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bookishmillennial's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
My favorite stories from this short story collection were “Sisters” and “Remedies”. It is not lost on me that I chose the two stories where siblinghood was most salient 🥹
In “Sisters,” we are given a slice of life of Doty and Tina’s current situations, as Tina is dedicated to finding a life partner. Doty is questioning what she wants for herself (and seemingly her own sexual orientation👀), but mostly, her mind is occupied by thinking about a missing young woman from their hometown, Filipina-American Lucia. It’s clear that Tina and Doty’s priorities are on opposite ends of the spectrum during this story, and this felt like a commentary on and allegory for sexual misconduct and unwanted attention or advances. I related to Doty’s consumption of worrying over Lucia’s whereabouts and then resignation to how cishet men get to act towards women.
In “Remedies,” Clarisa’s mom tries to develop a relationship with Clarisa’s half brother, Harrison. Clarisa and Harrison’s dad abandoned them both, but they’re around the same age and Clarisa’s mom wants them to have a relationship. She picks him up from a seemingly poverty-stricken area and the entire household contracts lice! It’s interesting, because Clarisa had lice before Harrison came over, and she noted how “dirty” Harrison and his house were. Their story made me feel sad, but Grandma Estrella was there to clean everything up for the most part!
Overall, I thought some stories were just fine and that’s pretty par for the course when you read a short story collection. I appreciated reading about these women from Northern Colorado, and would seek our KFA’s work in the future!
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Homophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Sexual assault, and Sexism
alexisgarcia's review
- 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
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
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.sarahemhavens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
4.0
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”
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
wwsimon93's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Racism, Grief, Violence, and Suicide attempt
zeeck07's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Racism, and Drug abuse
kodi_rae's review
- 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
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racism, Death, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Pregnancy
hngisreading's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Violence
gabbygarcia's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Cancer, and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Sexual content, Addiction, Genocide, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Violence, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Murder, and Racism
Minor: Abortion, Fatphobia, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Car accident, Sexual assault, and Suicide
generational trauma, gentrificationgarynoplastie's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Blood, and Abortion