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A review by hellalibrary
Milk Blood Heat by Dantiel W. Moniz
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
This collection reminded me of the suffocating heat of summer. When you’re hot and sticky and feel like you’re moving through a fog and it’s hard to breathe. When everything has that dreamlike quality and no one is any rush to do anything. I picture someone laying in bed with the blinds closed and the ceiling fan is going but all it does is recirculate the hot air. Sweat-drenched.
I took my time with this. I would read a story and then have to sit with it because I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. And I wanted it to rain.
I’ll leave you with a couple of quotes that have stayed with me, because honestly, I still can’t form the words to describe this collection. It’s all feelings.
“She is a vampire queen. She is newly thirteen, hollowed out and filled back up with venom and dust-cloud dreams.”
“From here, her mother looks young - could be any of the girls, making sure the face she’s wearing is the one the world wants - and at this thought, Frankie suddenly breaks through, not just a mother, but a whole person.”
“You learn to be who you are, or you die as someone else. It’s simple.”
I took my time with this. I would read a story and then have to sit with it because I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. I wanted to scream. I wanted to cry. And I wanted it to rain.
I’ll leave you with a couple of quotes that have stayed with me, because honestly, I still can’t form the words to describe this collection. It’s all feelings.
“She is a vampire queen. She is newly thirteen, hollowed out and filled back up with venom and dust-cloud dreams.”
“From here, her mother looks young - could be any of the girls, making sure the face she’s wearing is the one the world wants - and at this thought, Frankie suddenly breaks through, not just a mother, but a whole person.”
“You learn to be who you are, or you die as someone else. It’s simple.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, and Suicide