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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
tensepopcorn's review against another edition
- 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 was probably my favorite story in this collection. I wasn’t expecting it to impact me when reading.
- Again, tragic story but moving. I didn’t really like how it ended. I was wanting more.
- very very sad. I liked the story but I wanted more. I didn’t like how it ended.
- I really didn’t enjoy this one. I understand the frustration of the main character but still.
- another sad one. Very good but still lingering and not in a good way.
- this was another good story and probably my third favorite.
- 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.
- pretty good, not much to say not as good as the last one. I did enjoy the narrator here.
- 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.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Classism, Death, Car accident, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Cancer, Fatphobia, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, and Medical content
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.alayamorning's review
- 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
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
garynoplastie'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
caseythereader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Ableism