Scan barcode
mollypitcher's review
5.0
It is a credit to Summers' deft hand as an author that this story hits as hard as it does, because she approaches it with a very light touch where a lesser author would be tempted to spell it out more, make the statements she's making much explicit.
Courtney lets a single day tell the story. And the day, unremarkably told with little fanfare about its events, says so much. This story hurt me as a person, as a woman, and as a mom. It made me afraid. It depressed me.
And I loved it. It's classically her, and it also feels important in the way Kristen Roupenian's Cat Person did when it made the internet rounds at the end of 2017. It fits in that genre of tiny horror stories that aren't really horror stories, except that they are because they're about women and sex and rape culture and our place in society, and boy, isn't all that horrific?
Courtney lets a single day tell the story. And the day, unremarkably told with little fanfare about its events, says so much. This story hurt me as a person, as a woman, and as a mom. It made me afraid. It depressed me.
And I loved it. It's classically her, and it also feels important in the way Kristen Roupenian's Cat Person did when it made the internet rounds at the end of 2017. It fits in that genre of tiny horror stories that aren't really horror stories, except that they are because they're about women and sex and rape culture and our place in society, and boy, isn't all that horrific?
alliecalls's review
5.0
fOLKS! She did it again ✨ Are we surprised? No.
(whenever im given homework the first thing i do is to think how i can make it about something i love. so just wrote a term paper on reading this from a feminist critic perspective. thank u queen summers for helping me pass my class kksdjk)
"Mr. Arbor takes a particular delight in all the skin the freshman girls aren’t supposed to be showing... Until Arbor, Norah had never been ogled by an older man… That made her want to dress to code just to escape it until she made a promise to herself: she couldn’t under any circumstance let the old man win. So what she does now is pause at his desk and wait until he looks her right in the eyes before moving on.”
(whenever im given homework the first thing i do is to think how i can make it about something i love. so just wrote a term paper on reading this from a feminist critic perspective. thank u queen summers for helping me pass my class kksdjk)
nesdy's review
4.0
It's really short but there's a lot to unpack in it relation to girlhood and sexuality. I really recommend it.
hshipl's review
4.0
3.5 stars rounded to 4***
“And Norah knows the reason why she likes to play: she loves standing victorious at the end of the day because it’s a beautiful act of defiance, owning her body.”
“That made her want to dress to code just to escape it until she made a promise to herself: she couldn’t under any circumstance let the old man win.”
i am not one to put short stories on here, mainly because i feel like it is “cheating” in terms of my reading challenge. but i really enjoyed this story and honestly... i just wanted to have 30 books completed on my reading challenge, it’s more satisfying than 29 (i realize that i JUST said that i consider that “cheating.”)
as a girl at the same age as the protagonist, this short story made me feel all kinds of different things. now, i don’t necessarily participate in stuff that the main character does, (i think the fact that i have the app goodreads on my phone says enough), but everything is so realistic for people my age. during your teenage years you start experimenting, especially during your earlier ones. people will change themselves for romantic attention. now what does this cause? misogyny. and creepy men.
misogyny— this is literally shown throughout the entire story that i am willing to bet money that if you read only a few paragraphs you’d know it. like, the whole “The boys are walking uniform infractions, their shirts perpetually untucked and unbuttoned, ties loose around their necks.” and then if the girls show one inch too much of skin: OH NO!! they must be punished!!!!!
creepy men— mr. arbor is probably a registered sex offender, let’s just be honest here.
bottom line:
- if you identify as a woman, you’ll relate to this short story one way or another.
- if you’re in need of a book to finish your reading challenge, here’s one. it takes minutes to read and is enjoyable.
“And Norah knows the reason why she likes to play: she loves standing victorious at the end of the day because it’s a beautiful act of defiance, owning her body.”
“That made her want to dress to code just to escape it until she made a promise to herself: she couldn’t under any circumstance let the old man win.”
i am not one to put short stories on here, mainly because i feel like it is “cheating” in terms of my reading challenge. but i really enjoyed this story and honestly... i just wanted to have 30 books completed on my reading challenge, it’s more satisfying than 29 (i realize that i JUST said that i consider that “cheating.”)
as a girl at the same age as the protagonist, this short story made me feel all kinds of different things. now, i don’t necessarily participate in stuff that the main character does, (i think the fact that i have the app goodreads on my phone says enough), but everything is so realistic for people my age. during your teenage years you start experimenting, especially during your earlier ones. people will change themselves for romantic attention. now what does this cause? misogyny. and creepy men.
misogyny— this is literally shown throughout the entire story that i am willing to bet money that if you read only a few paragraphs you’d know it. like, the whole “The boys are walking uniform infractions, their shirts perpetually untucked and unbuttoned, ties loose around their necks.” and then if the girls show one inch too much of skin: OH NO!! they must be punished!!!!!
creepy men— mr. arbor is probably a registered sex offender, let’s just be honest here.
bottom line:
- if you identify as a woman, you’ll relate to this short story one way or another.
- if you’re in need of a book to finish your reading challenge, here’s one. it takes minutes to read and is enjoyable.
_clairereads's review
Where’s the ending??
What was the point of a short story with so many loose ends?
What was the point of a short story with so many loose ends?
kawaiikuma's review
3.0
Writing was a little lackluster feeling for some reason and the gritty topic will be uncomfortable for some.
haleship's review
3.5
<i> “And Norah knows the reason why she likes to play: she loves standing victorious at the end of the day because it’s a beautiful act of defiance, owning her body.” </i>
<i> “That made her want to dress to code just to escape it until she made a promise to herself: she couldn’t under any circumstance let the old man win.” </i>
i am not one to put short stories on here, mainly because i feel like it is “cheating” in terms of my reading challenge. but i really enjoyed this story and honestly... i just wanted to have 30 books completed on my reading challenge, it’s more satisfying than 29 (i realize that i JUST said that i consider that “cheating.”)
as a girl at the same age as the protagonist, this short story made me feel all kinds of different things. now, i don’t necessarily participate in stuff that the main character does, (i think the fact that i have the app goodreads on my phone says enough), but everything is so realistic for people my age. during your teenage years you start experimenting, especially during your earlier ones. people will change themselves for romantic attention. now what does this cause? misogyny. and creepy men.
misogyny— this is literally shown throughout the entire story that i am willing to bet money that if you read only a few paragraphs you’d know it. like, the whole <i> “The boys are walking uniform infractions, their shirts perpetually untucked and unbuttoned, ties loose around their necks.” </i> and then if the girls show one inch too much of skin: OH NO!! they must be punished!!!!!
creepy men— mr. arbor is probably a registered sex offender, let’s just be honest here.
bottom line:
- if you identify as a woman, you’ll relate to this short story one way or another.
- if you’re in need of a book to finish your reading challenge, here’s one. it takes minutes to read and is enjoyable.
<i> “That made her want to dress to code just to escape it until she made a promise to herself: she couldn’t under any circumstance let the old man win.” </i>
i am not one to put short stories on here, mainly because i feel like it is “cheating” in terms of my reading challenge. but i really enjoyed this story and honestly... i just wanted to have 30 books completed on my reading challenge, it’s more satisfying than 29 (i realize that i JUST said that i consider that “cheating.”)
as a girl at the same age as the protagonist, this short story made me feel all kinds of different things. now, i don’t necessarily participate in stuff that the main character does, (i think the fact that i have the app goodreads on my phone says enough), but everything is so realistic for people my age. during your teenage years you start experimenting, especially during your earlier ones. people will change themselves for romantic attention. now what does this cause? misogyny. and creepy men.
misogyny— this is literally shown throughout the entire story that i am willing to bet money that if you read only a few paragraphs you’d know it. like, the whole <i> “The boys are walking uniform infractions, their shirts perpetually untucked and unbuttoned, ties loose around their necks.” </i> and then if the girls show one inch too much of skin: OH NO!! they must be punished!!!!!
creepy men— mr. arbor is probably a registered sex offender, let’s just be honest here.
bottom line:
- if you identify as a woman, you’ll relate to this short story one way or another.
- if you’re in need of a book to finish your reading challenge, here’s one. it takes minutes to read and is enjoyable.
bookswithbain's review
4.0
Super short story but as always Summers packs such a punch with only a few words.