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A review by gabriele_queerbookdom
Betty Bites Back: Stories to Scare the Patriarchy by Demitria Lunetta, Mindy McGinnis, Kate Karyus Quinn
4.0
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Betty Bites Back: Stories to Scare the Patriarchy is a collection of short stories and poems. Each story is a different narration of what happens to women on a daily basis. Most of these tales crept me out. I know they are a clear representation of the modern world and it scares me. We are barely moving forward.
Vagina Dentata by Mindy McGinnis ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It is the greatest of beginnings for the anthology: short, purposeful, affecting in all the right ways.
You Wake With Him Beside You by Cori McCarthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It’s a complex poem of justice and reclaiming one’s life back, so exquisitely crafted that you feel as suffocated as the main character is.
The Weight of Iron by Amanda Sun ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I’m not sure I’m fully capable of conveying how meaningful this story can be.
Galen is a normal girl, trying to live her life, but she cannot even do that as men are useless dirt bags. She is harassed, humiliated, raped and to add insult to injury, she is called a witch and condemned to death. She is shackled and left to die in the forest where a mysterious creature is said to kill the penitents.
What She Left Behind by E.R. Griffin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This powerful story kept my eyes glued to the screen. The entangled tale of two similarly tormented lives. A summer night Erin Wilcox disappears, forty years later Mel discovers her diary and her story.
After The Foxes Have Their Say by Tracie Martin ⭐⭐⭐
A story of retaliation, of taking back control from men. Initially, I thought the Warden would learn something, but, alas, he didn’t.
Shadows by Demitria Lunetta ⭐
Confronting it to previous and subsequent stories, I don’t appreciate it as much.
@Theguardians1972 by Jenna Lehne ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just beginning to read this story will surely enrage you. Every time I read any of the guys’ sentences I had to stop reading because of the disgust I felt. By the end of it, you’ll either be torn between right or wrong, or be strangely accepting of some events.
Gravity by Kyrie McCauley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A tale simultaneously eerie and light. A curse burdens every woman in a family from birth: an untruthful smile fixed on their face and a weightless body until they are sixteen. I particularly liked the ending: I felt the main character’s excitement and pain when she finally regained her control.
The Guardrail Disappears by Melody Simpson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I didn’t know what I was getting into with this story, but it sure was a hell of a ride.
Good Sister. Bad Sister by Azzurra Nox ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sweet, sweet revenge is all I’m saying.
Vigilante Lane by S.E. Green ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Creepy, gruesome and raw. Fantastically dark.
We Have But Lingered Here by Liz Coley ⭐⭐⭐
A ghost story with an engaging twist.
The Whispers by Lindsey Klingele ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It was incredible. One of the reasons I really like anthologies is because of stories like this one. It managed to completely involve me and make me feel what the girls felt, the rage they shared and the will to get back at those disgusting pricks.
Smile by Emilee Martell ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Short and frightening in the best way.
Potluck by Kamerhe Lane ⭐⭐⭐
I particularly liked the choice of narration and how the intrinsic complexity of a regular event was described.
The Change by Kate Karyus Quinn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Powerful and splendid.
Betty Bites Back: Stories to Scare the Patriarchy is a collection of short stories and poems. Each story is a different narration of what happens to women on a daily basis. Most of these tales crept me out. I know they are a clear representation of the modern world and it scares me. We are barely moving forward.
Vagina Dentata by Mindy McGinnis ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It is the greatest of beginnings for the anthology: short, purposeful, affecting in all the right ways.
You Wake With Him Beside You by Cori McCarthy ⭐⭐⭐⭐
It’s a complex poem of justice and reclaiming one’s life back, so exquisitely crafted that you feel as suffocated as the main character is.
The Weight of Iron by Amanda Sun ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I’m not sure I’m fully capable of conveying how meaningful this story can be.
Galen is a normal girl, trying to live her life, but she cannot even do that as men are useless dirt bags. She is harassed, humiliated, raped and to add insult to injury, she is called a witch and condemned to death. She is shackled and left to die in the forest where a mysterious creature is said to kill the penitents.
What She Left Behind by E.R. Griffin ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This powerful story kept my eyes glued to the screen. The entangled tale of two similarly tormented lives. A summer night Erin Wilcox disappears, forty years later Mel discovers her diary and her story.
After The Foxes Have Their Say by Tracie Martin ⭐⭐⭐
A story of retaliation, of taking back control from men. Initially, I thought the Warden would learn something, but, alas, he didn’t.
Shadows by Demitria Lunetta ⭐
Confronting it to previous and subsequent stories, I don’t appreciate it as much.
@Theguardians1972 by Jenna Lehne ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just beginning to read this story will surely enrage you. Every time I read any of the guys’ sentences I had to stop reading because of the disgust I felt. By the end of it, you’ll either be torn between right or wrong, or be strangely accepting of some events.
Gravity by Kyrie McCauley ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A tale simultaneously eerie and light. A curse burdens every woman in a family from birth: an untruthful smile fixed on their face and a weightless body until they are sixteen. I particularly liked the ending: I felt the main character’s excitement and pain when she finally regained her control.
The Guardrail Disappears by Melody Simpson ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I didn’t know what I was getting into with this story, but it sure was a hell of a ride.
Good Sister. Bad Sister by Azzurra Nox ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Sweet, sweet revenge is all I’m saying.
Vigilante Lane by S.E. Green ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Creepy, gruesome and raw. Fantastically dark.
We Have But Lingered Here by Liz Coley ⭐⭐⭐
A ghost story with an engaging twist.
The Whispers by Lindsey Klingele ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
It was incredible. One of the reasons I really like anthologies is because of stories like this one. It managed to completely involve me and make me feel what the girls felt, the rage they shared and the will to get back at those disgusting pricks.
Smile by Emilee Martell ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Short and frightening in the best way.
Potluck by Kamerhe Lane ⭐⭐⭐
I particularly liked the choice of narration and how the intrinsic complexity of a regular event was described.
The Change by Kate Karyus Quinn ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Powerful and splendid.