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katekate_reads_'s review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. After finishing, I sat dazed on my couch feeling book hungover. I’ve been struggling a little lately with my attention span. It’s hard to read when I keep pulling myself out to check the news and twitter over and over. So - I decided to try a short story collection. And next thing I knew, I had successfully set my phone down and read for a couple hours.
The writing in these stories really blew me away - sometimes feeling more like poetry but in an accessible way. There are sentences I had to stop to reread to myself a few times because they were just that good.
And to quote the jacket copy description of the stories because it’s better than what I could write: “Leesa Cross-Smith’s sensuous stories — some long, some gone in a flash, some told over text and emails — drench readers in nostalgia for summer nights and sultry days. They recall the intense friendships of teenage girls and the innate bonds between mothers, the first heady rush of desire, and the pure exhilaration of womanhood, all while holding up the wild souls of women so they can catch the light.”
Thank you so much to Grand Central for the gifted book to read and review.
The writing in these stories really blew me away - sometimes feeling more like poetry but in an accessible way. There are sentences I had to stop to reread to myself a few times because they were just that good.
And to quote the jacket copy description of the stories because it’s better than what I could write: “Leesa Cross-Smith’s sensuous stories — some long, some gone in a flash, some told over text and emails — drench readers in nostalgia for summer nights and sultry days. They recall the intense friendships of teenage girls and the innate bonds between mothers, the first heady rush of desire, and the pure exhilaration of womanhood, all while holding up the wild souls of women so they can catch the light.”
Thank you so much to Grand Central for the gifted book to read and review.
scorttarius's review against another edition
I got to the 10th story/essay and besides the first one, none of them wowed me. I have a long list of books on my tbr and I just didn’t want to keep wasting my time :/
remigves's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
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? Yes
3.5
lingfish7's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. I really didn't like the first few short stories and maybe it's because the theme and style took a little adjusting to. After the first 100 pages the stories seemed to resonate more with me (as seen in my list below where all 7 of my top favorites are after page 115).
The theme is essentially women: all of our emotions, thoughts, obsessions, desires, and impulses. The stories range from innocent and sweet to seductive and foolish. Some stories really resonated with me and I soaked up every word; other stories just didn't do it for me. But I guess that's probably normal for short story books.
I still love Leesa Cross-Smith. I've read all of her books and I will keep reading all of her works because of her beautiful prose, emotionally depth characters, and satisfying happy endings. Leesa doesn't shy away from the tough, important topics and themes and I admire her for her authenticity.
My favorite short stories from this book (in order):
1. California, Keep Us (pg. 199)
2. And Down We Go! (pg. 158)
3. Dark and Sweet and Dirty (pg. 115)
4. Two Cherries Under a Lavender Moon (pg. 181)
5. Crepuscular (pg. 171)
6. Teenage Dream Time Machine (pg. 125)
7. Get Faye & Birdie (pg. 140)
Also, another unique thing is that three of the short stories carry on later in the book. So there are 3 stories that start at a certain time period and then reappear later in the book years later with the same characters and you get see how they "turned out" or just additional info about them. I kind of liked this because it brought a deeper closure to some of the earlier short stories, which is why at first the earlier short stories didn't resonate as much. It's because she was planning on closing the loop later on.
The theme is essentially women: all of our emotions, thoughts, obsessions, desires, and impulses. The stories range from innocent and sweet to seductive and foolish. Some stories really resonated with me and I soaked up every word; other stories just didn't do it for me. But I guess that's probably normal for short story books.
I still love Leesa Cross-Smith. I've read all of her books and I will keep reading all of her works because of her beautiful prose, emotionally depth characters, and satisfying happy endings. Leesa doesn't shy away from the tough, important topics and themes and I admire her for her authenticity.
My favorite short stories from this book (in order):
1. California, Keep Us (pg. 199)
2. And Down We Go! (pg. 158)
3. Dark and Sweet and Dirty (pg. 115)
4. Two Cherries Under a Lavender Moon (pg. 181)
5. Crepuscular (pg. 171)
6. Teenage Dream Time Machine (pg. 125)
7. Get Faye & Birdie (pg. 140)
Also, another unique thing is that three of the short stories carry on later in the book. So there are 3 stories that start at a certain time period and then reappear later in the book years later with the same characters and you get see how they "turned out" or just additional info about them. I kind of liked this because it brought a deeper closure to some of the earlier short stories, which is why at first the earlier short stories didn't resonate as much. It's because she was planning on closing the loop later on.
evareads18's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
s_eniko's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.25
shannanh's review against another edition
3.0
I personally wasn't a big fan of this particular book. It just wasn't for me
seebrandyread's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
So We Can Glow is a celebration of the feminine, of women’s desire and power. The characters in these stories are familiar, not only because they’re wives, mothers, sisters, daughters, lovers, and friends, but because they make mistakes, lose control, love hard, and feel too much. The book offers up a somewhat specific version of femininity–cisgendered and heterosexual–and tends to gloss over the race of its characters. The stories feel like fits and starts in that they often come across as bits and pieces of scenes and characters that haven’t yet made it into longer works. Cross-Smith is a bottomless well of language for longing–longing for sex, escape, transformation, love, the past, the future, but it’s a longing that begins to feel a bit one note after a while. She explores a wide range of heterosexual interactions, both healthy and not, appropriate and not, and the ways and reasons women are attracted to men, but the prose tends to get bogged down in explicit description and plot movement at the expense of meaningful interiority, making the book a fun read but without any stand-out moments or characters.
thelexingtonbookie's review against another edition
5.0
Whiskey & Ribbons and local Kentucky author Cross-Smith adds a second collection of short stories to her repertoire with So We Can Glow.
There are forty-two short stories in her collection, and so many of them made me wish they would continue into their own novels. I would fall into each page, only to quickly resurface, take a breath, and then fall again. Cross-Smith's contemporary prose brings many social issues to life, placing the reader into the mind of the narrator for a brief period of time, but allowing them to feel and see though their eyes. Topics such as relationships, miscarriage, depression, race are told from a variety of women.
Cross-Smith's format style also varies throughout, and while most follow the traditional prose style, there are a few stream of consciousness pieces that I didn't think I'd enjoy as much as I did. I LOVED her "Girlheart Cake with Glitter Frosting" piece, and was so inspired by it... what makes up my own girlheart? I'm not sure who inspired Cross-Smith for that one, but I honestly wished I could print it out and hang it in my house as wall art.
It was hard to choose favorites in this collection though, and that's always a good sign to me. I highlighted so many phrases and quotes. Cross-Smith has such a lovely way with words, and easily stirred an emotional connection from me to her pages. After publication day, I'll come back to this review and share some of my favorite quotes, but take my word for it- there are many, and they are beautiful.
There are forty-two short stories in her collection, and so many of them made me wish they would continue into their own novels. I would fall into each page, only to quickly resurface, take a breath, and then fall again. Cross-Smith's contemporary prose brings many social issues to life, placing the reader into the mind of the narrator for a brief period of time, but allowing them to feel and see though their eyes. Topics such as relationships, miscarriage, depression, race are told from a variety of women.
Cross-Smith's format style also varies throughout, and while most follow the traditional prose style, there are a few stream of consciousness pieces that I didn't think I'd enjoy as much as I did. I LOVED her "Girlheart Cake with Glitter Frosting" piece, and was so inspired by it... what makes up my own girlheart? I'm not sure who inspired Cross-Smith for that one, but I honestly wished I could print it out and hang it in my house as wall art.
It was hard to choose favorites in this collection though, and that's always a good sign to me. I highlighted so many phrases and quotes. Cross-Smith has such a lovely way with words, and easily stirred an emotional connection from me to her pages. After publication day, I'll come back to this review and share some of my favorite quotes, but take my word for it- there are many, and they are beautiful.