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bookishmillennial's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Homophobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Sexual assault, and Sexism
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
mnerd63's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Abortion, Child death, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, and Drug use
katieperk's review
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Abandonment
Moderate: Abortion, Cancer, and Gun violence
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
asainspace's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Clever, beautiful, interesting short stories/character sketches. I was really invested in every character even though the stories were short. A quick read. Will definitely be reading more by this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Addiction, Suicide, and Alcoholism
Minor: Abortion
wwsimon93's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Racism, Grief, Violence, and Suicide attempt
hngisreading's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Violence
sofipitch's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Most short story collections at least have a few stories that aren't that good, but here every single story was beautiful, no flops. They also seemed to flow together very well, the themes all similar yet the stories distinct. This was incredible and I will be checking out more books by Fajardo-Anstine
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Death of parent