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poisoned_icecream's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Child abuse
Minor: Animal death
amyjoy's review
4.0
This is a short, well written collection of short stories that I think will stick with me for awhile. I particularly liked "A Little Procedure: For Rosemary Kennedy."
apollo0325's review
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Really interesting collection of short stories (mostly) centering the transformative experience of transness and queerness. Some I’ll think about after this, but I think many will be forgotten. Sawyer’s story was my favorite as well as the vampire’s.
noahh's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
katellison's review against another edition
3.0
would have been two stars if it weren't for teen injecting lake water after her estrogen in the first story. metal
most of the rest was corny as hell and not in the good midwestern way
most of the rest was corny as hell and not in the good midwestern way
rlore96's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
nearfutures's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.5
percy_roy's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
reading_rainbow_with_chris's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
“Transmutations” by Alex DiFrancisesco
A young girl finds comfort in the idea of a lake witch. A vampire reflects on her own journey against that of her beloved. An eerie tape tells an unexpected story. Alex DiFrancesco’s collection of short stories rattles with queerness, both in characters and contexts, making this a collection wholly unlike anything else you might read.
I had read a couple of these stories in isolation but never made it through the full collection. What strikes me the most about DiFrancesco’s writing is the casual way they play with sentence structure and tone, many of the pieces ringing almost casual in how they communicate to us. Yet, there’s still significant craft to that choice, shown in the way the stories build a haunting and hauntological experience, an eerie and foreboding sense that something once here is not but the presence lingers. For me personally, I did find that there were a couple of duds in the collection but overall this was a well-crafted and quick read that you can either burn through or let it burn in you. DiFrancesco’s writing will appeal to many different types of readers, but I highly recommend it for those who identify with trans and queer experiences in literature.
A young girl finds comfort in the idea of a lake witch. A vampire reflects on her own journey against that of her beloved. An eerie tape tells an unexpected story. Alex DiFrancesco’s collection of short stories rattles with queerness, both in characters and contexts, making this a collection wholly unlike anything else you might read.
I had read a couple of these stories in isolation but never made it through the full collection. What strikes me the most about DiFrancesco’s writing is the casual way they play with sentence structure and tone, many of the pieces ringing almost casual in how they communicate to us. Yet, there’s still significant craft to that choice, shown in the way the stories build a haunting and hauntological experience, an eerie and foreboding sense that something once here is not but the presence lingers. For me personally, I did find that there were a couple of duds in the collection but overall this was a well-crafted and quick read that you can either burn through or let it burn in you. DiFrancesco’s writing will appeal to many different types of readers, but I highly recommend it for those who identify with trans and queer experiences in literature.