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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
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.shellroch285's review
- 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
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Abortion, Fatphobia, and Drug use
Minor: Pregnancy
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
spinesinaline's review
- 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? Yes
4.0
A lot of the stories were about abuses against women, from extreme physical abuse to systemic discrimination. As I’ve talked about before, this is one of my least favourite topics in books so it turned me off at first, especially as I hadn’t heard this about the stories from all the hype I’d seen for this collection. Still, the author’s strength in writing shines through so they were still enjoyable to read.
One point to mention, there were several uncomfortable uses of outdated terminology relating to Indigenous peoples. I assume part of this is due to the time period the author has set these stories in but I don’t think it was necessary.
Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Domestic abuse, Death, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Misogyny
Moderate: Addiction, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, and Pedophilia
internationalreads's review
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Violence, Xenophobia, Car accident, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Suicide
belle2008's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Violence