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tensepopcorn's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This short story collection is very hard to give a star rating. It had such a strong start, I enjoyed the first three stories. They were sad, yes. This whole collection is about Latina characters and culture in/around Colorado. It didn’t seem like any of the stories connected, I related to a few of the stories but like I said, so so sad. The writing is beautiful, but I would recommend checking out all of the triggers in this one.
Sugar babies: 5/5
-Very good and touching characters.
Sabrina & Corina: 4.5/5
-Hit close to home for me.
Sisters: 5/5
- this was probably my favorite story in this collection. I wasn’t expecting it to impact me when reading.
Remedies: 3/5
- Again, tragic story but moving. I didn’t really like how it ended. I was wanting more.
Julian Plaza: 3.5/5
- very very sad. I liked the story but I wanted more. I didn’t like how it ended.
Galapago: 2/5
- I really didn’t enjoy this one. I understand the frustration of the main character but still.
Chessman Park: 3.5/5
- another sad one. Very good but still lingering and not in a good way.
Tomi: 3.5/5
- this was another good story and probably my third favorite.
Any Further West: 3/5
- I really felt bad for the main character, her mother was terrible and really selfish. This one was heartbreaking. It was still great! “Any Further West” is a great title due to the mother going west but it my opinion she can’t go west ENOUGH. The mother will never have enough space between her and her home.
All Her Names: 2.5/5
- pretty good, not much to say not as good as the last one. I did enjoy the narrator here.
Ghost Sickness: 2/5
- good but the ending fell way flat for me. But i think it was about to have a story about the father in another story.
All and all I’m giving this collection a 3.5 but I’m rounding up to a 4. The audiobook was really well done. I liked all of the narrators. I would probably go back and reread a few stories when I buy the physical version.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Classism, Death, Car accident, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Fatphobia, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
alexisgarcia's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
wow wow, this is an amazing collection of short stories. so many of these were phenomenal. i do find it almost impossible to rate any short story collection 5 stars just because they’re all so different and some are better than others but i definitely recommend this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Body shaming, and Cancer
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Addiction, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Drug use, Murder, Suicide, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia
Colorism, missing person, r slur.myrtosfullybooked's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Sabrina & Corina, Kali Fajardo-Anstine 🌼🥀💧
I've decided to stop giving star reviews to story collections because as we all know, each story will be different and some will hit a chord more than others, but for this book, I couldn't resist.
The stories in this collection deal with painful themes like intergenerational violence, abandonment, and discrimination, but they are written gently, and they flow easily. If anything, the writing felt minimal but, just like the women whose stories it portrayed, hid many deeper layers - not all of them meant to or being fully revealed to the reader. I feel like I learned a lot about the experiences of Indigenous and Latina women in the American West without the book ever becoming didactic or compromising the atmosphere of the story told.
Tomi, Any Further West, and Ghost Sickness were my favourites from the collection. Any Further West, especially, felt like a punch in the stomach, but it was so beautifully well-written. I may not be able to explain it very well, but we see characters lost, self-destructive, desperate, or perpetually in pain, and yet somehow what stayed with me was their strength and their survival. The cycles of violence and pain sometimes seem endless and inescapable, but every now and then a daughter will get away and make it; a grandmother will leave a legacy to be honoured; a cousin will be remembered for more than her beauty even if it's by only one person; a lost girl might be found... Normally, these would have been the type of stories I would have found so grim and depressing, and I was really surprised to find myself not wanting the book to end. It is all the things sad girl literature (or the samples of it I've read at least) is trying to be and fails.
I am so grateful to @bouebooks for putting this book on my radar. I will certainly be reading Woman of Light too.
I've decided to stop giving star reviews to story collections because as we all know, each story will be different and some will hit a chord more than others, but for this book, I couldn't resist.
The stories in this collection deal with painful themes like intergenerational violence, abandonment, and discrimination, but they are written gently, and they flow easily. If anything, the writing felt minimal but, just like the women whose stories it portrayed, hid many deeper layers - not all of them meant to or being fully revealed to the reader. I feel like I learned a lot about the experiences of Indigenous and Latina women in the American West without the book ever becoming didactic or compromising the atmosphere of the story told.
Tomi, Any Further West, and Ghost Sickness were my favourites from the collection. Any Further West, especially, felt like a punch in the stomach, but it was so beautifully well-written. I may not be able to explain it very well, but we see characters lost, self-destructive, desperate, or perpetually in pain, and yet somehow what stayed with me was their strength and their survival. The cycles of violence and pain sometimes seem endless and inescapable, but every now and then a daughter will get away and make it; a grandmother will leave a legacy to be honoured; a cousin will be remembered for more than her beauty even if it's by only one person; a lost girl might be found... Normally, these would have been the type of stories I would have found so grim and depressing, and I was really surprised to find myself not wanting the book to end. It is all the things sad girl literature (or the samples of it I've read at least) is trying to be and fails.
I am so grateful to @bouebooks for putting this book on my radar. I will certainly be reading Woman of Light too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, Abortion, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, and Sexual violence
shellroch285's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved this collection of short stories!! My favorite aspect of this collection is how so many stories were told from teens’ perspectives, but this wasn’t YA. The writing was so fresh, and I empathized with the narrators so much. Amazing read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Abortion, Fatphobia, and Drug use
Minor: Pregnancy
sarahemhavens's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
4.0
Sabrina & Corina is a collection of short stories on a range of topics including death, sickness, grief, loss, oppression and also culture, history, love, family, strength in the face of adversity, perseverance, and coming of age.
More specifically, the topics that I found most moved by were the talk of ‘westward expansion’, the destruction of native peoples and cultures, whitewashing and gentrification, western medicine vs herbal medicine, and the mistreatment and objectification of women.
Of the eleven stories, my favorites were:
Remedies
Tomi
Any Further West
All Her Names
Ghost Sickness (this one shook me most)
Biggest takeaway quotes/thoughts for me:
- “afraid of letting any amount of death work its way into me”
- “that was the first time that I missed someone while sitting right next to them”
- “Sabrina was to forever face ceilings and casket tops padded in pink satin”
- white people (“Generations of tragedy free living”) steam rolling over native culture, destroying their lands and throwing up concrete gentrification jungles that only erode years later in our failing society. (The us’ history and mistreatment of peoples never fails to devastate me, nor should it - we should constantly be reminding ourselves and educating ourselves, not try to brush anything under the rug like we tend to in the us)
- “people, we learned, weren’t permanent and neither were their sicknesses”
- “maidens strapped to railroad tracks and cowboy heroes shot dead” (“heroes”)
- “money comes with chains”
- “you make me feel full, I’m heavy with you”
More specifically, the topics that I found most moved by were the talk of ‘westward expansion’, the destruction of native peoples and cultures, whitewashing and gentrification, western medicine vs herbal medicine, and the mistreatment and objectification of women.
Of the eleven stories, my favorites were:
Remedies
Tomi
Any Further West
All Her Names
Ghost Sickness (this one shook me most)
Biggest takeaway quotes/thoughts for me:
- “afraid of letting any amount of death work its way into me”
- “that was the first time that I missed someone while sitting right next to them”
- “Sabrina was to forever face ceilings and casket tops padded in pink satin”
- white people (“Generations of tragedy free living”) steam rolling over native culture, destroying their lands and throwing up concrete gentrification jungles that only erode years later in our failing society. (The us’ history and mistreatment of peoples never fails to devastate me, nor should it - we should constantly be reminding ourselves and educating ourselves, not try to brush anything under the rug like we tend to in the us)
- “people, we learned, weren’t permanent and neither were their sicknesses”
- “maidens strapped to railroad tracks and cowboy heroes shot dead” (“heroes”)
- “money comes with chains”
- “you make me feel full, I’m heavy with you”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Racism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Classism
Moderate: Colonisation, Fatphobia, Genocide, and Pedophilia
kodi_rae's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Dark and thoughtful, focusing on Latinx/Indigenous women perspectives. These short stories touch on themes of colonization, gentrification, racism, violence against women, family relationships, etc. Reading this book is a unique, alternative way to learn a bit more about Colorado history (since all the stories are set there and the author is from Denver).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racism, Death, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Pregnancy
mengzhenreads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
My favorite stories from this collection were Sugar Babies, Julian Plaza, Sabrina & Corina, and Tomi.
Overall, a good collection of stories that were generally thought-provoking and interesting. I didn't enjoy all the stories equally but it was still a good read.
Overall, a good collection of stories that were generally thought-provoking and interesting. I didn't enjoy all the stories equally but it was still a good read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse
Minor: Suicide and Drug abuse
mmccombs's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I wish I had read this short story collection before I read Woman of Light, because this was what I wanted the book to be. Each story is meticulously crafted, each scene and character felt fully alive and vibrant. Her writing style is beautiful and each story complimented each other. Her strength is definitely in the short format of stories, creating deep and bite sized portraits of life in and around Denver. I also loved the performances of these stories, it definitely added to the experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, and Death
alayamorning's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Violence, Body horror, Drug use, Drug abuse, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Racism, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Colonisation, Child abuse, and Abortion