emma's Reviews > On Girlhood: 15 Stories from the Well-Read Black Girl Library

i love when i have the presence of mind to review short story collections story by story as i go.

story 1: girl by jamaica kincaid
everyone has read this story before, i think, but that doesn't make it any less good when it comes up again.
rating: 4

story 2: recitatif by toni morrison
some stories should have handle with care warnings on them. i can't believe i'm expected to have this and the normal responsibilities of my daily life packed into the same set of hours.
rating: 4.5

story 3: the richer, the poorer by dorothy west
sisters :)
rating: 3.5

story 4: fifth sunday by rita dove
the drama of it all!
rating: 3

story 5: who we are by camille acker
everything i could say about this, like "perspective can do so much!" and "the ending of this is insightful!" is very corny so i will not.
rating: 4

story 6: the lesson by toni cade bambara
this is about teaching kids about the power of economic inequality, and if i learned one thing from my years of babysitting, it's that there's nothing quite as fun as radicalizing children.
rating: 3.5

story 7: dance for me by amina gautier
goddamn. high school, y'know?
what a hellscape.
rating: 3.5

story 8: bad behavior by alexia arthurs
it do be so tough to be a girl.
rating: 3.5

story 9: melvin in the sixth grade by dana johnson
the thing about a story that perfectly brings you back to elementary school feelings is that they suck and i hate it and i don't want to feel them, actually.
rating: 3.5

story 10: everyday use by alice walker
if there is one lesson to be taken away from this month of reading, it's that i need to read more alice walker.
rating: 4

story 11: we're the only colored people here by gwendolyn brooks
"But she was learning to love moments. To love moments for themselves.
ah so lovely.
rating: 4

story 12: seeing things simply by edwidge danticat
i haven't mentioned until now that each of these stories are divided into sections by theme - innocence, belonging, love.
this one is self-discovery and it is perfectly that.
rating: 3.75

story 13: in a house of wooden monkeys by shay youngblood
rad title, rad author's name.
well this was out of the ordinary!!!
rating: 3.5

story 14: reena by paule marshall
another thing i haven't mentioned until now: this book has discussion questions at the end of each story. it is very sweet and it does actually help me to think through each story before moving onto the next, which i sometimes struggle with when it comes to collections like this.
rating: 4

story 15: how it feels to be colored me by zora neale hurston
this is marked as the epilogue, which is odd but interesting!
nobody can write like zora neale hurston.
rating: 4.5

overall
i don't know when the last time i read an anthology like this was. i have read a lot of short story collections of late, but one where all the stories are by various authors and were published already...maybe i never have except for school?
regardless, it was a great experience, and i think did wonders for my Black History Month project. there are only so many authors i can get to otherwise.
rating: 4

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currently-reading updates

the only thing better than books = books about books

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reading books by Black authors for Black History Month!

book 1: caste
book 2: business not as usual
book 3: the color purple
book 4: the parking lot attendant
book 5: kindred
book 6: wrapped up in you
book 7: the boyfriend project
book 8: a song below water
book 9: filthy animals
book 10: passing
book 11: seven days in june
book 12: ayiti
book 13: notes of a native son
book 14: mediocre
book 15: sister outsider
book 16: the blue road
book 17: the fastest way to fall
book 18: real life
book 19: girl, woman, other
book 20: things fall apart
book 21: this close to okay
book 22: on girlhood