I'm not usually a horror fan because I get scared easily. Even though I only occasionally read it during the day, I thought these short stories were excellent. It's a good thing they weren't too scary otherwise I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. These were thought-provoking and slightly unsettling tales, akin to those told around a campfire. As the headline stated, I also liked that the white guy usually killed first. It was good to see more representation for individuals because BIPOC characters is typically the first to die in most novels and films. Each of the thirteen tales was quite engaging.

Thank you so much to (this is gonna be a really long sentence) Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé; Kalynn Bayron; Kendare Blake; H.E. Edgmon; Lamar Giles; Chloe Gong; Alexis Henderson; Tiffany D. Jackson; Adiba Jaigirdar; Naseem Jamnia; Karen Strong; Mark Oshiro; Terry J. Benton-Walker, along with Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with this free eARC in exchange for an honest review!

To start off, I am usually not one to gravitate towards collections of short stories. I have a tendency to get too attached to characters and storylines so I always end up wanting more out of the story by the narrative's conclusion. I am happy to say that with these stories, I was treated to the absolute best amount of intrigue, character development, and storyline conclusions. I could not ask for anything more perfect! While I will always want for more, each of these stories ended on a note stayed true to both its themes as well as the overall "white guy dies first" theme.

While I loved a whole bunch of these, the story that really stood out to me was Chloe Gong's "Docile Girls". To this story, without spoilers, I do say "good for them"!

Thank you to Netgalley and the author/publisher for the ARC! I love short stories and this grouping did not disappoint! There were a couple that I skipped over cause they didn't hook me and that's why I gave it 4 stars. Otherwise, they were great and super fun. This was an ARC that I can't wait to come out so others can enjoy. I will def recommend it to my friends!

Thank you to Tor Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. I could wait to get my hands on this book ever since the author announced it. It does not disappoint. This horror anthology is comprised of 13 short stories where the white guy dies first in every single one. Such a turn of events when the white guy usually makes it to the end in the horror genre.

I had only read two of these authors previous works so I was excited to read the stories from new to me authors. My fav Tiffany D Jackson did not disappoint but when does she ever lol. I was enthralled in all of these stories. Every story was beautifully written and I will be looking into all of the new to me authors work. I’m not a huge horror reader but this book is good for someone tipping their toes in this genre and someone who reads it a lot. It was a little gory at times but not too much. I throughly enjoyed this book and look to more from these authors.

Incredible anthology that is very much needed. I adored each of the individual stories, but the overarching structure that tied them together was truly genius.

Truly a GEM! As a person who is just getting into spooky stories/horror I found I truly loved this! Now every single was not my vibe but I did love every single story that I read which was about a good 9 out of 13 stories. One of my favorites of this selection was the very last story about a spooky mansion that takes a life of its own!!!!! I laughed, I was scared, as significantly creeped out! 10/10 will be buying as soon as it comes out! One of my fave books of the year so far!CHEFS KISS!!!!!!!!

Huge thank you to Tor Publishing & NetGalley for an ARC copy of The White Guy Dies First for an honest review!

From hearing about this book for the first time, to applying for it, receiving it, and finishing it; My excitement for this horror collection never once wavered. I've read a decent handful of short story collections in the horror genre recently, and while some were great, none were nearly as well rounded as this one was. There truly is a little bit of something for everyone in this book. Whether you're looking for the real life horrors that people of color face daily, or for monsters, demons, and killer clowns, you will not be let down. I love that so many different cultures were highlighted, and the queer representation was wonderfully done. So many of these authors I have been dying to get to and their individual work will without a doubt be moving up my list!

What a whirlwind of short stories! I told myself originally that I was going to take it slow and read one story per day but I got completely sucked in. I loved almost all of the stories and one even almost made me sick to my stomach, which is a win for the horror genre. I loved the diverse representation that each author brought to their story and the advocacy for issues that their culture faces.

My favorite story in this was The Golden Dragon by Kendare Blake. Someone about the story really resonated with me. It such a beautiful and heartbreaking story that touches on very real micro and marco aggressions that BIPOC citizens in America face.

This is really my first even toe dip into horror and I think I like it? I was definitely spooked and gasped at many many moments but overall, I enjoyed this collection so much. I will definitely be rereading some of the stories when spooky season comes back around! Thank you to Netgalley and Tor Publishing Group for this ARC.

Overall I enjoyed this book and its stories. Like most books of short stories, not all of them are going to be for everyone. I liked some more than others but none of them were bad. They are all very YA but don't let that turn you away as the horror is still pretty spooky and gory at times. What I really liked was the diversity of characters; not only was there BIPOC representation but also queer and trans representation. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC!

Thank you netgalley for this ARC i been hearing about this one and the cover really caught my eye i love the colors together its great. When i saw all the amazing talented authors and owning books from them or have read some in this collection of stories i needed to read this one and the stories were GREAT the thing with me when i read short stories alot of them sometime miss for me but this one had SO MANY good stories i loved them the concepts were great had amazing elements of scary/horror based stuff just the right amount to keep the reader reading. I know i say this alot when i read short stories but i do feel like this novel will have a story for everyone. Terry did an amazing job putting this much talent and great story writers in this collection. If you love YA and short stories this one is for you.

I also loved so many of the leads in this novel as well even the side characters were great!

Killer clowns, a hungry hedge maze, and rich kids who got bored. Friendly cannibals, impossible slashers, and the dead who don’t stay dead....

A museum curator who despises “diasporic inaccuracies.” A sweet girl and her diary of happy thoughts. An old house that just wants friends forever....

GREAT JOB everyone who wrote a story in this collection.

4.5/5 stars

Thanks to Tor publishing and NetGalley for this digital ARC!

This is probably my favorite short story anthology ever! There wasn’t a single story I was waiting to get over with or skimmed to the end which is definitely a first.

Great diversity in characters, writing styles, and “tropes”. If you’re looking for a spooky season read (or if it’s always spooky season in your soul) I would definitely add this to your list!

Warning: this is very much a horror and gore filled book so if that’s not your jam, maybe skip it?

really fantastic set of horror. i'm relatively picky but so many of the entries, like Bayron's and Benton-Walker's, were absolutely spectacular. I picked this up cause i'd read stuff by most of the authors (Bayron, Blake, Giles, Gong, Henderson, Jackson, Jaigirdar, Oshiro, and Benton-Walker), but niw i'm going to read stuff by All of them

In the book the White Guy Dies First penned by multiple authors of color is a fabulous anthology I can honestly say 99% of the stories in this book were really good and somewhere even great! From a story about two sisters who have a victim from long ago looking out for them to a boy who hast to keep a box safe for his idol and neighbor a magician a girl who leaves a powwow and runs out of gas on a lonely dark road but luckily it saved by her brothers white friend and I use the word saved very loosely. They have many stories in this anthology by many different backgrounds from Native Americans to Chinese authors and African-Americans I really enjoyed most of the stories and although there was one I really didn’t like I will not mention it here because I don’t want to sway anyone else this really is a great anthology with lots of great stories if you’re like me in love a great short story collection you will not be disappointed with this one I want to think the authors the publisher and Net Galley for my free Ark copy please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

3.5 stars. I didn’t hate it but I also wasn’t in love with it. There wasn’t a story that clearly stood out to me above the rest. It was all somewhat lacking but did hold enough horror for me to remain interested

The White Guy Dies First is a wonderful anthology of 13 horror stories written by authors of color. Horror tropes range from murderous clowns and killing hedges to classic slashers, demons, and ghosts. I love the diversity and the unique range of writing styles and characters. It’s hard to pick a favorite story, but the ones that stood out to me the most were “All Eyes on Me”, “The Golden Dragon”, “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”, and “The Road to Hell”. I went into “Heaven” by Adiba Jaigirdar thinking it wasn’t my type of story and leaned too sci-fi, but it ended up being a nice surprise with a bittersweet ending. It broke my heart that so many of the stories’ horror involved racism, but that’s an unfortunate reality for most people of color, so I didn’t mind. Overall, I enjoyed the twists and turns in every story, but I especially loved the gore. Some of the descriptions were sickeningly terrifying and truly creeped me out, which is unusual for a horror fanatic like me. If you like fun, bloody horror with great diversity, I recommend giving this anthology a try.

I was very excited to read this because it features so many remarkable YA authors (Tiffany D Jackson? Faridah Abike Iyimide? Yes please). Unfortunately, a few of the stories in this really didn't have that scare factor that I feel when I read these authors' full length works. I missed the heart racing, anxious feeling while reading these.

This cover, title, and concept are all just pure genius. I love that it is authors of color banded together to make some scary stories. I love the play on the "white guy dies first", as it is usually the other way around. Not this time! So you already know I was cheering when the protagonists were kicking butt! There are 13 short stories, plus a prologue and epilogue. There is something for every horror-fiend! Clowns, cannibals, & stalkers--oh my! The best stories are in the middle bit. I would say some stories dragged on for me. One of them I found so dull I did not read in its entirety. I still find that impressive that 12 of the 13 are pretty fan-freakin-tastic. Great editing skills I must say as well. This was cohesive. I recommend to any horror fan. 3.5 stars!

This collection of YA horror short stories is deliciously macabre.

Individual story reviews below:
___
# "All Eyes on Me"—★★★★
Pennywise could never be this charming tbh.

# "Hedge"—★★★★★
When I finished this story I realized just how *good* this collection could be.

# "The Golden Dragon"—★★★★
Sometimes it's nice to sit back and watch awful people get what's coming for them.

# "Best Served Cold"—★★★★★
YA horror at its finest. Thrilling!

# "The Protégé"—★★★★★
I need this to be expanded into a larger series ASAP. The premise is so compelling and the execution was exceptional.

# "Docile Girls"—★★★★
Good for her!

# "Gray Grove"—★★★
This is an interesting contemporary gothic piece of fiction that has a lot of good ideas for incorporating modern culture and technology into the haunted house ghost story format!

# "Everything's Coming Up Roses"—★★★
While this story feels like the least refined of the whole collection, it is still an engaging and enjoyable epistolary thriller.

# "Heaven"—★★★★
I'm always here for post-apocalyptic religious trauma

# "Breaking Through Our Skin"—★★★★

# "wasps"—★★★★
Get his ass.

# "Hell Is Other Demons"—★★★★
This is a story I want to see serialized. It feels like the pilot for a really interesting monster (demon?) of the week type show.

# "The Road to Hell"—★★★★
A haunted house story told from the perspective of the haunted house? Sign me up!

Big thank you NetGalley and to the publisher for the chance to review this book pre-release. I LOVED THIS SO MUCH. I'm a bigggg anthology girlie, especially when it comes to horror. When I saw that so many of my favorite authors were featured, I HAD to request. I am so thankful to have gotten a copy to review early, I absolutely DEVOURED this one. Granted some stories I liked better than others, but that's to be expected with something like this. I can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy. A more formal review will be available on my IG/TikTok and Goodreads.

Thank you Net galley and publishers for allowing me to read this arc for an honest review.

Horror isn't my usual genre as I get spooked easily. I only ever read it once in a blue moon during the day, but I really enjoyed these short stories. They weren't too spooky which is great, cause then I wouldn't sleep at night. These were like campfire stories, enough to get you thinking and kinda creeped out. I also enjoyed, as the title said, that the white guy always died first. In most stories and movies the bipoc character is usually the first to go so it was nice to have more representation for people. All 13 stories were very entertaining.