Patrice Caldwell

Black girls, including gender non-conforming individuals, star in this collection of sixteen stories of fantasy, science fiction, and magic.

Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope

A Phoenix First Must Burn

Sahi K

I’ve only read Kindred by Octavia Butler but I can totally see how much of an influence she must have had on budding readers and writers, especially young Black woman and I thought this collection of stories was a fitting tribute to her. Mostly fantastical tales with a bit of sci-fi and dystopia thrown in, these stories take their inspirations from various different cultures, folklores, historical as well as contemporary events and give us a glimpse of the different ways in which young Black women take destiny into their own hands and live their lives the way they want. It’s full of beautiful representation and despite elements of slavery and discrimination in some of the stories, I loved that most of these stories are fierce and passionate and full of hope. 


  WHEN LIFE HANDS YOU A LEMON FRUITBOMB by Amerie


As a time travel story, it was a bit confusing but that’s because I don’t read a lot of such stuff. But the discussion on war and peace and family, and specifically about what makes someone human was quite emotional to read about. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5


  GILDED by Elizabeth Acevedo


The story of a young woman born into slavery who even though has the chance to secure freedom for herself, realizes she can do more. This was beautiful as well as painful, but ultimately full of resilience and hope. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


  WHEREIN ABIGAIL FIELDS RECALLS HER FIRST DEATH AND, SUBSEQUENTLY, HER BEST LIFE by Rebecca Roanhorse


The story of a young woman having to choose between revenge, justice and love - this was a compelling story with a very sweet ending. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


  THE RULES OF THE LAND by Alaya Dawn Johnson


A story of love and sacrifice, this was about what lengths a person will go to protect the ones they love, even sometimes resorting to forcing and caging them. But ultimately it was about a young woman deciding to take her destiny into her own hands and be ready to take on anything that her uncertain future may throw at her. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


  A HAGIOGRAPHY OF STARLIGHT by Somaiya Daud


I loved that the magic in this story was derived through song and dance and it was described beautifully. The story was about the power of love and how even gods can’t remain unaffected by it and while I enjoyed the writing style, I can’t say I completely understood the story itself. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️


  MELIE by Justina Ireland


A story about a young girl who despite being discouraged by the high sorcerer, believes in her magical abilities and takes it upon herself to save her people. This was frankly a lot of fun to read.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5


  THE GODDESS PROVIDES by L.L. McKinney


A story of the perils of fanaticism, this one follows a young woman who had forsaken her goddess to finally realize the truth of her faith and what she has to do to make sure the faith is not misused. Quite a fascinating tale of treachery and retribution.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5


  HEARTS TURNED TO ASH by Dhonielle Clayton


A world where soulmates exist and heartbreak is literal, this is a cautionary tale of how a young girl should not give away her whole heart to a man when she is love, but also make sure that she loves herself too. Definitely an important message but felt a little too preachy.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5


  LETTING THE RIGHT ONE IN by Patrice Caldwell


This one features a young girl who has depression and as no one around her seems to understand her, she finds solace in her favorite vampire novels. This was both very sad as well as exciting, while being very relatable to me personally and it ends on a very hopeful note which I liked.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


  TENDER-HEADED by Danny Lore


Infused with magic, this is the story of how one young woman has to realize that her self worth doesn’t depend on how much money she can spend or give her friends, and that she needs to know who her true well wishers are. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5


  KISS THE SUN by Ibi Zoboi


I can’t say I completely understood the magic of this story with fire girls and shedding the skin and kissing the sun, but the self hatred some dark skinned girls have for their own color and the yearning for white skin was all too relatable. But I didn’t expect the story to take such a dark turn.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5


  THE ACTRESS by Danielle Paige


A story about a young actress who finds out the truth about an important part of herself and how she is able to cope with it, while also handling the harsh realities of Hollywood, this was both sweet and emotional. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5


  THE CURSE OF LOVE by Ashley Woodfolk


True love and a horrible curse go hand in hand in this story and both a young woman and her elder aunt have to figure out if the men they have fallen for are worth it. It was interesting to read but I just thought that ending was a bit sad more than hopeful. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5


  ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD by Charlotte Nicole Davis


This was like a sci-fi version of our present timeline, with the story touching on aspects of the Flint water crisis as well as the police shootings of Black people, while also adding some superpowers to the narrative. I thought it was both very realistic as well as intriguing and could work well as a longer story. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


  THE WITCH’S SKIN by Karen Strong


I don’t really wanna say a lot about this story but it has another young woman trying to do what’s best for her and her unborn child and showing a lot of resilience in desperate times. Very interesting story and another one which I thought could be a novel because it felt more like a beginning. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️


  SEQUENCE by J. Marcelle Corrie


In a world where Society decides every action of yours and an app predicts everything you’ll do, this was a fascinating look at a young woman trying to find her own path and maybe even choosing to go against the grain. 

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Jennifer

It's been a while since I've last read a short stories anthology. Anthologies can be a pretty mixed bag, but A Phoenix First Must Burn is quite an impressive collection of short stories written by a diverse group of Black female authors. This eclectic and magical collection are stories of pain, resistance, self-discovery, and hope - from the narratives of Black women. What stood out to me the most with this collection is the speculative elements as well as the cultural diversity. And through inspirations from the folklores and historical events, the narratives felt authentic and breathtaking all the same.

Out of the 16 short stories, my favourites are:

- The Rules of the Land
- A Hagiography of Starlight
- Melie
- Kiss The Sun

I found the writing styles in the 4 short stories mentioned above compelling. For example, A Hagiography of Starlight is a beautiful & cosmic tale about hope (and I found the metaphor on darkness and light very memorable). Both The Rules of the Land and Melie are packed with seaside magic. In the case of Melie, I really love how the fairytale elements are spun together portraying the difficulties of being a Black girl in a white men dominated society. Kiss The Sun is a summery and magical tale about celebrating who you are and being comfortable in your own skin.

Short stories with strong messaging are potent that they instill emotional impacts in short punches that left me reeling long after reading them. The impressive short stories in A Phoenix First Must Burn accomplished this feat. This is a highly enjoyable, diverse, and authentic collection full of #BlackGirlMagic and I am glad to discover so many new authors through this reading experience!

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

Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance and Hope

Kathleen Boyle

Firstly, I'm not a massive fan of short stories so this isn't utterly surprising for me. Some were good, some were a complete miss. Unfortunately, I think most stories focus too much on romance rather than the fantasy and sci-fi elements. The settings were always great and the bones of the stories amazing but romance overshadowed it more often than not. Also it took me almost a year to finish the collection...

Sam Pulliam

This is a collection of sci-fi and fantasy stories that are centered around black girl magic. It includes authors such as Elizabeth Acevedo, Ibi Zoboi, and Somaiya Daud.
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This was such a fun collection to read and each story was so different; there's truly something for everyone here. I can't talk about every story in this collection but some of my favorites are Melie by Justina Ireland which includes mermaids and feels like a classic fairy tale with a twist. I also enjoyed Wherein Abigail Fields Recalls Her First Death and, Subsequently Her Best Life by Rebecca Roanhorse. This has western vibes and sapphic characters. Lastly, I want to mention Letting the Right One In by Patrice Caldwell which has sapphic vampires?
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I definitely recommend reading the editor's note as it gives insight into the history and inspiration some of the specific stories draw from. It really enhances the reading experience.

Ken Gagne

Like most anthologies, this one was hit or miss. Of the 16 stories, I really enjoyed four: Justina Ireland's "Melie", L.L. McKinney's "The Goddess Provides", Patrice Caldwell's "Letting the Right One In", and Charlotte Nicole Davis' "All the Time in the World".

Kate

3.5* As it usually goes with anthologies, there was a mix of hits and misses within this collection but overall this was a very solid collection of fantasy short stories.

However, The necessity and importance of this being collection of stories exploring the Black experience (with many stories also starring LGBTQIAP+ characters) is paramount and Patrice's indroduction only solidified this. 

My favourite story from the collection has to be Justina Irelands, which filled me with so much joy. But I also adored Patrice Caldwell, Charlotte Nicole Davis and J. Marcelle Corrie's stories.

Here are a few of my thoughts and star ratings for each story:

When Life Gives You a Lemon Fruitbomb by Amerie: 2 Stars.

Overall the writing felt a little clunky and the plot was a bit all over the place. It felt as though it was trying to cram far too much into a short story. 

Gilded by Elizabeth Acevedo: 4 Stars.

I dare Elizabeth Acevedo to try and write something bad, just once, because I swear it’s the only thing she can’t do. 

Wherein Abigail Fields Recalls Her First Death by Rebecca Roanhorse: 3.5 Stars.

A short but powerful story of revenge, justice, police brutality featuring a subtle but adorable f/f romance. 

The Rules of the Land by Alaya Dawn Johnson: 1.5 Stars.

There was just... a lot going on in this, (possibly too much?) for such a short story. 

A Hagiography of Starlight by Somaiya Daud: 2 Stars.

This was unfortunately too high fantasy for me but I have no doubt highly fantasy fans will love it! 

Melie by Justina Ireland: 5 Stars.

This was EVERYTHING. It had dragons, fat mermaids, a fat witch MC and murderous unicorns, aka everything you could possibly want in a fantasy. It was perfectly paced for a short story and honestly? I just want a full length novel now please and thank you. 

The Goddess Provides by L.L. McKinney: 1.5 Stars.

I want to love high fantasy and I wanted to love this but I just didn’t and I don’t know why but I’m mad at myself for it. 

Hearts Turned to Ash by Dhonielle Clayton: 3.5 Stars.

Despite its melancholy story, this was such a joy to read. It was descriptive, mystical and heart wrenching with a lovely message. 

Letting the Right One In by Patrice Caldwell: 4.5 Stars.

This was SO GREAT. 

Tender-Headed by Danny Lore: 4 Stars.

This was such a lovely, subtly magical and moving story. 

Kiss The Sun by Ibi Zoboi: 3 Stars.

A unique, creative and powerful exploration of colourism. 

The Actress by Danielle Paige: 3 Stars.

This felt very 2008 YA in it’s writing and plot but honestly? It was so much fun, super cute and very nostalgic. 

The Curse of Love by Ashley Woodfolk: 3 Stars.

I’m not 100% sure I loved this but also, it was so interestingly written and unique that I definitely enjoyed it.

All the Time in the World by Charlotte Nicole Davis: 4.5 Stars.

This was FANTASTIC. There was so much depth and discussion in such a short story but it worked brilliantly? The superpower aspect was such a great way to explore very real issues (clean water crises and racism) and romance was really lovely. 

The Witch’s Skin by Karen Strong: 3 Stars.

This was such an interesting concept and I have a feeling it would have made an amazing full length novel but I didn’t totally love it as a short story.

Sequence by J. Marcelle Corrie: 5 Stars.

THIS WAS SO GOOD AND I WOULD LIKE FULL LENGTH NOVEL NOW PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

TW: homophobia, ableist language, racism

A Phoenix First Must Burn Sixteen Stories of Black Girl Magic, Resistance, and Hope

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