up the mood for the anthology. Some missing indie movie director, Jakobi Warren, has a collection of horror shorts never seen by any living person? Fuck yeah, sign me tf up!
All Eyes on Me by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
3.5/5 stars
Helen, who's desperate to break up with her boyfriend, meets a carnival worker (and potential love interest) named Beatrice, who has the perfect plan for Helen's predicament.
I'm not really sure how I feel about this story. I liked the sapphic elements. The story was well-written, and I ended up really caring for the FMC, Helen, because her relationship with her mayo boyfriend is beyond relatable for me.
But other than that, the ending was a total cop out. Maybe that was the point? I'm not sure. My suspension of disbelief shattered when the consequences of Helen and Beatrice's actions flew out the window just so they could have that ending.
Hedge by Kalynn Bayron
4/5 stars
Brothers Brandon and Wesley, along with Wesley's friends, decide to pay a visit to McCannon's Topiary Garden, the site where their father mysteriously died.
Mai was pretty meh on this, but I liked it! We get enough time to know the two brothers (Brandon is fourteen, while Wesley is seventeen) and their family dynamics. Wesley's friends had some personalities, but they mostly read as indistinguishable.
What I really liked was that we're introduced to the subject (the father's death) and the horror setting (the topiary garden) in the beginning, so nothing new-ish pops up in the end as a deus ex machina.
The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake
3.5/5 stars
Sophie, a working-class Korean teen, gets invited by her rich and privileged friends to a night out at the Japanese Gardens, where something sinister lurks in the dark.
This would've been a solid 4 stars, but the ending was kinda weird. It's nice how everything tied in together in the end, but it felt like it was trying too hard to wrap up loose ends. Idk.
I liked how this feels like a typical teenage story with a MC who wants to belong with the cool kids. The class and race dynamics are obviously in-your-face unequal, so I was interested to see if the author had a different take on this.
But it turned out to be pretty cliche. I think Mai liked it better than me. At least it was a quick read.
Some quotes I liked:
Best Served Cold by HE Edgmon
5/5 stars
EJ, a Native American teen, meets their brother's white friend, Isaac, at a pow wow.
ALL the stars for this short story! Hannibal Lecter vibes all around. I LOVED it. Mai loved it. It was messed up in the best way possible. And the commentary on whiteness? *chef's kiss*
Some quotes I liked:
The Protégé by Lamar Giles
2/5 stars
Troy's mentor, a magician next door named Jack Meridian, asks him to sign for a valuable package while he's gone.
This was such a mess. Both Mai and I disliked it. It felt very all over the place. It didn't know what it wanted to be. There were elements of magic from Dr. Strange mixed with horror that would've been cool if the story was cohesive.
Docile Girls by Chloe Gong
2/5 stars
Adelaide and the rest of the dance committee, which consists of her ex and his circle of well-to-do friends, get locked in the school's gym.
This was such a mess! The sad part is, it could've been a decent trashy horror read. The author was way too on the nose with the whole getting revenge against white people thing. I think if those lines were struck out, this would've been a more powerful story.
YA readers aren't dumb. We can figure out what the author's trying to say without being so obvious.
Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson
3/5 stars
Rumi and her friend, Kaitlin, film a supernatural-themed podcast at an old plantation house where a high schooler was reportedly killed by unknown forces.
I really liked the cosmic horror ending in this one. The story itself is very cliche, but I liked how Rumi's interactions with her white friend were racially-charged. If you're a BIPOC, I'm sure you've had similar conversations with insensitive white friends who dismiss your racially-based concerns.
Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson
3.5/5 stars
Leesa, who has an obsession with gardening, lands a new job at Home Depot while her personal life slowly unravels.
Mai definitely liked this more than I did, but it's Tiffany D. Jackson and I can't say no to her unsettling vibes. She's such a master when it comes to unreliable narrators. I bow down to the queen. We all bow down.
It was too short for me. I wanted more details of the horror elements (like the sicko I am).
Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar
2/5 stars
Living in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by creatures called the Sunken, Eshaal finds out that the community they live in isn't what it seems to be.
Um, I don't really know what this was. This would've been a great post-apocalyptic novel or novella, but as a short story, there were too many details and concepts crammed into such a limited word count that it was hard to feel sympathy for the characters or even understand what was exactly happening.
Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia
4/5 stars
Farz, a trans teen who's Iranian, finds kinship with a powerful spirit that lives in an ancient artifact from Iran.
Okay, hands down, I really liked this because it's a monster transformation revenge story. The monster was gross. The old white guy ancient Iran expert was gross in a patriarchal, homophobic/transphobic way. The ending was *chef's kiss*.
My fave quote:
wasps by Mark Oshiro
5/5 stars
Nina defends her generational home against a man who wants to buy the property and gentrify the neighborhood.
I loved this one! I'm such a huge fan of cosmic horror and the ending did NOT disappoint! I'm all down for creepy powerful ancient entities and human sacrifices.
Hell Is Other Demons by Karen Strong
3/5 stars
Evelyn accompanies Brett and Ivy as Brett performs a demonic ritual to summon Gazidun.
As far as demonic ritual stories go, this one was all right. Maybe I've read one too many horror/dark fantasy stories about summoning demons, but this didn't really wow me as much as I thought it would.
Although, I did like how the MC's future job in the afterlife is treated like any other office job. It's giving Alix E. Harrow's Mr. Death short story.
The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-Walker
3/5 stars
An old sentient house becomes fascinated by a new family that moves in.
This one was also all right. I didn't really understand the point of the story. Did the house like the family? Did the house hate the family? You can't fault the family for wanting to renovate an old house after sinking money into it.
Epilogue
3/5 stars
Written as an email to the Ghoulfriends Online blogger, the anonymous sender suggests that Jakobi struck a deal with a witch so that his thirteen stories would impact at least one person who reads them.
This was a cute ending that didn't really have a lot of impact on me because it didn't really feel necessary. I honestly wasn't going to rate it, but since Mai did it, I figured I might as well.
Why does Terry J. Benton-Walker have two stories in this collection? Lmao wtf
This was an okay anthology. There were very few standouts for me. Honestly, I probably would've skipped this if it weren't for the anthology's title and bright cover.
I'd recommend:
Best Served Cold by HE Edgmon
Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia
wasps by Mark Oshiro
brb, off to check out these three authors' longform work. ✌🏼
Thank you to Tor Teen and NetGalley for this arc.
Below are reviews of each short story:
Ghoulfriends Online Blog by Terry J. Benton-Walker
4/5 stars
William, a blogger, writes a post about Jakobi Warren, a film graduate and founder of Level 13 Studios. Warren disappeared without a trace, leaving a box with thirteen film reels titled, "THE WHITE GUY DIES FIRST." A commenter mentions that there's a collection of thirteen short stories written after the studio was closed.
Okay, now I know why the editor has two stories in this collection. This "intro" (written in the style of a blog post, with dumb comments included!) really sets up the mood for the anthology. Some missing indie movie director, Jakobi Warren, has a collection of horror shorts never seen by any living person? Fuck yeah, sign me tf up!
All Eyes on Me by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
3.5/5 stars
Helen, who's desperate to break up with her boyfriend, meets a carnival worker (and potential love interest) named Beatrice, who has the perfect plan for Helen's predicament.
I'm not really sure how I feel about this story. I liked the sapphic elements. The story was well-written, and I ended up really caring for the FMC, Helen, because her relationship with her mayo boyfriend is beyond relatable for me.
But other than that, the ending was a total cop out. Maybe that was the point? I'm not sure. My suspension of disbelief shattered when the consequences of Helen and Beatrice's actions flew out the window just so they could have that ending.
Hedge by Kalynn Bayron
4/5 stars
Brothers Brandon and Wesley, along with Wesley's friends, decide to pay a visit to McCannon's Topiary Garden, the site where their father mysteriously died.
Mai was pretty meh on this, but I liked it! We get enough time to know the two brothers (Brandon is fourteen, while Wesley is seventeen) and their family dynamics. Wesley's friends had some personalities, but they mostly read as indistinguishable.
What I really liked was that we're introduced to the subject (the father's death) and the horror setting (the topiary garden) in the beginning, so nothing new-ish pops up in the end as a deus ex machina.
The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake
3.5/5 stars
Sophie, a working-class Korean teen, gets invited by her rich and privileged friends to a night out at the Japanese Gardens, where something sinister lurks in the dark.
This would've been a solid 4 stars, but the ending was kinda weird. It's nice how everything tied in together in the end, but it felt like it was trying too hard to wrap up loose ends. Idk.
I liked how this feels like a typical teenage story with a MC who wants to belong with the cool kids. The class and race dynamics are obviously in-your-face unequal, so I was interested to see if the author had a different take on this.
But it turned out to be pretty cliche. I think Mai liked it better than me. At least it was a quick read.
Some quotes I liked:
"Summer said he was only after her to bang an Asian, to mark one off on his international-bang bingo card."
"That was the nice thing about Asian girls. They were quiet. The worst thing about them was they sometimes kicked him in the balls and made him lose his phone."
Best Served Cold by HE Edgmon
5/5 stars
EJ, a Native American teen, meets their brother's white friend, Isaac, at a pow wow.
ALL the stars for this short story! Hannibal Lecter vibes all around. I LOVED it. Mai loved it. It was messed up in the best way possible. And the commentary on whiteness? *chef's kiss*
Some quotes I liked:
"I hungered for green eyes, even going as far as buying cheap, probably toxic colored contacts from a stand at the mall, only to have a sobbing fit on the bathroom floor when I realized my natural eye color was too dark to be hidden under the film."
"And then, years later, Kai brings a boy with the most beautiful green eyes to the Pow Wow. His name is Isaac."
"Our mom calls herself white because white people think she is, because she passes in their spaces—even though her grandfather spent his childhood at a boarding school in Oklahoma and his adulthood beating the religion they gave him into her own mother."
"Hunting, like fishing and farming, tends to attract people on polar ends of the spectrum. One look at Isaac, with his eyes like new money, his blond ex-military haircut, and the Patagonia jacket fitted over his broad shoulders, and I worried he was at the wrong end."
The Protégé by Lamar Giles
2/5 stars
Troy's mentor, a magician next door named Jack Meridian, asks him to sign for a valuable package while he's gone.
This was such a mess. Both Mai and I disliked it. It felt very all over the place. It didn't know what it wanted to be. There were elements of magic from Dr. Strange mixed with horror that would've been cool if the story was cohesive.
Docile Girls by Chloe Gong
2/5 stars
Adelaide and the rest of the dance committee, which consists of her ex and his circle of well-to-do friends, get locked in the school's gym.
This was such a mess! The sad part is, it could've been a decent trashy horror read. The author was way too on the nose with the whole getting revenge against white people thing. I think if those lines were struck out, this would've been a more powerful story.
YA readers aren't dumb. We can figure out what the author's trying to say without being so obvious.
Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson
3/5 stars
Rumi and her friend, Kaitlin, film a supernatural-themed podcast at an old plantation house where a high schooler was reportedly killed by unknown forces.
I really liked the cosmic horror ending in this one. The story itself is very cliche, but I liked how Rumi's interactions with her white friend were racially-charged. If you're a BIPOC, I'm sure you've had similar conversations with insensitive white friends who dismiss your racially-based concerns.
Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson
3.5/5 stars
Leesa, who has an obsession with gardening, lands a new job at Home Depot while her personal life slowly unravels.
Mai definitely liked this more than I did, but it's Tiffany D. Jackson and I can't say no to her unsettling vibes. She's such a master when it comes to unreliable narrators. I bow down to the queen. We all bow down.
It was too short for me. I wanted more details of the horror elements (like the sicko I am).
Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar
2/5 stars
Living in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by creatures called the Sunken, Eshaal finds out that the community they live in isn't what it seems to be.
Um, I don't really know what this was. This would've been a great post-apocalyptic novel or novella, but as a short story, there were too many details and concepts crammed into such a limited word count that it was hard to feel sympathy for the characters or even understand what was exactly happening.
Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia
4/5 stars
Farz, a trans teen who's Iranian, finds kinship with a powerful spirit that lives in an ancient artifact from Iran.
Okay, hands down, I really liked this because it's a monster transformation revenge story. The monster was gross. The old white guy ancient Iran expert was gross in a patriarchal, homophobic/transphobic way. The ending was *chef's kiss*.
My fave quote:
"How do I explain to my parents that I entered a pact with a millennia-old spirit to transform into a monster and eat my racist colonizing professor-boss?"
wasps by Mark Oshiro
5/5 stars
Nina defends her generational home against a man who wants to buy the property and gentrify the neighborhood.
I loved this one! I'm such a huge fan of cosmic horror and the ending did NOT disappoint! I'm all down for creepy powerful ancient entities and human sacrifices.
Hell Is Other Demons by Karen Strong
3/5 stars
Evelyn accompanies Brett and Ivy as Brett performs a demonic ritual to summon Gazidun.
As far as demonic ritual stories go, this one was all right. Maybe I've read one too many horror/dark fantasy stories about summoning demons, but this didn't really wow me as much as I thought it would.
Although, I did like how the MC's future job in the afterlife is treated like any other office job. It's giving Alix E. Harrow's Mr. Death short story.
The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-Walker
3/5 stars
An old sentient house becomes fascinated by a new family that moves in.
This one was also all right. I didn't really understand the point of the story. Did the house like the family? Did the house hate the family? You can't fault the family for wanting to renovate an old house after sinking money into it.
Epilogue
3/5 stars
Written as an email to the Ghoulfriends Online blogger, the anonymous sender suggests that Jakobi struck a deal with a witch so that his thirteen stories would impact at least one person who reads them.
This was a cute ending that didn't really have a lot of impact on me because it didn't really feel necessary. I honestly wasn't going to rate it, but since Mai did it, I figured I might as well.
February 17, 2024
(2 stars ★)
that was interesting 😭 i don't usually venture into horror/comedy so i can't really formulate that much of an opinion, but the golden dragon short story by kendara blake (sisters helping each other get revenge) and docile girls by chloe gong were my favourites. it's refreshing to not see poc characters getting killed off first.
݁.⊹ ୨ pre-read ୧ ⊹ . ݁ ݁
⤹ yay yay arc time <3 am i mainly reading this for chloe gong's short story ? no pfftmaybe. listen i'm loyal to my favourite authors, whatever they write i read.
that was interesting 😭 i don't usually venture into horror/comedy so i can't really formulate that much of an opinion, but the golden dragon short story by kendara blake (sisters helping each other get revenge) and docile girls by chloe gong were my favourites. it's refreshing to not see poc characters getting killed off first.
݁.⊹ ୨ pre-read ୧ ⊹ . ݁ ݁
⤹ yay yay arc time <3 am i mainly reading this for chloe gong's short story ? no pfft
July 21, 2024
Short story collections can be a bit of a crapshoot, but I liked if not loved nearly all of the stories in this collection. I also appreciated that there was a bit of a frame narrative that the stories fit into. The White Guy Dies First collects 13 horror stories, some of which span other genres like science fiction and fantasy, by Black, Indigenous, and person of color authors including a number of queer ones. Overall I thought it was a very strong collection and I'll list my favorites...
The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake follows a Korean girl deserving of revenge.
Best Served Cold by HE Edgemon puts a creepy twist on the Indigenous Skinwalker mythology in a way that is gory and cinematic.
Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson explores the dark side of true crime podcasts.
Wasps by Mark Oshiro has predatory gentrifiers and dark monsters
Definitely worth a read! The audiobook is excellent and has a full cast. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake follows a Korean girl deserving of revenge.
Best Served Cold by HE Edgemon puts a creepy twist on the Indigenous Skinwalker mythology in a way that is gory and cinematic.
Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson explores the dark side of true crime podcasts.
Wasps by Mark Oshiro has predatory gentrifiers and dark monsters
Definitely worth a read! The audiobook is excellent and has a full cast. I received an audio review copy via NetGalley, all opinions are my own.
July 15, 2024
Wow! The White Guy Dies First is a book of short stories by several authors I love and some I'm new to but they all have one thing in common - you guessed it, each story has the white guy die first!
Overall, I'd give this a strong 4 stars - I enjoyed most of the stories and they all brought a different type of horror, mystery, thriller or creepiness that I did not expect.
I think my favorite story was definitely Best Served Cold. I really appreciated that this opened up the doors to other authors that I'll be adding to my TBR!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advanced copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
Overall, I'd give this a strong 4 stars - I enjoyed most of the stories and they all brought a different type of horror, mystery, thriller or creepiness that I did not expect.
I think my favorite story was definitely Best Served Cold. I really appreciated that this opened up the doors to other authors that I'll be adding to my TBR!
Many thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group for an advanced copy of the book. All opinions are my own.
July 23, 2024
I was honestly not prepared for the perfection of this anthology. Every story in here was SO good. It's so rare I can find a anthology collection where every story was a 4-5 star. So many awesome horror/slasher tropes fill the pages. It's creepy, unsettling and gory as heck and I loved every single second of this book. I will 100% be buying a copy and re-reading it cause I cannot stop thinking about some of the stories. Literally the perfect book to pick up for Halloween!
The audiobook was really great! I loved all the narrators, they all did such a great job and really added to the vibe of the book!
Thank you so much Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
The audiobook was really great! I loved all the narrators, they all did such a great job and really added to the vibe of the book!
Thank you so much Netgalley and the publishers for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review!
February 19, 2024
me as soon as each author introduced the white guy TM character : ur doomed buddy ッ
☆ 3.5 [overall]
↻ theme. one thing i found that interconnected and weaved into each short story was the protagonists struggling with being considered an outsider. they dealt with micro-aggressions, desperation to fit into a more “glamorous (white) lifestyle”, and the compounding effects of generational trauma. i loved that each story was threaded with very real issues and struggles of BIPOC. It is what shaped and gave more life to the characters.
↻ one sentence reviews (not summaries) of the 13 short stories: + mini ratings
┊All Eyes on Me: all the potential for a scare factor (clowns, murder, mirrors, string-of-disappearances), but the ending sort of fizzled out. [☆ 3]
┊Hedge: the best thing to probably do is not go into the maze where theres been a series of dead bodies found. [☆ 3]
┊The Golden Dragon: girls helping girls get revenge, ideal sister bonding activities! (tw: attempted assault but its not covered in much detail) [☆ 3.5]
┊Best Served Cold: phew, at least the psychotic cannibal isn’t homophobic! (tw: kidnapping) [☆ 4.5]
┊The Protégé: magicians, cults, and vengeance, it really can’t get better than this. [☆ 4]
┊Docile Girls: another revenge plot but with lots of gore and an almost let down ending. [☆ 3]
┊Gray Grove: girls with a podcast go ghost hunting in an old haunted plantation. [☆ 3]
┊Everything’s Coming Up Roses: just a girl and her silly gardening obsession! (i really enjoyed the journal entry format) [☆ 3]
┊Heaven: the last city on earth and the secrets of the inhabitants beyond the gates. the world building potential here ? adore it. [☆ 3.5]
┊Break Through Our Skin: the things we go through to get a letter of rec. (ft. middle eastern rep! trans/non-binary rep! (please be aware that the character does go through internal dialogue of not being out/accepted (but its a happy ending !)), immigrant rep! & lots of detailed bodily modification descriptions) [☆ 4]
┊Wasps: one thing i hate is wasps, one thing i love is magical houses. [☆ 3]
┊Hell is Other Demons: featuring literal demons, possessing your girlfriend’s homophobic dad, and fun job promotions! [☆ 3]
┊The Road to Hell: (what did i just read??) a haunted house story but from the POV of the haunted house. [☆ 3.5]
↻ overall. I love horror and I love short stories, so this was something I knew I would enjoy. My feelings on the collection fluctuated a tiny bit. Some of them were instantly exciting to read through, some felt as though they had a whole bunch of extra details, and some left me disappointed at the lack of action, as though the word count was reached and a bunch of things didn’t make the cut.
Were all the stories necessary thrilling? No, but they were all fun to read and had diverse characters with unique identities, backgrounds, and stories.
↻ 𖥻 standouts. The Protégé and Heaven (respectfully, i am asking for these to be made into novels post haste), Golden Dragon ( you know i love a revenge plot! ), and Best Served Cold (narration style perfectly portrayed the lack of lucidity of the main character and gave it a really chilling vibe).
[thank you to the publishers for the arc!]
☆ 3.5 [overall]
↻ theme. one thing i found that interconnected and weaved into each short story was the protagonists struggling with being considered an outsider. they dealt with micro-aggressions, desperation to fit into a more “glamorous (white) lifestyle”, and the compounding effects of generational trauma. i loved that each story was threaded with very real issues and struggles of BIPOC. It is what shaped and gave more life to the characters.
↻ one sentence reviews (not summaries) of the 13 short stories: + mini ratings
┊All Eyes on Me: all the potential for a scare factor (clowns, murder, mirrors, string-of-disappearances), but the ending sort of fizzled out. [☆ 3]
┊Hedge: the best thing to probably do is not go into the maze where theres been a series of dead bodies found. [☆ 3]
┊The Golden Dragon: girls helping girls get revenge, ideal sister bonding activities! (tw: attempted assault but its not covered in much detail) [☆ 3.5]
┊Best Served Cold: phew, at least the psychotic cannibal isn’t homophobic! (tw: kidnapping) [☆ 4.5]
┊The Protégé: magicians, cults, and vengeance, it really can’t get better than this. [☆ 4]
┊Docile Girls: another revenge plot but with lots of gore and an almost let down ending. [☆ 3]
┊Gray Grove: girls with a podcast go ghost hunting in an old haunted plantation. [☆ 3]
┊Everything’s Coming Up Roses: just a girl and her silly gardening obsession! (i really enjoyed the journal entry format) [☆ 3]
┊Heaven: the last city on earth and the secrets of the inhabitants beyond the gates. the world building potential here ? adore it. [☆ 3.5]
┊Break Through Our Skin: the things we go through to get a letter of rec. (ft. middle eastern rep! trans/non-binary rep! (please be aware that the character does go through internal dialogue of not being out/accepted (but its a happy ending !)), immigrant rep! & lots of detailed bodily modification descriptions) [☆ 4]
┊Wasps: one thing i hate is wasps, one thing i love is magical houses. [☆ 3]
┊Hell is Other Demons: featuring literal demons, possessing your girlfriend’s homophobic dad, and fun job promotions! [☆ 3]
┊The Road to Hell: (what did i just read??) a haunted house story but from the POV of the haunted house. [☆ 3.5]
↻ overall. I love horror and I love short stories, so this was something I knew I would enjoy. My feelings on the collection fluctuated a tiny bit. Some of them were instantly exciting to read through, some felt as though they had a whole bunch of extra details, and some left me disappointed at the lack of action, as though the word count was reached and a bunch of things didn’t make the cut.
Were all the stories necessary thrilling? No, but they were all fun to read and had diverse characters with unique identities, backgrounds, and stories.
↻ 𖥻 standouts. The Protégé and Heaven (respectfully, i am asking for these to be made into novels post haste), Golden Dragon ( you know i love a revenge plot! ), and Best Served Cold (narration style perfectly portrayed the lack of lucidity of the main character and gave it a really chilling vibe).
[thank you to the publishers for the arc!]
February 19, 2024
If you read and adored the Jordan Peele-collected Anthology of Black Horror: OUT THERE SCREAMING (and if you haven't, WHY NOT?), race to read the new TorTeen Anthology, collected by Terry J. Benton-Walker: THE WHITE GUY DIES FIRST! 13 Authors turn that old jaded racist trope, "the Black guy always goes first," upside down and inside out. Not just Black young folks get empowered here either: the Anthology inclusively offers power to other usually-marginalized groups, including females and Asian-Americans and others. (Also Paranormals)
May 21, 2024
I had a great time reading this collection of short stories by a stellar lineup of authors, many of whom are among my personal favorites. The title is quite catchy and very aptly sums up the main synopsis of the entire collection.
The stories shed light on various social issues, including the impact of social injustices, the problem of racism and stereotypes, and the complex dynamics of gentrification. This collection does an excellent job of weaving these themes into compelling narratives that resonate deeply.
While some stories in this collection were stronger than others, the highlight for me was "Ghoulfriends Online Blog" by Terry J. Benton-Walker and the epilogue. These parts were the most fascinating and powerful, standing out as the strongest points of the entire collection.
If you’re looking for a short YA horror read, this is for you. If you enjoyed any R.L. Stine novels as a kid, YOU WILL LOVE THIS!
Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
The stories shed light on various social issues, including the impact of social injustices, the problem of racism and stereotypes, and the complex dynamics of gentrification. This collection does an excellent job of weaving these themes into compelling narratives that resonate deeply.
While some stories in this collection were stronger than others, the highlight for me was "Ghoulfriends Online Blog" by Terry J. Benton-Walker and the epilogue. These parts were the most fascinating and powerful, standing out as the strongest points of the entire collection.
If you’re looking for a short YA horror read, this is for you. If you enjoyed any R.L. Stine novels as a kid, YOU WILL LOVE THIS!
Thank you, NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group, for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!
July 12, 2024
When it comes to anthologies, I’m always a bit apprehensive because they aren’t always cohesive especially when different authors are contributing. However, that is NOT the case in The White Guy Dies First. This horror anthology contains short stories from so many of my favorite authors, and they all NAIL the horror elements.
My favorites were: Hedge by Kalynn Bayron, Best Served Cold by H.E. Edgmon, Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson, and Everything’s Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing a review copy.
My favorites were: Hedge by Kalynn Bayron, Best Served Cold by H.E. Edgmon, Gray Grove by Alexis Henderson, and Everything’s Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson.
Thank you to Macmillan Audio for providing a review copy.
February 10, 2024
thanks to NetGalley for the eARC
⭐️=3.58 | 😘=4.25 | 🤬=5 | ⚔️=5 | 15/16+
summary: 13 YA horror stories where the white guy dies first.
thoughts: my star rating here is the average of my individual ratings for each story. this was very very hit or miss. some were incredible; my favorites are “The Golden Dragon ” (girls, specifically Korean American girls, getting revenge), “Best Served Cold” (cannibalism!!), and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (we looooove spooky diary entries). however, the framing device intro felt very unnecessary and weird. idk. some unnamed authors whose work I adore otherwise are just, like... not made for short fiction. stick to the novels bestie!!
content note(s): gore, racism, attempted rape
⭐️=3.58 | 😘=4.25 | 🤬=5 | ⚔️=5 | 15/16+
summary: 13 YA horror stories where the white guy dies first.
thoughts: my star rating here is the average of my individual ratings for each story. this was very very hit or miss. some were incredible; my favorites are “The Golden Dragon ” (girls, specifically Korean American girls, getting revenge), “Best Served Cold” (cannibalism!!), and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (we looooove spooky diary entries). however, the framing device intro felt very unnecessary and weird. idk. some unnamed authors whose work I adore otherwise are just, like... not made for short fiction. stick to the novels bestie!!
content note(s): gore, racism, attempted rape
July 10, 2024
This audiobook was made available for me to listen to and review by Terry J. Benton-Walker, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley.
Ghoul Friends Online Blog by TJBW I assume sets up the scary stories as films made by Black horror director extraordinaire, Jakobi Warren. He founded a movie production company before he disappeared. Supposedly left behind were 13 films labeled 'The White Guy Dies First'.
Each of the 13 short stories in the collection relate to the missing films. The set up is clever and the pay off is wonderful!
All Eyes On Me by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
There's a new circus in town. Helen has decided to go on a date with her boyfriend Asher.
Hedge by Kalynn Bayron
Wesley and Brandon join a few friends at a condemned topiary garden.
The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake
The assimilation struggles of Sophie and Summer, 2 Korean sisters who work at their families Chinese restaurant.
Best Served Cold by H.E. Edgmon
On the way home from a powwow an Indigenous person picks up a friend.
The Protégé by Lamar Giles
It's Saturday morning Troy & Darius's parents on a week long Caribbean cruise when the neighbor comes over to ask a favor.
Docile Girls by Chloe Gong
Adelaide is dreading decorating with her ex and his racist friends for the last school dance.
Grey Grove by Alexis Henderson
Grey Grove is the site of the disappearance of racist Kyle Adams 40 years ago and the perfect place for the Girls and Ghosts Podcasts 1st séance.
Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson
Lisa Nelson has her first job in the gardening department of Home Depot.
Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar
A dystopian tale of an Incinerator and a Navigator who seek beyond the confines of their protected home called Heaven.
Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia
An archeology grad student with Persian ancestry assists their obnoxious white professor with an exhibit. Easily my favorite story in this collection.
Wasps by Mark Oshiro
Nina lives with her Mami & Abuela in an area of Brooklyn that's being gentrified around them.
Hell is Other Demons by Karen Strong
Brett invites his girlfriend Ivy to a demon summoning he is planning. Ivy attends with her friend Evelyn who is skeptical.
The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-Walker
This story is told by a haunted house that was built during the early days of colonization of North America. This house has survived trauma while seeking a forever family. Definitely my 2nd favorite story in this collection. This would be a fantastic film.
I truly enjoyed this anthology. This has excellent representation for POC and includes Indigenous mythology from multiple continents and stories with gay/lesbian and Trans main characters. Perfect for teenagers.
The narrators of this audiobook are Alejandro Antonio Ruiz, André Santana, Angel Pean, Joy Ofodu, Kausar Mohammed, Nicky Endres, Samara Naeymi Terry J. Benton-Walker, and Torian Brackett. I adore a cast of narrators for short stories. This is a high quality audio production that really makes you want to savor each individual story. Well done narrators and production staff!
Thank you to Terry J. Benton-Walker, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
Ghoul Friends Online Blog by TJBW I assume sets up the scary stories as films made by Black horror director extraordinaire, Jakobi Warren. He founded a movie production company before he disappeared. Supposedly left behind were 13 films labeled 'The White Guy Dies First'.
Each of the 13 short stories in the collection relate to the missing films. The set up is clever and the pay off is wonderful!
All Eyes On Me by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
There's a new circus in town. Helen has decided to go on a date with her boyfriend Asher.
Hedge by Kalynn Bayron
Wesley and Brandon join a few friends at a condemned topiary garden.
The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake
The assimilation struggles of Sophie and Summer, 2 Korean sisters who work at their families Chinese restaurant.
Best Served Cold by H.E. Edgmon
On the way home from a powwow an Indigenous person picks up a friend.
The Protégé by Lamar Giles
It's Saturday morning Troy & Darius's parents on a week long Caribbean cruise when the neighbor comes over to ask a favor.
Docile Girls by Chloe Gong
Adelaide is dreading decorating with her ex and his racist friends for the last school dance.
Grey Grove by Alexis Henderson
Grey Grove is the site of the disappearance of racist Kyle Adams 40 years ago and the perfect place for the Girls and Ghosts Podcasts 1st séance.
Everything's Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D. Jackson
Lisa Nelson has her first job in the gardening department of Home Depot.
Heaven by Adiba Jaigirdar
A dystopian tale of an Incinerator and a Navigator who seek beyond the confines of their protected home called Heaven.
Break Through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia
An archeology grad student with Persian ancestry assists their obnoxious white professor with an exhibit. Easily my favorite story in this collection.
Wasps by Mark Oshiro
Nina lives with her Mami & Abuela in an area of Brooklyn that's being gentrified around them.
Hell is Other Demons by Karen Strong
Brett invites his girlfriend Ivy to a demon summoning he is planning. Ivy attends with her friend Evelyn who is skeptical.
The Road to Hell by Terry J. Benton-Walker
This story is told by a haunted house that was built during the early days of colonization of North America. This house has survived trauma while seeking a forever family. Definitely my 2nd favorite story in this collection. This would be a fantastic film.
I truly enjoyed this anthology. This has excellent representation for POC and includes Indigenous mythology from multiple continents and stories with gay/lesbian and Trans main characters. Perfect for teenagers.
The narrators of this audiobook are Alejandro Antonio Ruiz, André Santana, Angel Pean, Joy Ofodu, Kausar Mohammed, Nicky Endres, Samara Naeymi Terry J. Benton-Walker, and Torian Brackett. I adore a cast of narrators for short stories. This is a high quality audio production that really makes you want to savor each individual story. Well done narrators and production staff!
Thank you to Terry J. Benton-Walker, Macmillan Audio, and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to and review this audiobook. All opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are my own.
August 14, 2024
A solid anthology of authors of color coming together to write some fun horror short stories. I had an awesome time reading this!! I was not disappointed. So many of my faves were featured here and I have to highlight:
The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake (paranormal)
Best Served Cold by H. E. Edgmon (cannibals)
Docile Girls by Chloe Gong (slasher)
Everything’s Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D Jackson (found media)
Break through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia (body horror)
Wasp by Mark Oshiro (home invasion)
The Road to Hell by Terry J Benton-Walker (haunted house)
Did I mostly enjoy the stories about revenge? Yes. I also just love cannibalism, body horror, stalker stories, and anything that has to do with people fighting back against their abusers. Also TJ Benton Walker is amazing for getting these stories together!!! I absolutely loved them and him and am so proud of this collection!
The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake (paranormal)
Best Served Cold by H. E. Edgmon (cannibals)
Docile Girls by Chloe Gong (slasher)
Everything’s Coming Up Roses by Tiffany D Jackson (found media)
Break through Our Skin by Naseem Jamnia (body horror)
Wasp by Mark Oshiro (home invasion)
The Road to Hell by Terry J Benton-Walker (haunted house)
Did I mostly enjoy the stories about revenge? Yes. I also just love cannibalism, body horror, stalker stories, and anything that has to do with people fighting back against their abusers. Also TJ Benton Walker is amazing for getting these stories together!!! I absolutely loved them and him and am so proud of this collection!
November 14, 2024
I really thought this was going to be such a strong collection of stories, and I ended up feeling so disappointed. I don't think there was a single story I truly enjoyed, even from some of my favourite authors, and there was none I wanted more from.
I think one of the problems is that the white guy dying first is an interesting concept, but when it's 13 times it really starts to feel very rinse and repeat. Some stories felt a little more juvenile, but others, with sexual assault, more adult.
The unaired films idea pulled me in at the beginning, but I forgot that part by the end, and the story didn't give me any closure on that, which surprised me. It really needed to bring that back in to tie these stories up properly.
I think one of the problems is that the white guy dying first is an interesting concept, but when it's 13 times it really starts to feel very rinse and repeat. Some stories felt a little more juvenile, but others, with sexual assault, more adult.
The unaired films idea pulled me in at the beginning, but I forgot that part by the end, and the story didn't give me any closure on that, which surprised me. It really needed to bring that back in to tie these stories up properly.
June 20, 2024
I own this book in a goodreads drawing.
A collection of woke horror stories where the White Guy Dies First. Like something Hollywood would make if they were to reboot Twilight Zone, or Night Gallery.
The most interesting part of the book was the framing device where a director disappeared after making 13 films, and an actor from each one of them dies.
A collection of woke horror stories where the White Guy Dies First. Like something Hollywood would make if they were to reboot Twilight Zone, or Night Gallery.
The most interesting part of the book was the framing device where a director disappeared after making 13 films, and an actor from each one of them dies.
February 22, 2024
Because this is a collection of short stories, it's a bit difficult to really give it a solid rating so I'm going to break down my ratings for each individual story and then give an "overall" rating at the end from averaging all of them. So let's start!
This collection of stories is based in the terrible history of horror cinema (books as well) killing off the black or even any person of color first or second. They're always seen as castoff characters and it's happened so often that it's become a "joke" and a stereotype in horror. I love that this decides to flip that around and do things differently.
This won't have spoilers, but know it will be referencing the person who died vaguely because it's literally called "The White Guy Dies First" so we know that someone dies in all of the stories.
1. All Eyes on Me - 3 stars - This one started off really good and had fun writing, but I ended up not loving the morality of the ending. This story follows our main character who feels trapped in her current relationship with a racist boyfriend who clearly undervalues her for who she is. She ends up attending a circus with him and events unfold from there.
I normally love my heroine in a horror movie to overcome things and have righteous vengeance, but I feel kind of weird about the vengeance in this one. He definitely deserves some major retribution, but I don't know if to the extent that happened. I just felt a bit weird about this one.
2. Hedge - 1 star - Yikes. This pretty much just confirmed that me and Kalynn Bayron are not meant to be as reader and writer. This is following our main character whose father died a few years ago in mysterious and grostesque circumstances. He ends up tagging along with his brother and his brother's friends to the place where the father died. Strange things happen from there.
This is definitely one I feel like doesn't belong in this collection? That may just be more, but this felt out of place and was just a misery to read. I think horror fans who don't mind depressing endings will potentially be a fan of this. I like some sort of hope so this isn't the one for me.
3. The Golden Dragon - 5 stars - NOW THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. This was literally everything I wanted from this collection. This is following our main character who is Korean American and she works at her parents Chinese restaurant. She's made friends with a group of racist white people who can't tell or don't care to tell the difference between difference asian races. Her sister is really skeptical of the group and is always telling her that the friends and her boyfriend are just using her. One night she goes with her friends to a garden or something similar and events happen at that point.
This was the retribution I was waiting for and I'm completely obsessed with this story. I loved the creepy horror aspects and the twist at the end (even though it was kind of obvious). It was just absolutely perfect for this type of collection.
4. Best Served Cold - 1 star - Well we are back to a style of horror that I'm not a fan of. I do love the writing style of this one and I love that it's following a Native American MC. This is following our main character who is trying to reconnect with her heritage. She has a good relationship with her brother who is in a situationship/friendship with this perfect looking white guy that our MC is a little suspicious of. One night her car breaks down and unexpected things happen.
Again, I liked the writing and the general story, but it was grotesque. Like was making me physically ill reading. I also, again, hate hopeless endings and this one had a final twist I didn't love. I think I would have put this higher if the ending had been different.
5. The Protege - 2 stars - At this point in the collection, I'm just exhausted. None of these stories were exactly what I was picturing and this one, again, just didn't hit. This is another one where I loved the beginning. This has such a cool and creepy premise and the writing was great that I was totally drawn into the story until it got weird. This is following our main character who is a kid learning magic from his neighbor. The neighbor ends up leaving a box with the boy and the box causes problems to arise and changes his life forever.
This one honestly just got super weird at the end. I didn't love what happened after we found out what was in the box. It was unexpected and not in the best way. Again, another one that felt like everyone was being punished. I'm starting to think at this point that maybe horror anthologies are also not for me.
6. Docile Girls - 4 stars - Okay so this was basically the first story, but more slasher so I ended up liking this one way better. I think the first story was a bit underdeveloped so it just didn't hit as hard as this one. This is definitely the definition of a slasher and fit soooo well into this collection. It was very on-the-nose. This is following our MC who has just been dumped by her uber popular boyfriend, turning her into a social outcast. She refuses to be defeated so ends up going to help set up for a school event when they're all suddenly locked inside. Bodies start dropping one by one and one of them has to be the killer.
I really think this one just worked so well because it's my exact horror style that I like. The heroine gets her revenge and the bad guys go down. I also just generally enjoy the slasher genre more than other genres in horror. It worked really well and I liked how it was written and the characters were developed.
7. Gray Grove - 2 stars - I kind of just don't get this one? It feels so incomplete and random. I think this one would have made for a good novella, but it felt underdeveloped and not finished as a short story. This one is following our MC who is one part of a podcast duo. Rumi is more of the behind the scenes person and does all the heavy lifting. Her and Kaitlin go to a plantation to tell the story of Kyle who died in the marsh after attacking William, a black boy he'd been bullying. Rumi and Kaitlin have a difference in opinion about what should be on the podcast and there are repercussions.
I really liked the story until the end wasn't actually an end. This almost felt like a free sample from Amazon of a book where you can read the first three pages and then you get the whole book. I do love the social commentary and it brings up the issues of having weddings on plantations and it's discussed in a very short and direct way that really makes you think about it. But... that ending? It just didn't really feel thought out.
8. Everything's Coming Up Roses - 5 stars – Wow wow wow. This one was honestly phenomenal and it even had tropes that I hate and I still loved it. This short story tells the plot through a series of diary entries that are in evidence for some sort of crime. We meet our main character who is an 18 kid who is dealing with some difficult mental health issues. Slowly as we read we learn more and more about the situation.
I literally can’t say anything else because it’s a creeping dread story so I definitely don’t want to give anything away. This was phenomenal. It really makes me want to read a full length novel by Tiffany D. Jackson. This was just so well done and I can’t say enough great things about this one.
9. Heaven – 4 stars – This reminded me so much of parts of Annihilation. This is following our main character who lives in a place called Heaven that is a locked area that holds the last of humanity after the Sunken occurred. Our MC’s girlfriend goes missing and he decides he needs to search for her and uncovers a long-kept secret.
This was so unique compared to the other stories in the collection. I really wasn’t expecting it and this is straight up horror Sci-Fi. It was just so interesting and I didn’t see where the story was going. This was a really good surprise
10. Break Through Our Skin – 1 star – This is a no from me. This was a really gory story that just didn’t work for me. This is following our MC who is struggling with being a transgender individual in a society that degrades people like them. They’re not currently out and struggle with that throughout the story. They are currently working for an archeologist who is bigoted and racist in his beliefs, which our MC just deals with to get a good recommendation. When the museum gets a prestigious new artifact, a new world opens up.
There was so much I wanted to like about this story, but none of it ended up working for me when put all together. I like the representation of a trans character in this collection and I loved the countdown and what the countdown ended up standing for. Other than those two things, this story was unbearable. Everyone, including our MC, was beyond frustrating and it was just hard to read about any of the characters. It was also just really gory and made my stomach turn a few times. I wasn’t expecting this collection to be so graphic since it’s labeled as YA.
11. Wasps – 4 stars – This was a really good one and another that I feel fits super well into this collection. This is following our MC who is currently dealing with her and her mother’s home being taken away by a neighbor. They’re constantly working to cover legal bills while also protecting the home from the neighbor breaking in. Our MC notices a break in and begins to act a bit strangely.
This was so good and I was rooting so hard for the MC. This is definitely a comeuppance story and it’s very unique with the method. This is one that I would love to become a full length story or a novella. There’s such a cool history behind the story that obviously wasn’t explored.
12. Hell is Other Demons – 1 star – This is actually my least favorite of all of the stories just because it was easily the worst written. It was so choppy and felt as if this were a first draft of some sort of fanfiction. This is following our MC who gets dragged into being part of a summoning of a demon by her friend’s boyfriend and honestly I don’t think I could tell you the rest of the plot because I kept zoning out. That’s how bad the writing was. It just didn’t feel edited and was so weird to read.
13. The Road to Hell – 5 stars – I’m obsessed. This was genius for a story idea and that the collection ended with this. I’m not sure it 100% wrapped up the collection since it was more of a haunted house story than a “White Guy Dies First” story, but it was by far the coolest one and totally different than anything I’ve read. This is following our MC who is actually the haunted house. We learn everything from the house’s perspective and it’s literally so cool to see how the house got haunted and how it feels about situations and it slowly descending into madness. I loved it. I’m obsessed. This worked so well as a short story. I think this in long-form would have gotten boring, so this was perfect.
Overall: 2.92 so round up to a solid 3 which I feel is appropriate for the ups and downs I felt while reading it.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC to review!
This collection of stories is based in the terrible history of horror cinema (books as well) killing off the black or even any person of color first or second. They're always seen as castoff characters and it's happened so often that it's become a "joke" and a stereotype in horror. I love that this decides to flip that around and do things differently.
This won't have spoilers, but know it will be referencing the person who died vaguely because it's literally called "The White Guy Dies First" so we know that someone dies in all of the stories.
1. All Eyes on Me - 3 stars - This one started off really good and had fun writing, but I ended up not loving the morality of the ending. This story follows our main character who feels trapped in her current relationship with a racist boyfriend who clearly undervalues her for who she is. She ends up attending a circus with him and events unfold from there.
I normally love my heroine in a horror movie to overcome things and have righteous vengeance, but I feel kind of weird about the vengeance in this one. He definitely deserves some major retribution, but I don't know if to the extent that happened. I just felt a bit weird about this one.
2. Hedge - 1 star - Yikes. This pretty much just confirmed that me and Kalynn Bayron are not meant to be as reader and writer. This is following our main character whose father died a few years ago in mysterious and grostesque circumstances. He ends up tagging along with his brother and his brother's friends to the place where the father died. Strange things happen from there.
This is definitely one I feel like doesn't belong in this collection? That may just be more, but this felt out of place and was just a misery to read. I think horror fans who don't mind depressing endings will potentially be a fan of this. I like some sort of hope so this isn't the one for me.
3. The Golden Dragon - 5 stars - NOW THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. This was literally everything I wanted from this collection. This is following our main character who is Korean American and she works at her parents Chinese restaurant. She's made friends with a group of racist white people who can't tell or don't care to tell the difference between difference asian races. Her sister is really skeptical of the group and is always telling her that the friends and her boyfriend are just using her. One night she goes with her friends to a garden or something similar and events happen at that point.
This was the retribution I was waiting for and I'm completely obsessed with this story. I loved the creepy horror aspects and the twist at the end (even though it was kind of obvious). It was just absolutely perfect for this type of collection.
4. Best Served Cold - 1 star - Well we are back to a style of horror that I'm not a fan of. I do love the writing style of this one and I love that it's following a Native American MC. This is following our main character who is trying to reconnect with her heritage. She has a good relationship with her brother who is in a situationship/friendship with this perfect looking white guy that our MC is a little suspicious of. One night her car breaks down and unexpected things happen.
Again, I liked the writing and the general story, but it was grotesque. Like was making me physically ill reading. I also, again, hate hopeless endings and this one had a final twist I didn't love. I think I would have put this higher if the ending had been different.
5. The Protege - 2 stars - At this point in the collection, I'm just exhausted. None of these stories were exactly what I was picturing and this one, again, just didn't hit. This is another one where I loved the beginning. This has such a cool and creepy premise and the writing was great that I was totally drawn into the story until it got weird. This is following our main character who is a kid learning magic from his neighbor. The neighbor ends up leaving a box with the boy and the box causes problems to arise and changes his life forever.
This one honestly just got super weird at the end. I didn't love what happened after we found out what was in the box. It was unexpected and not in the best way. Again, another one that felt like everyone was being punished. I'm starting to think at this point that maybe horror anthologies are also not for me.
6. Docile Girls - 4 stars - Okay so this was basically the first story, but more slasher so I ended up liking this one way better. I think the first story was a bit underdeveloped so it just didn't hit as hard as this one. This is definitely the definition of a slasher and fit soooo well into this collection. It was very on-the-nose. This is following our MC who has just been dumped by her uber popular boyfriend, turning her into a social outcast. She refuses to be defeated so ends up going to help set up for a school event when they're all suddenly locked inside. Bodies start dropping one by one and one of them has to be the killer.
I really think this one just worked so well because it's my exact horror style that I like. The heroine gets her revenge and the bad guys go down. I also just generally enjoy the slasher genre more than other genres in horror. It worked really well and I liked how it was written and the characters were developed.
7. Gray Grove - 2 stars - I kind of just don't get this one? It feels so incomplete and random. I think this one would have made for a good novella, but it felt underdeveloped and not finished as a short story. This one is following our MC who is one part of a podcast duo. Rumi is more of the behind the scenes person and does all the heavy lifting. Her and Kaitlin go to a plantation to tell the story of Kyle who died in the marsh after attacking William, a black boy he'd been bullying. Rumi and Kaitlin have a difference in opinion about what should be on the podcast and there are repercussions.
I really liked the story until the end wasn't actually an end. This almost felt like a free sample from Amazon of a book where you can read the first three pages and then you get the whole book. I do love the social commentary and it brings up the issues of having weddings on plantations and it's discussed in a very short and direct way that really makes you think about it. But... that ending? It just didn't really feel thought out.
8. Everything's Coming Up Roses - 5 stars – Wow wow wow. This one was honestly phenomenal and it even had tropes that I hate and I still loved it. This short story tells the plot through a series of diary entries that are in evidence for some sort of crime. We meet our main character who is an 18 kid who is dealing with some difficult mental health issues. Slowly as we read we learn more and more about the situation.
I literally can’t say anything else because it’s a creeping dread story so I definitely don’t want to give anything away. This was phenomenal. It really makes me want to read a full length novel by Tiffany D. Jackson. This was just so well done and I can’t say enough great things about this one.
9. Heaven – 4 stars – This reminded me so much of parts of Annihilation. This is following our main character who lives in a place called Heaven that is a locked area that holds the last of humanity after the Sunken occurred. Our MC’s girlfriend goes missing and he decides he needs to search for her and uncovers a long-kept secret.
This was so unique compared to the other stories in the collection. I really wasn’t expecting it and this is straight up horror Sci-Fi. It was just so interesting and I didn’t see where the story was going. This was a really good surprise
10. Break Through Our Skin – 1 star – This is a no from me. This was a really gory story that just didn’t work for me. This is following our MC who is struggling with being a transgender individual in a society that degrades people like them. They’re not currently out and struggle with that throughout the story. They are currently working for an archeologist who is bigoted and racist in his beliefs, which our MC just deals with to get a good recommendation. When the museum gets a prestigious new artifact, a new world opens up.
There was so much I wanted to like about this story, but none of it ended up working for me when put all together. I like the representation of a trans character in this collection and I loved the countdown and what the countdown ended up standing for. Other than those two things, this story was unbearable. Everyone, including our MC, was beyond frustrating and it was just hard to read about any of the characters. It was also just really gory and made my stomach turn a few times. I wasn’t expecting this collection to be so graphic since it’s labeled as YA.
11. Wasps – 4 stars – This was a really good one and another that I feel fits super well into this collection. This is following our MC who is currently dealing with her and her mother’s home being taken away by a neighbor. They’re constantly working to cover legal bills while also protecting the home from the neighbor breaking in. Our MC notices a break in and begins to act a bit strangely.
This was so good and I was rooting so hard for the MC. This is definitely a comeuppance story and it’s very unique with the method. This is one that I would love to become a full length story or a novella. There’s such a cool history behind the story that obviously wasn’t explored.
12. Hell is Other Demons – 1 star – This is actually my least favorite of all of the stories just because it was easily the worst written. It was so choppy and felt as if this were a first draft of some sort of fanfiction. This is following our MC who gets dragged into being part of a summoning of a demon by her friend’s boyfriend and honestly I don’t think I could tell you the rest of the plot because I kept zoning out. That’s how bad the writing was. It just didn’t feel edited and was so weird to read.
13. The Road to Hell – 5 stars – I’m obsessed. This was genius for a story idea and that the collection ended with this. I’m not sure it 100% wrapped up the collection since it was more of a haunted house story than a “White Guy Dies First” story, but it was by far the coolest one and totally different than anything I’ve read. This is following our MC who is actually the haunted house. We learn everything from the house’s perspective and it’s literally so cool to see how the house got haunted and how it feels about situations and it slowly descending into madness. I loved it. I’m obsessed. This worked so well as a short story. I think this in long-form would have gotten boring, so this was perfect.
Overall: 2.92 so round up to a solid 3 which I feel is appropriate for the ups and downs I felt while reading it.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-ARC to review!
August 10, 2024
In this volume, thirteen authors explore the dimensions of fear, terror, and horror, along with the concept of identity (from the concept of race, ethnicity, gender, and sexuality) and how that often places people into the category of “other,” with a feeling of isolation and a lack of safety that causes a kind of existential terror in and of itself. The authors don’t hold back on the horror, scary imagery, disturbing subject matter, and gore while bucking the trend of choosing marginalized people to victimize first in horror stories. This volume is definitely one for older teens horror buffs, who love a good scare and aren’t traumatized by stories with visceral imagery and a pervasive sense of dread that will keep them on the edge of their seat, touching on practically all the different categories of horror you can think of. I'm kind of a wuss, so some of the stories were a lot for me, but they were all really well-written and had me on the edge of my seat.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5.0 stars
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine. http://affairedecoeur.com
Advanced Review Copy provided by Netgalley courtesy of Tor Teen.
Overall Rating: 4.5/5.0 stars
Reviewed for Affaire de Coeur Magazine. http://affairedecoeur.com
Advanced Review Copy provided by Netgalley courtesy of Tor Teen.
June 28, 2024
This was one of my most anticipated releases of 2024, but sadly it fell completely flat for me. I couldn’t finish this collection.
Firstly, I do want to mention something that I did enjoy. I absolutely loved the intro to the collection. It gave the collection as a whole purpose and an even deeper story! The intro really had me excited for the stories! However, this book is not what I thought it would be…
I was expecting this collection to be horror stories that empowered people of color, but these stories just center whiteness & racial trauma. I probably should have known from the title that the collection would center whiteness, but I genuinely thought this collection would flip the common trope of Black people & people of color dying first in horror on its head, but it didn’t.
Every story is about racism or wanting to be white/fit in with white people. Why do all of these characters of color have such racist friends? I will mention that I had the privilege of growing up as a Black person in almost exclusively predominantly Black experiences. All of my schools were predominantly Black, I was hardly ever a minority surrounded by white people. So, maybe that’s why I don’t understand choosing to be friends with or date racists. But, that just felt unbelievable to me.
Another thing that bothered me is this: why does the white guy have to be racist to die first in EVERY story??? In all the movies and books where the Black person or person of color dies first, they didn’t have to deserve it. They were killed first whether they were good people or not. So, what bothers me is that it seems like this book feels the need to justify the white guy’s death with him always being racist. If we, Black people & POC, in these circumstances never have to deserve our death to be murdered, what makes the white guy any different? The white guy can just die without being racist, with no justification, just like us for all these years. THAT is how you turn the trope on its head.
Those things just made this collection disappointing for me as a Black reader CRAVING more BIPOC horror where WE are centered. I usually don’t read racism horror, I see enough of racism in real life, so I couldn’t enjoy this collection with so much blatant racism & micro aggressions in every single story without being prepared for that. Maybe one day I’ll come back to this knowing that it is racism horror and enjoy it more because I’ll be prepared for the anger and annoyance that comes with it, but for now, I won’t be continuing.
side note: out of all the stories I read, I can say that I did enjoy H. E. Edgmon’s story Best Served Cold!
Thank you Tor Teen and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.
Firstly, I do want to mention something that I did enjoy. I absolutely loved the intro to the collection. It gave the collection as a whole purpose and an even deeper story! The intro really had me excited for the stories! However, this book is not what I thought it would be…
I was expecting this collection to be horror stories that empowered people of color, but these stories just center whiteness & racial trauma. I probably should have known from the title that the collection would center whiteness, but I genuinely thought this collection would flip the common trope of Black people & people of color dying first in horror on its head, but it didn’t.
Every story is about racism or wanting to be white/fit in with white people. Why do all of these characters of color have such racist friends? I will mention that I had the privilege of growing up as a Black person in almost exclusively predominantly Black experiences. All of my schools were predominantly Black, I was hardly ever a minority surrounded by white people. So, maybe that’s why I don’t understand choosing to be friends with or date racists. But, that just felt unbelievable to me.
Another thing that bothered me is this: why does the white guy have to be racist to die first in EVERY story??? In all the movies and books where the Black person or person of color dies first, they didn’t have to deserve it. They were killed first whether they were good people or not. So, what bothers me is that it seems like this book feels the need to justify the white guy’s death with him always being racist. If we, Black people & POC, in these circumstances never have to deserve our death to be murdered, what makes the white guy any different? The white guy can just die without being racist, with no justification, just like us for all these years. THAT is how you turn the trope on its head.
Those things just made this collection disappointing for me as a Black reader CRAVING more BIPOC horror where WE are centered. I usually don’t read racism horror, I see enough of racism in real life, so I couldn’t enjoy this collection with so much blatant racism & micro aggressions in every single story without being prepared for that. Maybe one day I’ll come back to this knowing that it is racism horror and enjoy it more because I’ll be prepared for the anger and annoyance that comes with it, but for now, I won’t be continuing.
side note: out of all the stories I read, I can say that I did enjoy H. E. Edgmon’s story Best Served Cold!
Thank you Tor Teen and NetGalley for this arc. All opinions are my own.
April 3, 2024
Thank you netgalley for this ARC i been hearing about this one and the cover really caught my eye i love the colors together its great. When i saw all the amazing talented authors and owning books from them or have read some in this collection of stories i needed to read this one and the stories were GREAT the thing with me when i read short stories alot of them sometime miss for me but this one had SO MANY good stories i loved them the concepts were great had amazing elements of scary/horror based stuff just the right amount to keep the reader reading. I know i say this alot when i read short stories but i do feel like this novel will have a story for everyone. Terry did an amazing job putting this much talent and great story writers in this collection. If you love YA and short stories this one is for you.
I also loved so many of the leads in this novel as well even the side characters were great!
Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don’t stay dead....
A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever....
GREAT JOB everyone who wrote a story in this collection.
I also loved so many of the leads in this novel as well even the side characters were great!
Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don’t stay dead....
A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever....
GREAT JOB everyone who wrote a story in this collection.
October 4, 2024
1. all eyes on me (faridah abike-iyimide) - femininomenon (chappell roan)
-> belle + chiamaka if like... belle wasn't. you know. a fucking racist.
2. hedge (kalynn bayron) - guilty as sin (taylor swift)
-> one slip and falling back into the hedge maze, oh what a way to DIE!
3. the golden dragon (kendare blake) - fruits (paris paloma)
-> hot asian girls ending white people who are future rapists and racists?? yes pls
4. ghoulfriends online blog (terry benton-walker) - tainted love (soft cell)
-> so fucking cool. someone remind me to watch 'get out' this month
5. best served cold (h.e. egdmon) - an ode to eaters (ethel cain)
-> ethel cain would've absolutely loved these gays what the fuck
6. the protege (lamar giles) - northern attitude (noah kahan ft. hozier)
-> if i get too close and i'm not how you hoped, forgive my northern attitude
7. docile girls (chloe gong) - the water is fine (chloe ament)
-> so weird, definitely my least favorite chloe gong work but i still love her
8. gray grove (alexis henderson) - carolina (taylor swift)
-> it was giving a better where the crawdads sing
9. everything's coming up roses (tiffany jackson) - bang bang bang bang (sohodolls)
-> PLEASE LORD MAKE ME THE BIGGEST STAR THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN
10. heaven (adiba jaigirdar) - no surprises (radiohead)
-> if you liked this, check out the short film 'into the shadows' <3
11. break through our skin (naseem jamnia) - smells like teen spirit (nirvana)
-> oh my gosh queer body horror was so beautifully and gorily written... obsessed
12. wasps (mark oshiro) - mad woman (taylor swift)
-> oh my gosh i love poc ending racist white men and this DELIVERED!!
13. hell is other demons (karen strong) - strangers (ethel cain)
-> as a repressed ivy with a love for ethel cain & cannibalism as a metaphor for love... yes.
14. the road to hell (terry benton-walker) - sun-bleached flies (ethel cain)
-> this is so toxic and so loving and so possessive and i fucking love it
-> belle + chiamaka if like... belle wasn't. you know. a fucking racist.
2. hedge (kalynn bayron) - guilty as sin (taylor swift)
-> one slip and falling back into the hedge maze, oh what a way to DIE!
3. the golden dragon (kendare blake) - fruits (paris paloma)
-> hot asian girls ending white people who are future rapists and racists?? yes pls
4. ghoulfriends online blog (terry benton-walker) - tainted love (soft cell)
-> so fucking cool. someone remind me to watch 'get out' this month
5. best served cold (h.e. egdmon) - an ode to eaters (ethel cain)
-> ethel cain would've absolutely loved these gays what the fuck
6. the protege (lamar giles) - northern attitude (noah kahan ft. hozier)
-> if i get too close and i'm not how you hoped, forgive my northern attitude
7. docile girls (chloe gong) - the water is fine (chloe ament)
-> so weird, definitely my least favorite chloe gong work but i still love her
8. gray grove (alexis henderson) - carolina (taylor swift)
-> it was giving a better where the crawdads sing
9. everything's coming up roses (tiffany jackson) - bang bang bang bang (sohodolls)
-> PLEASE LORD MAKE ME THE BIGGEST STAR THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN
10. heaven (adiba jaigirdar) - no surprises (radiohead)
-> if you liked this, check out the short film 'into the shadows' <3
11. break through our skin (naseem jamnia) - smells like teen spirit (nirvana)
-> oh my gosh queer body horror was so beautifully and gorily written... obsessed
12. wasps (mark oshiro) - mad woman (taylor swift)
-> oh my gosh i love poc ending racist white men and this DELIVERED!!
13. hell is other demons (karen strong) - strangers (ethel cain)
-> as a repressed ivy with a love for ethel cain & cannibalism as a metaphor for love... yes.
14. the road to hell (terry benton-walker) - sun-bleached flies (ethel cain)
-> this is so toxic and so loving and so possessive and i fucking love it
August 30, 2024
Name one bad story in this anthology, no I’ll wait. But fr. All hits no misses. And what a line up of authors. They are so creative with their stories. I mean the last one being from the point of view of a haunted house? A hit. Chloe Gong, girly write some more horror please! I know you write fantasy and historical stuff, but please consider a genre change. I wanted to read more from these stories. I’m like okay and then what happens. Also love that the beginning and end are both like set ups for this all being found scripts. Like so clever. I have to say too that body horror freaks and grosses me the fuck out. The representation of not only race, but sexuality and gender was in insane. This is why you also can’t name a better anthology that takes the horror game to a whole new level. Truly a fun read. Check it out!
April 4, 2024
What a whirlwind of short stories! I told myself originally that I was going to take it slow and read one story per day but I got completely sucked in. I loved almost all of the stories and one even almost made me sick to my stomach, which is a win for the horror genre. I loved the diverse representation that each author brought to their story and the advocacy for issues that their culture faces.
My favorite story in this was The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake. Someone about the story really resonated with me. It such a beautiful and heartbreaking story that touches on very real micro and marco aggressions that BIPOC citizens in America face.
This is really my first even toe dip into horror and I think I like it? I was definitely spooked and gasped at many many moments but overall, I enjoyed this collection so much. I will definitely be rereading some of the stories when spooky season comes back around! Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for this ARC.
My favorite story in this was The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake. Someone about the story really resonated with me. It such a beautiful and heartbreaking story that touches on very real micro and marco aggressions that BIPOC citizens in America face.
This is really my first even toe dip into horror and I think I like it? I was definitely spooked and gasped at many many moments but overall, I enjoyed this collection so much. I will definitely be rereading some of the stories when spooky season comes back around! Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for this ARC.
September 24, 2024
"Are you ready to enter Hell?"
This was such a fun anthology of stories! I loved the beginning and the lore. It starts with a blog post and some interested information about these stories. It does wrap up at the end and I loved the added twist to the stories.
And this set of stories are really good. I did this as an audio book and each story had such a good narrator that really brought the story alive. I walked at night during these stories and it added perfectly to the dark, gory feel of the story. There were so many that I would have loved turned into full books. These are definitely authors I will look for to read more from!
This was such a fun anthology of stories! I loved the beginning and the lore. It starts with a blog post and some interested information about these stories. It does wrap up at the end and I loved the added twist to the stories.
And this set of stories are really good. I did this as an audio book and each story had such a good narrator that really brought the story alive. I walked at night during these stories and it added perfectly to the dark, gory feel of the story. There were so many that I would have loved turned into full books. These are definitely authors I will look for to read more from!
October 11, 2024
One of my new favorite horror anthologies me thinks! Masterfully put together with authors who know how to write and know how to write for horror.
I listened to the audiobook and HIGHLY recommend!!!! The voice actors put their whole *redacted* into each story. Some of the best audio production I’ve listened to.
I listened to the audiobook and HIGHLY recommend!!!! The voice actors put their whole *redacted* into each story. Some of the best audio production I’ve listened to.
July 4, 2024
ADVANCE LISTEN REVIEW
Synopsis: Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don’t stay dead....
A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever....
These stories are filled with ancient terrors and modern villains, but go ahead, go into the basement, step onto the old plantation, and open the magician’s mystery box because this time, the white guy dies first.
Edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker, including stories from bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming contributors: Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J. Benton-Walker.
Review: I absolutely loved this. I thought all thirteen stories were incredibly compelling and I listened to it in one go. I highly recommend this. This is short story horror at its best.
Synopsis: Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don’t stay dead....
A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever....
These stories are filled with ancient terrors and modern villains, but go ahead, go into the basement, step onto the old plantation, and open the magician’s mystery box because this time, the white guy dies first.
Edited by Terry J. Benton-Walker, including stories from bestselling, award-winning, and up-and-coming contributors: Adiba Jaigirdar, Alexis Henderson, Chloe Gong, Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, H. E. Edgmon, Kalynn Bayron, Karen Strong, Kendare Blake, Lamar Giles, Mark Oshiro, Naseem Jamnia, Tiffany D. Jackson, and Terry J. Benton-Walker.
Review: I absolutely loved this. I thought all thirteen stories were incredibly compelling and I listened to it in one go. I highly recommend this. This is short story horror at its best.
September 13, 2024
I'd say about 10 of these stories were fantastic and the other 3 were just ok. All of them were funny, modern tales by a fresh intake of horror writers some of whom I'd heard of and some I had not. They all felt like a breath of fresh air and I can't wait to read from again.
However, (there's always a but with anthologies isn't there?) I was glad they were short. I never felt I wanted more from the stories - except for Hell is Other Demons by Karen Strong - that one I thought would be a Supernatural-esque series as we learn about the Valet and lesser known demons getting banished back to hell. Could be fun???
However, (there's always a but with anthologies isn't there?) I was glad they were short. I never felt I wanted more from the stories - except for Hell is Other Demons by Karen Strong - that one I thought would be a Supernatural-esque series as we learn about the Valet and lesser known demons getting banished back to hell. Could be fun???
June 10, 2024
Got an arc from work!
This was a good solid collection of short stories and I thoroughly enjoyed more than I didn’t. I loved the variety and they’re all pretty fast reads! I think my favorites were The Golden Dragon, Best Served Cold, Gray Grove, and Everything’s Coming Up Roses.
This was a good solid collection of short stories and I thoroughly enjoyed more than I didn’t. I loved the variety and they’re all pretty fast reads! I think my favorites were The Golden Dragon, Best Served Cold, Gray Grove, and Everything’s Coming Up Roses.
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