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ellewhyoh 's review for:
Scissor Sisters
by April Yates, Rae Knowles
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've had a long personal and academic interest in the cultural connections between our concepts of femininity and the monstrous, so this was right up my alley. I think one of the things I appreciated most about this collection was the wide span of time periods, genres, and facets of monstrosity that the stories provided. From retelling Dickens and Hansel and Gretel to the evils both manmade and hellbent that lie within the walls of a convent, to the play of life and death in the world of modern art and film, to a "Children of Men" style future, these sapphic stories do a lot within very few pages.
I was engrossed while reading each story, and many of them tapped into the deep well of frustration and pain that lies in the heart of women, especially queer women like myself. It's fairly delightful to see "wicked" women winning over patriarchal forces, to become free and unburdened by giving in to monstrosity.
I also greatly appreciated that the book has a section at the end for content warnings. Horror anthologies can be a very mixed bag when it comes to the contents of the stories, and it's helpful to know which direction the horror might be coming from, and to provide warnings for any readers that may have specific things they don't want to see in fiction.
It's hard for a story collection to rise above 4 stars for me, just because by virtue of the variety of things they contain you are bound to find some stories you like better and some that don't hit in the same way. But overall this was a very solid collection and I recommend it for anyone who has ever rooted for Ursula and Maleficent over Ariel and Aurora.
(This Digital ARC was provided for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)
I was engrossed while reading each story, and many of them tapped into the deep well of frustration and pain that lies in the heart of women, especially queer women like myself. It's fairly delightful to see "wicked" women winning over patriarchal forces, to become free and unburdened by giving in to monstrosity.
I also greatly appreciated that the book has a section at the end for content warnings. Horror anthologies can be a very mixed bag when it comes to the contents of the stories, and it's helpful to know which direction the horror might be coming from, and to provide warnings for any readers that may have specific things they don't want to see in fiction.
It's hard for a story collection to rise above 4 stars for me, just because by virtue of the variety of things they contain you are bound to find some stories you like better and some that don't hit in the same way. But overall this was a very solid collection and I recommend it for anyone who has ever rooted for Ursula and Maleficent over Ariel and Aurora.
(This Digital ARC was provided for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.)