Initial reaction: So I'll probably give this collection between 3 and 3.5 stars. Need to think about it a little more. I would put my enjoyment of it at about the same as "Blackout" - some of these stories were very strong while others didn't quite have the impact I hoped they would have. I think as I showcase each of the character stories, it'll be a bit clearer as to why some of these had more of an impact on me than others. I think teens will like this collection if they liked "Blackout". It might be a little more difficult to follow to start with because the stories intertwine with each other, but it gets easier the further it goes. I liked all of the audiobook narrators this time around.
As to who wrote what, these clues are given at the end of the audiobook - I'll probably try to figure them out and lay out my thoughts on them when I get the chance:
Stevie and Sola - "self-professed love grump of the group" - (First guess is Nicola Yoon. I'm guessing because she contributed to the anthology "Because You Love to Hate Me." The overarching story was good, though some parts are a little difficult to follow and uneven.)
Kaz - "written by a Christmas queen" - (I think this might be Tiffany D. Jackson based on her picture book story "Santa in the City", I liked Kaz's story for the most part.)
E.R. - "written by the only Atlanta native among us who is also an airport lover" (This is definitely Nic Stone's story. Unfortunately, I thought this was the weakest story in the collection this time around.)
Jordyn - "written by the only author who is a rapper" (This is definitely Angie Thomas, for sure. And I rather liked this story, far more than the story she had in "Blackout".)
Jimi - "written by the author who has always wanted to be a rock star and whose books always include music" (This is my favorite story in the collection, y'all. It was very well written. I want to say this is Ashley Woodfolk's story. I'm not sure because I haven't read all of her works to know if they feature music. If so, I need to read everything of hers, stat.)
Ava and Mason - "written by the author who once wrote a kiss scene that lasted 4 pages; her editor made her shorten it." (Process of elimination, this may be Dhionelle Clayton's story. If so, this was good. I liked it. It would also make sense because it has a similar vibe to her previous story in "Blackout". I liked the attention to science and sea creatures in this one.)
Full review:
So we have another timely anthology - notably for the winter season - from the same authors of "Blackout." Six authors and several interweaving narratives in the mix, "Whiteout" tells the primary story of a sapphic romance in disarray and the attempts of Stevie, with the help of her friends, to win back the affections of Sola. I mentioned each of the character names and who likely wrote those narrative based on the "clues" given in the "Author's Note" at the end of the audiobook in my pre-review. I think I'm going to hold to those guesses unless someone tells me "Rose, you mixed them up," because they make sense for both narrative style and per the hints given for each section. Feel free to tell me in the comments below.
"Whiteout" is structured a little differently than "Blackout" was, and admittedly I had to get used to that. Unlike the latter, "Whiteout" doesn't have distinct sections where you can tell who wrote what part of the story despite the interweaving narrative. I kind of liked the short story format of "Blackout" and the definitive distinctions, but YMMV on the structuring between these two collections. The primary couple - and the one that is interwoven between all the stories - is Stevie and Sola. Stevie is a rather clumsy brainiac who doesn't really have a grip on understanding the nuances of being in love and showing affection. So when she massively screws up a big night with meeting Sola and her family, Stevie doesn't know what to do to win Sola back. Worse, a massive snowstorm is set to hit Atlanta where they live. Sola gives Stevie an ultimatum - apologize to her and her family properly or they'll split for good. Makes sense that Stevie wants to plan something big to show her affections for Sola, to show that she cares and will do anything to win her back. But can Stevie do it before midnight with the elements in play, alongside help from friends?
I'll start with my thoughts on Stevie and Sola's stories. I wish that we had more narrative points from Sola to balance out with Stevie, despite Stevie being the main character here. I'm guessing since Stevie is doing most of the planning and dialogue with the other characters, it makes sense that she has more scene time. But Sola's piece gives a significant chunk of detail as to what Stevie did to ruin their big night and the primary driver of the conflict through this novel, which is understandable and made sense as to why Sola wasn't speaking to Stevie so easily after what happened. Their overarching story is one with emotional turns and may be a little over the top to the point where it's hard to suspend disbelief, but at least I understood it. Stevie read to me as someone who has the kind of personality who is often in her head and doesn't do well outwardly showcasing affection and I could somewhat relate (*points to herself, INTJ y'all*), but there were times that she definitely came across as being too callous to Sola's feelings and mindset. Not so much a story flaw as it is a character flaw.
The problem I had with this part of the story were the pacing issues and plot holes where it made the narrative disjointed. For a story with this as the primary intersection of all these narratives, it could have been better for structure than it was, but I appreciated the thought behind it. The main interweaving narrative of "Blackout" was much stronger than this, so I think on an overarching note, it was harder to think of this book as stronger than the former when it had issues portraying the story with this pairing. By no means the weakest part of this collection, but it could have had things tweaked to improve it. I'd give Stevie and Sola's story 3/5 stars overall.
Next up in the group of friends is Kaz. I keep going back and forth as to how I felt about this part of the story because while I liked the intent behind it and the overarching narrative, there were parts of it I didn't love. Kaz decides that tonight's the night he's going to confess to his best friend that he feels more for her than he's been letting on, but she gets invited to a huge party which she drags him along to get ready for. They're at the mall and are subsequently stuck by the impending storm. Kaz is resentful of the fact that Porsha drags him along to so many holiday themed celebrations, but feels she doesn't have the same reverence for his traditions (Ramadan/Eid) or willingness to bring her along for things, rather than her dragging him around. The two have to work through that conflict subsequently. For me, the rationale for the conflict was a bit disjointed for presentation (even more petty than suspension of disbelief would allow), so that took away from it, but I did like that this had them showcasing a number of different traditions during the holiday season. I'd give Kaz's section 3.5/5 stars.
Next we have E.R. I did not like E.R.'s story, if I'm being honest. It's an intermediary story where E.R. and her LI are stuck at the airport and explores jealous feelings between an old relationship and the current one. E.R. is bi, so this story explores her navigating between a reunion with her on/off girlfriend and brief summer fling having a reunion at the airport. (Awkward.) It also was an exposition of Stevie and Sola's journey, which would have been better given in their sections, alongside the task she has to do to help Stevie's plan succeed. The gloating over how handsome/attractive the character's brother-in-law was...was weird. The details for this blended together for me and I found I really didn't care about E.R.'s character as much as I wanted to. Considering Nic Stone had one of the stronger stories in "Blackout" for me apart from a few issues, I had to wonder what happened with this one. It wasn't romantic to me, more like a hot mess and a half. Gets a .5 star boost for having a good narrator, though. I'd give E.R.'s section 1.5/5 stars.
Sola's individual section comes after this one, but I've already reviewed that above, so we'll keep going.
Next up is Jordyn's story, and I liked this story a lot. Stuck in a traffic jam during the snowstorm, Jordyn is racing to try to not only complete what task she has for Stevie, but also attend her younger sister Jimi's performance. Liked the reference to Michael Jordan in here. Loved the chemistry between Jordyn and her LI a lot. This also explored some pretty difficult emotions considering Jordyn's birth mother and wanting to be emotionally available for the people she loves. I appreciated that exploration. Almost wish there had been a little more time spent with the characters to tie up more ends, but this was good. I would say this may be my second favorite story in the collection, if not a tie for 1st considering the next two stories. Since I know for certain this was Angie Thomas's story - this was a MASSIVE step up from her contribution in "Blackout". Well done, understood the assignment, definitely appreciated reading it. I'd give Jordyn's story 4/5 stars.
Next up we have Jordyn's little sister Jimi. As I mentioned in my pre-review, this was my favorite story in the collection and I'd read a full novel about the two characters in this section if it branched out to one, much like the former story. Jimi is the lead singer of a rock band that's been frought with tension. Jimi doesn't like writing love songs and while that's one part of the conflict, it's not the whole picture. You learn why as the story goes onward, but the snowstorm has kept communications hindered. She reunites with a childhood friend - a famous rapper at that - at the venue where she's supposed to be performing. The two share a reconnection over music and memories. They even have a brief scare in the mix of events as they reunite. I loved the writing, and definitely could appreciate where both of the main characters were coming from. What can I say, I'm weak to childhood friends to lovers reunion in any love story. This was certainly one that was sweet to read. I'd give Jimi's story 4.5/5 stars.
Final story apart from the intertwining narrative of Stevie's plight centers on Ava and Mason. So these two have trading narratives in which they navigate the reasons why they broke up. The science/marine life theme in here was really cute and I liked that immersion alongside how these two sort things out. I was in my feelings about Ava's mom inserting her opinion when Ava was looking for comfort (which drove a wedge between her and Mason, but it wasn't the only thing). I also appreciated being able to see Mason have a moment to shine with something he was passionate about, and the theme of being in your own element apart from what your parents want. It's a story that I think works loosely with this collection, but does also well on its own. If this is Clayton's story, it reminded me a little of the library story from the previous collection, so that's the reason why I said they had the same vibes - the two characters connecting over a thing they share sweetened the deal. I'd give Ava and Mason's story 4/5 stars.
So, if I'm averaging out all of the stories here for rating - just to keep in line with what I did for "Blackout" - it's about 3 stars, so let's go with that, with a extra half-star since I thought the audiobook narrators did a collectively better job with this one than on some stories in "Blackout."
I think teens will appreciate these cozy, winter themed Black love stories with a range of different relationships and backgrounds. Could it have been stronger? Sure, I wish it had been more cohesive and memorable in points. But I also did appreciate parts of it.
Overall score: 3.5/5 stars.