alexisgarcia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Death, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
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: Racism, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Misogyny, Body shaming, and Cancer
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Addiction, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Drug use, Murder, Suicide, Alcohol, Classism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia
Colorism, missing person, r slur.livcab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Violence, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Hate crime, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault
myrtosfullybooked's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I've decided to stop giving star reviews to story collections because as we all know, each story will be different and some will hit a chord more than others, but for this book, I couldn't resist.
The stories in this collection deal with painful themes like intergenerational violence, abandonment, and discrimination, but they are written gently, and they flow easily. If anything, the writing felt minimal but, just like the women whose stories it portrayed, hid many deeper layers - not all of them meant to or being fully revealed to the reader. I feel like I learned a lot about the experiences of Indigenous and Latina women in the American West without the book ever becoming didactic or compromising the atmosphere of the story told.
Tomi, Any Further West, and Ghost Sickness were my favourites from the collection. Any Further West, especially, felt like a punch in the stomach, but it was so beautifully well-written. I may not be able to explain it very well, but we see characters lost, self-destructive, desperate, or perpetually in pain, and yet somehow what stayed with me was their strength and their survival. The cycles of violence and pain sometimes seem endless and inescapable, but every now and then a daughter will get away and make it; a grandmother will leave a legacy to be honoured; a cousin will be remembered for more than her beauty even if it's by only one person; a lost girl might be found... Normally, these would have been the type of stories I would have found so grim and depressing, and I was really surprised to find myself not wanting the book to end. It is all the things sad girl literature (or the samples of it I've read at least) is trying to be and fails.
I am so grateful to @bouebooks for putting this book on my radar. I will certainly be reading Woman of Light too.
Moderate: Abandonment, Colonisation, Abortion, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racism, and Sexual violence
sarahemhavens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
4.0
More specifically, the topics that I found most moved by were the talk of ‘westward expansion’, the destruction of native peoples and cultures, whitewashing and gentrification, western medicine vs herbal medicine, and the mistreatment and objectification of women.
Of the eleven stories, my favorites were:
Remedies
Tomi
Any Further West
All Her Names
Ghost Sickness (this one shook me most)
Biggest takeaway quotes/thoughts for me:
- “afraid of letting any amount of death work its way into me”
- “that was the first time that I missed someone while sitting right next to them”
- “Sabrina was to forever face ceilings and casket tops padded in pink satin”
- white people (“Generations of tragedy free living”) steam rolling over native culture, destroying their lands and throwing up concrete gentrification jungles that only erode years later in our failing society. (The us’ history and mistreatment of peoples never fails to devastate me, nor should it - we should constantly be reminding ourselves and educating ourselves, not try to brush anything under the rug like we tend to in the us)
- “people, we learned, weren’t permanent and neither were their sicknesses”
- “maidens strapped to railroad tracks and cowboy heroes shot dead” (“heroes”)
- “money comes with chains”
- “you make me feel full, I’m heavy with you”
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Racism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Classism
Moderate: Colonisation, Fatphobia, Genocide, and Pedophilia
asainspace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Addiction, Suicide, and Alcoholism
Minor: Abortion
euphoricallydreaming's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Abandonment, Addiction, and Racism
Minor: Alcoholism
illy95's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Sexual content
hngisreading'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
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, and Violence
mengzhenreads'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? Yes
3.5
Overall, a good collection of stories that were generally thought-provoking and interesting. I didn't enjoy all the stories equally but it was still a good read.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Physical abuse
Minor: Suicide and Drug abuse