This is a really interesting audiobook written by various people all set around an unusual snowfall. It's festive and cosy and really well written. I did get a bit confused by all the various people and voices, but overall it was a really nice, cosy, Christmassy read with lots of warming loving moments.

This was a fun audiobook to listen to, featuring all the ups and downs of high school relationships but focusing around connections between certain groups of friends during a snowstorm. Although at times I found the different POVs a little confusing, I soon got used to the changes and found that each character was well developed and it was really interesting to read their POV. This is a lovely winter read and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a nice YA tale for the colder months.

I loved the previous Blackout book by these authors and was really excited to see that they had collaborated again. I did find the audiobook to be difficult to follow - maybe this was due to so many different voices in the story.

From the moment I discovered "Whiteout," I was captivated by its premise: a snowstorm, an epic apology, and twelve teens banding together to make it all happen. Written by a stellar team of authors who previously brought us "Blackout," this book promised to deliver another heartwarming and engaging story of young love and friendship. It did not disappoint.

"Whiteout" is set in Atlanta, transformed into a winter wonderland just before Christmas. The city, unprepared for the rare snowfall, grinds to a halt, creating the perfect backdrop for a series of interconnected narratives. At the heart of the story is high school senior Stephanie (Stevie) Williams, who must pull off a heartfelt apology to her girlfriend Sola before midnight. Stevie enlists the help of her friends—Kaz, E.R., Jordyn, Jimi, Ava, and Mason—each of whom faces their own relationship challenges amid the chaos of the snowstorm.

The characters in "Whiteout" are wonderfully diverse and richly developed. Stevie, a science genius, is navigating the complexities of love and friendship. Her friends, each with unique skills and personalities, bring depth to the story. The relationships portrayed are diverse, reflecting the different facets of love and friendship in a realistic and relatable manner. The camaraderie and support among the group are heartwarming, showcasing the strength of their bonds.

The romance in "Whiteout" is sweet and genuine. Stevie and Sola's relationship, central to the plot, is beautifully portrayed, capturing the highs and lows of young love. The story explores various types of relationships among the group of friends, adding layers of complexity and richness to the narrative. The diverse representation of love, from straight to queer relationships, is handled with sensitivity and authenticity.

The authors have done an excellent job of creating a vivid and immersive setting. The snow-covered Atlanta serves as more than just a backdrop; it becomes a character in its own right, influencing the events and adding a sense of urgency and magic to the story. The depiction of the city's response to the rare snowstorm is both humorous and realistic, enhancing the narrative's charm.

Despite being written by multiple authors, "Whiteout" maintains a seamless and cohesive narrative voice. The transition between different perspectives is smooth, making it feel like a single, unified story. The writing is engaging and captures the emotions and experiences of the characters vividly.

"Whiteout" beautifully explores themes of love, friendship, and resilience. The story highlights the importance of community and support, especially in times of crisis. It also celebrates Black joy and excellence, portraying Black teens with high aspirations and achievements. The book is a refreshing and uplifting read that leaves a lasting impression.

"Whiteout" is a delightful and heartwarming read that perfectly captures the magic of young love and friendship against the backdrop of a snowy Atlanta. The interwoven narratives, diverse characters, and engaging writing make it a standout novel. It’s a celebration of Black joy and the power of community, delivering a message of hope and resilience. Whether you're a fan of YA romance or simply looking for a cozy, uplifting read, "Whiteout" is a book you won't want to miss.

Thank you once again to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to read this enchanting book. The collaborative effort of Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon has resulted in a truly magical story that will warm your heart even in the coldest of settings. I highly recommend "Whiteout" for its beautifully crafted narratives, diverse representation, and the warmth it brings to the genre of young adult romance.

Like the multiple narrators for the audio, it really added depth to the stories. Definitely one to pick up in the colder months for a cozy warm hearted Winter read if you are into YA.

This was a perfect intertwining of stories from different authors that all come together to create a beautiful story.

I read Blackout last year so as soon as I saw those authors had another book with a similar format, I was hooked.

The different narrators made it easier to follow the intertwining storylines and they really drew me into their lives.

I really appreciated the diversity in the characters, they felt representative of the truth of teenager's lives. The group of authors that wrote Whiteout and Blackout have said that they want to show BIPOC teenagers that their lives can be just as full of the joy and love that's seen in YA books with predominately white characters and I think they manage that perfectly.

I loved this so much! Something about romance set during the winter makes me so happy. I now have to read the other anthology book!

I read Blackout last year, so I had been wanting to pick this up, so thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the copy! This was a really great listen with a lot of great rep, which I'm trying to focus more on reading in 2024. I love that this was made up of short stories from a number of different BIPOC authors, but that they all then intertwined to make one bigger story. Would definitely recommend!

This was a delightful book with plenty of POC and LGBTQ+ representation. Multiple POVs and several different stories that weave together to reach a common goal. Yes it is a book that takes place during the festive season but I wouldn't necessarily consider it a Christmas book. Very much YA.

Book Review 📚
Audiobook 🎧
Whiteout by Various - 4/5 ⭐

My new year's resolution will be to listen to more audiobook, and it'll be thanks to Whiteout.

I loved that there were so many characters with so many different stories. It wasn't just multiple POV, it was better.

Don't get me wrong there is a lot happening with a lot of story's and details to remember, but for me that's what made this audiobook so memorable. People tend to listen to Audiobooks as a way to carry on with everyday life whilst still "reading". I'm the opposite, I only ever listen when driving as it's the only time I can actually LISTEN without being distracted by life.

I loved that there was so much happening because it kept the story interesting! It wasn't one person's story. The narrators were amazing, all of them and the whole thing was brilliant. This has made me want to listen to more AudioBooks.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for allowing me to read this ARC - this is an HONEST review from my own personal opinion.

This year, I started very late with listening to or reading Christmas stories. Nevertheless, thanks to this book, I immediately got into the right spirit. After listening to Whiteout by these many talented writers I wouldn’t have needed another one. Several anthological chapters circle around one big romantic gesture. In them, the authors tells many shorter, but no less authentic and entertaining love stories. We follow the protagonists around the same hours and for only a short amount of time. But these chapters suffice to get to know them and fall in love with them.

To have two characters meet and fall head over heels for each other would be doable in such a short time. Nonetheless, I am glad that the authors decided against the love-at-first-sight pattern. Instead, they brought us into already existing relationships recently challenged. Through foremost one point of view, we witness their eventual happy ending (for now). Sometimes, we get comments from both involved parties, which makes the story even more enjoyable. First crushes, love angles, second chances, friends-to-lovers… The authors chose some of my favorite tropes. Moreover, they filled them with beautiful characters.

More than on the romantic level, the authors create a Christmassy setting. The impending snow chaos challenges all the characters on another level. This anthology’s authors also make cultural differences a theme around the holidays, which I loved! The difficulties in each respective relationship are thought through and not based on sole miscommunication. Instead, the characters talk through their insecurities, deficiencies, and feelings. I enjoyed each of their conversations, the funny and the deep ones alike. The stories wonderfully balanced a Christmassy, cheerful, romantic atmosphere with honest and emotional moments.

In conclusion…
Set within the framework of one big romantic gesture, the authors tell us many shorter but no less authentic and moving love stories. They chose some of my favorite tropes and thoroughly engaged with their characters’ feelings and insecurities. I enjoyed every single of these stories and was put in the perfect Christmas mood.

White out - Numerous Narrators

Thoroughly Enjoyed This Book although in the beginning there were a couple of characters that kept saying “Bruh” ….This grated on me just a tad! 😖
Heartwarming little Christmas story.

A heartwarming collection of stories featuring love in all its different stages with friends and family coming together for a joint mission - to help Stevie. I enjoyed delving into all the different storylines here that were playing out, all on one day (with a few flashbacks) as different characters play their part in Stevie’s big plan to apologise to Sola and win her back. We see big love and small love, new love and old love, friendship and loyalty and all the good things you want to see before Christmas and I enjoyed listening along as I wrapped my Christmas gifts, finding the different narrators perfect for the characters and they really helped to bring this story to life with their different voices. A cosy, festive read with a lovely bunch of characters.

⭐⭐⭐
Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton; Tiffany D Jackson; Nic Stone; Angie Thomas; Ashley Woodfolk; Nicola Yoon. Audiobook narrated by Nic Stone; Danielle Shemaiah; Shayna Small; Bahni Turpin; Alaska Jackson; Joniece Abbott-Pratt; Kevin R. Free; James Fouhey; and Korey Jackson is a festive romance about love and break up, misunderstandings and forgiveness, dreams and obligations, and Christmas magic. I love Christmas romance but this book was too much. I couldn’t keep track of the huge cast of characters and their storylines. I constantly got confused and didn’t know who was who and why things happened. Some storylines were nice once I watched them and tied them together. There were moments when I felt I needed a chart to keep track of them. At the same time, I really struggled to connect with the characters so by some point I stopped caring what was going on and was listening to quicker finish.

The narrators did a great job! I don't think I would have finished this book if there wouldn't be multiple narrations. That definitely helped. The narrators made this story a little bit better!
Usually, I listen at 2x speed but this was so confusing so I turned it down to 1.75x. So on top of everything it felt painfully slow and never-ending.

I understood that so many character book is not for me. Probobly if characters would be more related in one story would be better... It is hard to say. If you would ask me to summarize this book I would struggle as there was so much happening that it felt like reading at least 3-4 books at the time with jumping from one to another.

But it's me! If you are a fan of any of the authors I would recommend giving it a go and making your own mind up as there were plenty of people who loved this book!

Thank you, NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio for this copy, still much appreciated.

Seemed like a cute Christmas story, but I did find it difficult to follow all the characters and storylines. I got confused and quit listening after two hours.

Whiteout was completely charming. The stories intertwined beautifully, which is not always the case with anthologies, nor is it easily done. The narrations were all spot on. Great voices and story lines, a real Christmas treat.

Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton; Tiffany D Jackson; Nic Stone; Angie Thomas; Ashley Woodfolk; Nicola Yoon

Narrated by Nic Stone; Danielle Shemaiah; Shayna Small; Bahni Turpin; Alaska Jackson; Joniece Abbott-Pratt; Kevin R. Free; James Fouhey; Korey Jackson

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK Audio and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Blurb

Atlanta is blanketed with snow just before Christmas, but the warmth of young love just might melt the ice in this novel of interwoven narratives, Black joy, and cozy, sparkling romance—by the same unbeatable team of authors who wrote the New York Times bestseller Blackout!

As the city grinds to a halt, twelve teens band together to help a friend pull off the most epic apology of her life. But will they be able to make it happen, in spite of the storm?

No one is prepared for this whiteout. But then, we can’t always prepare for the magical moments that change everything.

My Opinion

I was looking for a quick audiobook to read and I saw that this was available on Netgalley. Whilst this is not usually a book I would have chosen as it has so many different authors which I often find confusing, it was a difficult book to follow. This was a quick read that will leave you needing a hot drink to warm up.

Rating 4/5

A whole host of great authors, a wonderful cast of narrators (audiobook thoroughly recommended) and a fab inclusive story full of representation.

We mainly follow Sola and Stevie in their lives, whilst time ticks itself down to an epic storm and one humongous apology. There’s a white out, characters cross and relationships are fought to be saved. It was well written but for me I didn’t quite click with it from the beginning. An ‘on me’ situation and no reflection to the audiobook/book itself.

I just felt like I didn’t have the background with the characters to really be invested in their storylines so I struggled to be engaged and only really started to get into it nearer the end. Also I did find myself getting lost as I struggled to follow the individual characters stories without getting mixed up and loosing who was who and what was happening to whom. Again, May have been on me given audiobooks can be easy to dip in and out of. I did love the story between Ava and Mason and the ending was perfect.

The setting was great and certainly one to theme to your winter reads!

3.5 stars rounded up.
I've been wanting to read this book for a while, and it was a cute wintery multicast love story. There is an overarching love story, supported by the couples friends stories as they all band together to help the couple get back together. I was very pleased with the amount of representation - I would've preferred if the non-binary rep was more positive, without deadnaming/misgendering repeatedly, but there are many LGBT and PoC characters, and it also touches on different cultures and religions. This is YA, but unfortunately for me it felt very juvenile with the language and dialogue used. There was also a lot of slang that felt cringey. I also felt that the characters were stereotypes and had exaggerated characteristics (eg Stevie is top of their class and loves science, so makes everything about it, quite obsessively and is almost their only personality trait - this applies to multiple characters) although the book is relatively short, with many characters, so perhaps this was an element that was sacrificed to fit in the multiple stories/characters/writers.

Whilst the little stories and the main story was quite predictable (and not entirely realistic) it was still cute and enjoyable. I would've preferred a slightly more mature story (I don't believe YA is inherently juvenile), I'm glad this exists for younger generations. Thank you to netgalley for the arc.