The White Guy Dies First

I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group. The opinions expressed are entirely my own. 

A YA horror anthology by BIPOC Authors and featuring BIPOC characters. Many, but not all, also have lgbtqia content. Like most anthologies, this one is a bit of a mixed bag, with some stories  working better for me than others. By order in the book:

“All Eyes on Me” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. I wanted to love this one, but it didn't really work for me. 

“Hedge” -⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 - Creepy and effective. 

“The Golden Dragon” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Revenge with an unexpected twist. 

“Best Served Cold” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. Equal parts scary and gross. Chef's kiss. 

“The Protege” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. A magician's apprentice gets in over his head. Meh. 

“Docile Girls” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2. Possibly suffered a bit by coming after The Golden Dragon and covering similar themes. Solid, slasher based story. 

“Grey Grove” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Ghosthunter style podcasters explore a haunted mansion. Kinda predictable. 

“Everything's Coming up Roses” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 1/2 - told by journal entries, it starts seeming fairly normal and gradually becomes more creepy. Really worked for me. 

“Heaven” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️. A post-apocalyptic tale about who the real monsters are. It went on a bit too long and didn't really land for me. 

“Break Through Our Skin” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 - A non-binary youth struggles with being accepted, encounters ancient powerful spirit. Features body horror (not my fave) and destruction. 

“Wasps” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - A girl taps into eldrich power to defend her home. 

“Hell Is Other Demons” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Demon summoning and ghostly possession. 

“The Road to Hell” - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2 - A haunted house story told from the POV of the house.