A review by dillarhonda
Stephen Florida by Gabe Habash

In his debut novel, Stephen Florida, Gabe Habash hermetically seals the reader inside Florida's mind as he strives to win a wrestling championship in his last year of college. From the opening line, "My mother had two placentas and I was living off both of them," you can tell that this is no normal college senior. Florida behaves erratically, and although it might take you a third of the novel to notice, his mental health is spiraling out of control. Habash keeps his book in a relentless present tense that mirrors Florida's inability to focus on the past or the future and occasionally uses passive voice to emphasize his dissociation from his own life. The simmering tension and unique vulnerability of the character keep the reader on their toes through the final pages. Though the ending feels like a bit of a dodge, the lack of emotional release parallels Florida's contemplation of post-wrestling life. An excellent first novel, Habash manages to simultaneously maintain a placid surface while revealing glimpses of the horror just beneath.