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brooketreads's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
- the end of sugar babies when they kick the literal sugar baby into the dig site
- Sabrina & Corina… I wasn’t ready for that one
- Harrison pulling the curtains down 😭
- Tomi’s mom!! 😡
- And that is our story of everything
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Yall please check content warnings, I may have missed some.bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
My favorite stories from this short story collection were “Sisters” and “Remedies”. It is not lost on me that I chose the two stories where siblinghood was most salient 🥹
In “Sisters,” we are given a slice of life of Doty and Tina’s current situations, as Tina is dedicated to finding a life partner. Doty is questioning what she wants for herself (and seemingly her own sexual orientation👀), but mostly, her mind is occupied by thinking about a missing young woman from their hometown, Filipina-American Lucia. It’s clear that Tina and Doty’s priorities are on opposite ends of the spectrum during this story, and this felt like a commentary on and allegory for sexual misconduct and unwanted attention or advances. I related to Doty’s consumption of worrying over Lucia’s whereabouts and then resignation to how cishet men get to act towards women.
In “Remedies,” Clarisa’s mom tries to develop a relationship with Clarisa’s half brother, Harrison. Clarisa and Harrison’s dad abandoned them both, but they’re around the same age and Clarisa’s mom wants them to have a relationship. She picks him up from a seemingly poverty-stricken area and the entire household contracts lice! It’s interesting, because Clarisa had lice before Harrison came over, and she noted how “dirty” Harrison and his house were. Their story made me feel sad, but Grandma Estrella was there to clean everything up for the most part!
Overall, I thought some stories were just fine and that’s pretty par for the course when you read a short story collection. I appreciated reading about these women from Northern Colorado, and would seek our KFA’s work in the future!
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
tensepopcorn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
- this was probably my favorite story in this collection. I wasn’t expecting it to impact me when reading.
- Again, tragic story but moving. I didn’t really like how it ended. I was wanting more.
- very very sad. I liked the story but I wanted more. I didn’t like how it ended.
- I really didn’t enjoy this one. I understand the frustration of the main character but still.
- another sad one. Very good but still lingering and not in a good way.
- this was another good story and probably my third favorite.
- I really felt bad for the main character, her mother was terrible and really selfish. This one was heartbreaking. It was still great! “Any Further West” is a great title due to the mother going west but it my opinion she can’t go west ENOUGH. The mother will never have enough space between her and her home.
- pretty good, not much to say not as good as the last one. I did enjoy the narrator here.
- good but the ending fell way flat for me. But i think it was about to have a story about the father in another story.
Graphic: Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Racism, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Colorism, missing person, r slur.alayamorning's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, and Car accident
Moderate: Child abuse, Abortion, and Colonisation
garynoplastie's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Abortion
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Ableism