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andrewhatesham's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Minor: Miscarriage, Gun violence, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, and Abortion
razzberry_pi's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
- 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
4.25
a bit of a mixed bag since it is a collection of stories
definitely more focused on themes of pregnancy and parent/motherhood than i was expecting which isnt generally something i relate much to or seek out.
i would also very much disagee that the stories are laid out dystopian to utopian as the description claims, many things placed towards the beginning seem much more tolerable than a few in the middle/end
definitely more focused on themes of pregnancy and parent/motherhood than i was expecting which isnt generally something i relate much to or seek out.
i would also very much disagee that the stories are laid out dystopian to utopian as the description claims, many things placed towards the beginning seem much more tolerable than a few in the middle/end
the top three stories for me were
- The Listener
- The Propogator
- Sister, Fly-or-Die
with an honourable mention to The Lost Roads
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, and Police brutality
Moderate: Child abuse, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Religious bigotry, Transphobia, and Fire/Fire injury
meshell's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
I read Sim Kern’s Real Sugar is Hard To Find a few weeks ago, and it has stuck with me. The short story collection grapples with some heavy topics - climate change, reproductive freedom and reproductive justice (both to have, and to have not), what we owe one another, parenthood, compassion and understanding. I feel like it really captures some of the highs and lows of thinking about the future (or even just existing in the present.)
I suspect I connected with many of these stories to the level I did, because I'm a both a parent and someone concerned about the environment. Or someone thinking about the future or the world we leave behind for future generations. These stories help create potential futures, and thankfully, in many cases feature moments of repair in ruin (though not always.)
Stand outs for me were The Listener, in which we get to live in a world with at least one person that can talk to trees - but it’s also a story about family and identity. The New Nomad, where a parent confronts the unpopular idea of having another child on a struggling planet. The heartbreaking Tadpoles, where it’s about so much more than tadpoles. The Last Roads was a powerful story of change, restoration, forgiveness, and understanding. The intersection of reproductive and horticultural freedom in The Propagator. I realize now that I’ve started, there are many stories I want to call out, several weeks after reading this book - they’ve stuck around in my mind.
Worlds where the freedom to reproduce is curtailed, worlds where the freedom from reproduction is curtailed, worlds where family and community and society is restructured, worlds without cars but with accessible transportation, worlds with radical forest sprites, worlds full of imagination, there is so much richness in this work, and I'd recommend it.
Sim Kern has this ability to create worlds that feel like they exist, with relatively few words, and they’ve become an authour I follow and buy the works of. Definitely one to watch I think.
I bought this book, and also got a review copy from netgalley.
I think it's nice that the authour took the time to layout some of the Trigger Warnings by story, so that's worth checking out if you need/want to as well.
I think it's nice that the authour took the time to layout some of the Trigger Warnings by story, so that's worth checking out if you need/want to as well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Classism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Violence, and Transphobia
Minor: Gun violence
rainyoctober's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
i received an ARC of this collection from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, and oh my goodness, it did not disappoint.
this book will break your heart. every story has its own unique flavor and aesthetic, but all center around the themes of nature, ecofeminism, environmental crisis, queer identity, and parenthood/family - either imagining our future or contemplating our present through the voices of those most vulnerable. sim kern builds worlds of glitter and ash, plague and revolution, isolation and love, and dares us to consider what it means to face down injustices bigger than ourselves - what you do when you're powerless, what you do to take the power back. these contrasts make their stories ever more poignant and so real that it hurts, but always with the salve of Hope to keep you from submitting to despair.
because above all else, this book is full of hope. a mother goes through hell and back in order to bake a cake for her daughter, and it matters. it makes her smile. a woman turns her trauma and some condemned dirt into a garden that helps heal others. a pond full of dying tadpoles gives a person the strength to leave their abusive relationship and make a new life for themself. a lonely kid and an empathetic social worker create a family with each other that they both desperately need. you will cry (god, you will cry) but you'll be stitched back together by the magic and the vulnerability and the utter revolution of this hope, this promise that even when things are worse than we ever imagined they could be, there is always something beautiful to be found.
i don't know if i can fully express how much this book is needed, or how much every story resonated with me. i am overflowing with admiration for sim kern's gorgeous prose and smart pacing, and i love the wry yet delightful sense of humor that sneaks its way in alongside the intense content. and also, the diversity of the characters and perspectives? so important, so good. i don't think i've ever read a story collection with so much queer representation.
my favorite stories were:
-the propagator (absolutely devastating but also ahhhh gardening as a form of resistance ugh yes)
-the new nomad (i love a well built exoplanetary world)
-tadpoles (yes i'm biased, yes this was published in the best literary mag, yes i will forever be obsessed with it)
-what can't be undone (this cottage-witch aesthetic is everything to me)
-the end of the nuclear era (queer found family? say no more)
-the lost roads (absolutely had me bawling and is such a perfect thing to end on.)
anyway, tldr: read this book. it's so important. it's so beautiful.
this book will break your heart. every story has its own unique flavor and aesthetic, but all center around the themes of nature, ecofeminism, environmental crisis, queer identity, and parenthood/family - either imagining our future or contemplating our present through the voices of those most vulnerable. sim kern builds worlds of glitter and ash, plague and revolution, isolation and love, and dares us to consider what it means to face down injustices bigger than ourselves - what you do when you're powerless, what you do to take the power back. these contrasts make their stories ever more poignant and so real that it hurts, but always with the salve of Hope to keep you from submitting to despair.
because above all else, this book is full of hope. a mother goes through hell and back in order to bake a cake for her daughter, and it matters. it makes her smile. a woman turns her trauma and some condemned dirt into a garden that helps heal others. a pond full of dying tadpoles gives a person the strength to leave their abusive relationship and make a new life for themself. a lonely kid and an empathetic social worker create a family with each other that they both desperately need. you will cry (god, you will cry) but you'll be stitched back together by the magic and the vulnerability and the utter revolution of this hope, this promise that even when things are worse than we ever imagined they could be, there is always something beautiful to be found.
i don't know if i can fully express how much this book is needed, or how much every story resonated with me. i am overflowing with admiration for sim kern's gorgeous prose and smart pacing, and i love the wry yet delightful sense of humor that sneaks its way in alongside the intense content. and also, the diversity of the characters and perspectives? so important, so good. i don't think i've ever read a story collection with so much queer representation.
my favorite stories were:
-the propagator (absolutely devastating but also ahhhh gardening as a form of resistance ugh yes)
-the new nomad (i love a well built exoplanetary world)
-tadpoles (yes i'm biased, yes this was published in the best literary mag, yes i will forever be obsessed with it)
-what can't be undone (this cottage-witch aesthetic is everything to me)
-the end of the nuclear era (queer found family? say no more)
-the lost roads (absolutely had me bawling and is such a perfect thing to end on.)
anyway, tldr: read this book. it's so important. it's so beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Miscarriage, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Drug use, Child abuse, Transphobia, Gun violence, and Racism
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