Can I give this book more than 5 stars please? I loved every page of this book. The stories were gritty and so well written. I love how not one story over shadows another. Each authors brought there amazing story telling skills to a project where every contributor is amazing in their own right.
Each story gave us horrors in different forms. There is gentrification, racism, homophobia, a prior haunted slave plantation and so much more. These stories will upset you and have you rooting for characters to get what's coming to them. If you are a lover of horror that weaves in real like horror into a fiction story, especially a collection of stories from authors who are making waves in the horror genre, you will want to add this book to your shelf.

This will be a anthology I cherish for years to come, Thank you Torteen and Netgalley for this e-arc.

Requested the ARC for the name, stayed for the near perfect content

Anthologies are hard for me. I've only read a few but every time I walk away from it feeling like something was missing. Not only that, but I typically only find one or two stories that really grab me and the rest make me want to skip the whole story which results in around a 2 star rating. I actually make a pact in my head that if this book followed suit, I would be done with anthologies pretty much forever.
If I would have dismissed this, I would have missed out on one of my favorite reads of the year...

The beginning of the book starting off with a blog post regarding a missing persons really captured my interest. Terry J Benton-Walker found a really intriguing way to tie all the short stories together by doing this, and it played in to the title of this book really well considering the missing person was working on a project with the same title.

Then we immediately jump into Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé 's story. She has a way of story-telling that makes you hungry for more like it. The way she is able to bring up this white man's behavior, address the problem with it, "fix" it (I mean, it IS a horror story), and allow the FMC to explore safety and happiness all within a story as short as this is so commendable and powerful and exciting.

And when that ends, we get a terrifying story by Kalynn involving nature and gardens. I LOVE a dark, paranormal story where nature is the villain.
Then Tiffany D Jackson somehow made me nervous about the Home Depot's garden center.

There are so many of my favorite authors in this group and it was just a delight reading them again, I also was able to find a few authors I have yet to read, who I will be BECAUSE of their stories.
For example, there's a story about a sentient house who just wants to be cherished and loved by the people who move in. It was so poetically horrifying.

There is not one story in this collection I would rate under 3 stars, but most of them are 4s and 5s. It's important to mention that a 5 star read for me is a hard achievement. This collection deserves it.

I want a physical copy asap. Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for this ARC.

Ghoulfriends Online Blog + Epiloge ⭐️⭐️⭐️
All Eyes On Me⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hedge⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Golden Dragon⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Best Served Cold⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
The Protégé⭐️⭐️.5
Docile Girls⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gray Grove⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Everything's Coming Up Roses ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Heaven ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Break Through Our Skin⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
WASPS⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hell Is Other Demons⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Road To Hell⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Arc generously provided by NetGalley.


This short story collection contains everything from LGBTQ+ killer clowns to a murderous hedge maze.
Also, the title is very fitting.
Very unique, kind of gruesome, fun read

This collection of short horror stories written by authors of collour where really interesting and fun.

I will search each and every author to check their other works too.

Short story collections always make for a great resource in the library, and The White Guy Dies First is no exception. Horror is a genre that has been desperately in need of diversity for years, and this collection smashes those stereotypes. Each story has its own spooky flair, from mind-bending to shocking. This title is highly recommended for library collections serving teen populations, but will surely also be a hit for a new adult audience.

I absolutely adored this collection. The diversity and variety of characters and themes kept every story fresh and interesting. I love the introduction and conclusion as well, really drew all of the stories together. Thank you for including so many of these super talented BIPOC authors. Creepy and fantastic!!

I received this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a funny horror stories compilation. The white guy is the first to die but the endings are still good!

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