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4.02 AVERAGE
4.02 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
There are some good, interesting stories in this collection, but I think it could have been curated better. There are several repetitive stories with similar themes (there are at least four that can be boiled down to "I was a teenage shithead who was shitty to the school outcast for X reason") and not all of them needed to be in there. The repetitive ones were also heavily in the first half of the book, to the point I almost DNFed because I felt like I was just reading the same story over and over again. The second half of stories are more varied and at least gave the book a stronger finish.
This collection was overall intriguing, fun, absurd, and utterly creative. Many, many stories felt too short to me! Jumping from characters/worlds to characters/worlds one after another left me a little bewildered and unsatisfied, especially the closer I got to the end of the book.
While I enjoyed the writing throughout, there were a couple times I couldn’t get invested in the characters enough and instead felt distracted by the absurdity (albeit fun absurdity) of the story’s premise. But more times than not, I wanted to stay in the story’s world a little bit longer.
I also thought the ordering was interesting/weird with several stories seemingly placed near each other for thematic similarities. It felt too on the nose and I would’ve enjoyed more space being those similar stories.
My favorite stories were: The Stones of Sorrow Lake, The Whitest Girl, Yaiza, The Man I Could Be, and We Work in Miraculous Cages.
While I enjoyed the writing throughout, there were a couple times I couldn’t get invested in the characters enough and instead felt distracted by the absurdity (albeit fun absurdity) of the story’s premise. But more times than not, I wanted to stay in the story’s world a little bit longer.
I also thought the ordering was interesting/weird with several stories seemingly placed near each other for thematic similarities. It felt too on the nose and I would’ve enjoyed more space being those similar stories.
My favorite stories were: The Stones of Sorrow Lake, The Whitest Girl, Yaiza, The Man I Could Be, and We Work in Miraculous Cages.
The story about the millennial busting her butt really affected me. It was so absurd yet wildly accurate, and I wish I could have read more (or at least gleaned a happy ending for people like me in these times).
challenging
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Thoroughly enjoyed these stories; I felt that melancholy Floridian pull amid so many other nostalgic, bitter, and sentimental evocations throughout these narratives. I am excited to read Peynado’s subsequent work.
reflective
fast-paced
Wow, this was a really great collection. My favorite was definitely The Kite Maker. I’d read a novel about those characters!
I made it halfway through this book and I had to stop. These stories have such big themes but they say so little for me. No thank you.