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A Phoenix First Must Burn: Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance and Hope Paperback – 19 Mar. 2020

by Patrice Caldwell (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 285 ratings
Teachers' pick for school years 1–9
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Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic. With stories by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Amerie, Patrice Caldwell, Dhonielle Clayton, J. Marcelle Corrie, Somaiya Daud, Charlotte Nicole Davis, Justina Ireland, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, L. L. McKinney, Danielle Paige, Rebecca Roanhorse, Karen Strong, Ashley Woodfolk, and Ibi Zoboi.

Evoking Beyoncé's Lemonade for a YA audience, these authors have woven worlds to create stunning narratives that centre Black women and gender nonconforming individuals.

With fantasy, science fiction and magic at their core, the stories are sharp, atmospheric and visual explorations of histories, relationships and alternate universes that you can't help but to get lost in.

It will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, trauma and heroism, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters in which you cannot help but see yourself reflected. Witches and scientists, sisters and lovers, priestesses and rebels: the heroines of A PHOENIX FIRST MUST BURN are unforgettable and shine brightly.
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  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Hot Key Books
  4. Publication date
    19 Mar. 2020
  5. Reading age
    14 years and up
  6. Dimensions
    12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm
  7. ISBN-10
    1471409309
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1471409301
  9. See all details
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Product description

Review

A Pheonix First Must Burn: Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance and Hope edited by Patrice Caldwell is a must read. The anthology contains 16 engrossing short stories by some of the best authors of colour. From Elizabeth Acevedo's story exploring a slave revolt in 1522 to Ibi Zoboi's piece inspired by Carribean lore to Somaiya Daud's entrancing fantasy and Patrice Caldwell's vampires reimagined, there is something in this anthology for everyone. ― The Scotsman

A treasure-house anthology of science fiction, fantasy and magic stories centred on black women. From a novice sorcerer who unleashes killer unicorns to a girl who can stop time, and another whose heart is slowing turning to ash, the collection is filled with beauty, fierceness and excitement. ― The Guardian

Sixteen stories of Black girl magic, hope and resistance have been gathered together by Patrice Caldwell into this unique collection. The tales are from bestselling and award-winning authors who explore the Black female experience through fantasy, science-fiction and magic. Engaging stories centre around strong women and gender-nonconforming individuals, existing in worlds from the past, present and the future. Folk tales are retold and alternative realities are explored. The characters are witches, schoolgirls, sisters, rebels - highlighting the fact that heroines come in all shapes and sizes. Bravery links all the characters, though they are dealing with a variety of issues, such as betrayal, trauma, relationships and first love. Like any collection, some stories will appeal more than others, though all are of a high standard. Patrice Caldwell has done a marvellous job of editing this collection, including different writing styles across the genres. Some of the stories almost feel too short, like they are just the beginning or are extracted from a longer adventure. A Phoenix First Must Burn is a fantastic resource. A contributors' section ends the book, which guides the reader towards what to read next ― Childrens Books Ireland

Book Description

Sixteen tales by bestselling and award-winning authors that explore the Black female experience through fantasy, science fiction, and magic.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Hot Key Books; 1st edition (19 Mar. 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1471409309
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1471409301
  • Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 285 ratings

About the authors

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  1. L.L. McKinney

    L.L. McKinney

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    Named one of the Root’s 100 most influential African Americans and BET’s 100 entertainers and innovators of the year, Leatrice “Elle” McKinney, writing as L.L. McKinney, is a bestselling author and advocate for equality and inclusion in publishing, as well as the creator of the hashtags #PublishingPaidMe and #WhatWoCWritersHear.

    A lover of comics, anime, video games, sci-fi, and fantasy, she strives to push these mediums toward representation that better reflects the diverse world we live in. Elle lives in Kansas City, spending her free time plagued by her two cats: Sir Chester Fluffmire Boopsnoot Purrington Wigglebottom Flooferson III, esquire, Baron o'Butterscotch and Lord Humphrey Blepernicus Zoomerson Wailingshire Toebeanstein Chirpingston IV, Breaker of Things I Love. Or Chester and Humphrey for short.

    Her works include the Nightmare-Verse books, Escaping Mr. Rochester, Nubia: Real One through DC, Marvel’s Black Widow: Bad Blood, Power Rangers: Heir to Darkness, and more.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Patrice Caldwell

    Patrice Caldwell

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
285 global ratings

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Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • Liv
    5.0 out of 5 stars Loved this book. Such a good read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 December 2022
    Verified Purchase
    This was such a good read. I could not put this book down.
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  • Amy Walker
    4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Black Anthology
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 July 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Anthology books are a good way to explore new authors. Most of the time I read an anthology book I come away from the experience with a list of new authors I want to check out, and invariably several books on my wishlist that weren't there before. A Phoenix First Must Burn is probably one of the anthologies that has given me the most new writers I want to read more of. Every story in this collection was great, and most of the stories ended way too soon for me and left me wanting more.

    Representation is such a hugely important thing. For those who don’t understand it, it can seem like a forcing of certain groups or minorities into narratives or roles. I’m sure we’ve all seen arguments made before along the lines of ‘these characters are only included to tick a box’, or ‘why make a character gay if it adds nothing to a story’. It’s easy to jump on the offensive when people say things like this, to condemn those kinds of views as homophobic, or racist, or transphobic. It’s easy to see condemnation of inclusion as hatred of minorities.

    What might not immediately come to people’s minds is that to some this inclusion seems forced because they’ve never experienced it before. They’ve never has someone in their shows, films, or comics who wasn’t white, or straight, or cis, or able bodied. But the thing that might make them see inclusiveness as tokenism is that they’ve never had to look for people like themselves in the media before. They’ve never been starved of positive representation, so they don’t understand why it’s important.

    A Phoenix First Must Burn is amazing in part for giving representation to a voices that are often ignored in the publishing world. Black female voices. It's not hard to see the difference that Black voices have to live with over white writers, the recent #PublishingPaidMe campaign really highlighted how little Black people get paid compared to their white colleagues, especially Black women. Publishers seem more than eager to print and promote work by white writers, but aren't always prepared to take that leap with Black creators. And the amount of reviews I've seen of Black fiction where it's described as being perfect for 'black audiences' instead of just perfect for all audiences is ridiculous. Black voices need to be shared far and wide, they need to be open for all to read and promoted no differently than white voices.

    This book take some amazing women of colour and showcases their work. It gives you a small sampling of their styles. It shows you how rich and wonderful, and varied, Black voices can be. And importantly, it doesn't just rely on telling 'Black' stories, stories that are rooted in the history of violence and oppression that Black people have faced. The book gives you pieces that draw on that history yes, but it's also full of science fiction, fantasy, and magic. Giving young Black women a book where they can see people like them in so many wonderful and varied stories and genre's is amazing, and needs to be celebrated.

    'Wherein Abigail Fields Recalls Her First Death And, Subsequently, Her Best Life' by Rebecca Roanhorse is a cool western story, one that deals with revenge and loss in a way that doesn't glorify the act, but still gives the lead character some kind of emotional resolution. 'Melie' by Justina Ireland is a great fantasy story that shows the ingenuity and intellect of its lead character, as well a giving readers a cool take on dragons. 'All The Time In The World' by Charlotte Nicole Davis is a fun tale about a young woman discovering amazing new powers to stop time, as well as her falling in love.

    I picked these stories out of a hat, and could spend so much time gushing over them, and ever story in this collection, but don't want to spoil too much of the experience for anyone. But these examples help to show the range of stories on offer. One is a gritty western story, another is a fantastical story with magic and dragons, and another is a story about super powers and gay love. But despite being so different from each other all the stories in this book share the common thread of highlighting how amazing Black female writers and characters are.

    The book also has a lot of queer representation in it too, and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community myself I adored how so many of the stories were about same sex attraction, and treated that as nothing different from heterosexual stories. They didn't try to make the queer content stand out or seem special, but treated it as a regular part of life. And I loved that.

    A Phoenix First Must Burn is a wonderful book. It tells amazing stories, and brings together so many brilliant writers. If you're looking for new authors to check out please pick up this book, as I'm sure there's going to be several in here that will capture your heart. And if you want to help support Black voices in publishing buy a copy too. Let's all fight for more positive representation in our literature, and push for more diverse, amazing voices like these.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Simone Simone
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2021
    Verified Purchase
    My daughter is really enjoying the stories in this book. She’s 14. The stories are unique and all really different. Some are set in the future and some in the past, but somehow they all feel connected.
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  • Haley R Flores
    5.0 out of 5 stars If you’re a fan of SFF and like short stories, I would, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend this
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 June 2020
    Perfection in 16 short stories and 337 pages.

    I don’t know about you all, but I actually tend to read anthologies at a slower rate than I would read books, I want to ‘digest’ each short story, they’re giving us so much in so few pages that I want to make sure I have really read and thought upon it.

    That being said, I still binge read the like last four stories, so sue me.

    What I loved most of this was the range and diversity of the stories within this book, we have romance, cautionary, revolutionary, queer [incl. nonbinary], scifi, fantasy, urban fantasy, vampire amazingness….I could keep going, but this is to give you an idea of what sort of stories you’ll come across.

    If you’re a fan of SFF and like short stories, I would, HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommend this, especially if you’re trying to diverse your shelf, this is a perfect book to add to it.
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  • Raisha Hayes
    4.0 out of 5 stars A must read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 September 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Another great anthology. I knew none of the authors in this book so I was excited and intrigued in what was about to transpire in all the different stories. There were a mix of SciFi, Fantasy, Contemporary, Dystopian and more. Pretty much a story for every person. The only thing letting this down from 5 star was that some of the stories seemed a bit random, as if they were snippets from a full book. Which is fine but caused more confusion when you're expecting a group of short stories. Overall, would recommend reading!
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Virginia SlythJetta
    5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite 2020 read!!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on 15 March 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I loved this book from beginning to end!!!! This was truly inspiring for me, a young black female, whom is working on my own novels. I have never felt proudly represented in so many fantasy stories and am truly grateful for the 16 writer's coming together to offer this gem.

    My heart feels so full with all of the Black Girl Magic this book offered. I did not want the stories to end and could not get enough of the stories and craved MORE!! It ranged from witches to aliens, folklore and adventures involving dragons and MAGIC!!!!!!

    It felt like a catalog of recommended author's to follow, which I will do. This is a great break from the plethora of caucus centered books that feature no one of color to ONLY including POC as background characters to sooner or later kill off.
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  • Amazon Customer
    2.0 out of 5 stars For young adults.
    Reviewed in India on 15 October 2020
    Verified Purchase
    The book was in perfect condition but I am giving it two stars because on Instagram the editor of this book itself, Patrice Caldwell told me that this book can be read by 10-year-olds or more ages but when I started reading, it seemed best for 16+.
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  • adparrish
    5.0 out of 5 stars Must read. Can’t put down.
    Reviewed in the United States on 4 July 2020
    Verified Purchase
    I am in love. This is one of those anthologies I will go back to and read over and over. I want to say each story was more amazing than the last but that’s not true. They are all amazing in their own way but every story does make you even more eager for the next one. There is something here for everyone, from fun fantasy to the darker side of magic, lots of fun sci-fi, and hopeful romance.
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  • Kayla's Bestie
    4.0 out of 5 stars Suprised me ....
    Reviewed in the United States on 15 March 2020
    Verified Purchase
    .... I read the book in a whole weekend. Tuning everything and everyone out. Loved the many different writers. It was refreshing being exposed to different cultures, as well as different types of writing styles. Made me want to go and explore the world of a few authors who contributed.
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  • M Schulz
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!!!!
    Reviewed in the United States on 20 February 2021
    Verified Purchase
    All of the stories in this anthology made me wish there was more, that I could spend more time with these characters, in their worlds. Every story is gorgeous, well-crafted, and entertaining. Definitely recommend this book!
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