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greenlivingaudioworm's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
papercraftalex's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Overall review: Hitchcock has created a masterpiece short-story collection. She is so great at characterization that every single one of them feels unbelievably real. She’s also amazing at capturing small town environments and all the hidden things within them. All the stories weave together in ways I truly did not expect but were complete perfection. The writing style is raw and honest with hints of lyricism. I absolutely recommend it to everyone interested in slice-of-life stories. You can see my (rambly) reviews of individual stories below with content warnings. If one story has content that triggers you, you can still get a lot out of the collection, but you might miss the easter egg references.
Angry Starfish: 5 stars, great visualization, truly captures grief, I really enjoyed it. CW: grief, death of a parent
Pigeon Creek: 4 stars, I didn’t realize the stories were connected, her writing is so realistic, this was very dramatic like watching a car crash (lmao), plays with the senses. CW: car crash, sex, infidelity, alcohol
Sea Shaken Houses: 5 stars, this is absolutely my favorite so far, so much imagery, the characterization was beautiful, great plot *chef’s kiss* I want more, I love Jane. CW: body horror, death, sexual assault
Parking Lot Flowers: 4.5 stars, this one was a lot darker, easy to feel the characters emotions, tells an entire story in such a short story. CW: sexual assault, homophobia
The Right Kind of People: 5 stars, so good and dark and fiery. Amazing wordsmithing, gross and gritty like the subject at hand. CW: sexual assault, sexual content
Basketball Town: 4.75 stars, I love how the stories are weaved together, this was a great way to show familial pressure, I wish it was longer to make the story as fully fleshed as the others. CW: sexism, anti-native racism
Alaska Was Wasted on Us: 4 stars, this one felt a bit more juvenile than the rest but it did make my heart race with suspense. CW: mild child missing
The Stranger in the Woods: 4.5 stars still not as deep or fleshed out as the earlier ones, but still overall really good at analyzing relationships and the hidden things in small towns, specifically trust and gossip. Also, the connections are so good, the one didn’t hit me until after I finished and I literally gasped. CW: child murder, possible adult/minor relationship
There’s Gas in the Tank, Louise!: 5 stars, this literally made me cry, it is so emotional. I love the unreliable narrator and I think the way it was done was amazing. This was a good story to wrap up the collection. CW: drugs, child death
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Racial slurs, Racism, and Blood
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