Mostly Dead Things completely threw me off of my reading game. I entered into Kristen Arnett’s book expecting a cheesy gay Florida romance, as indicated by the fanciful cover art. This could not be further from the truth. In reality, this gritty novel relays stories of family loss, strained relationships, and uncovering your true self. Revolving around a tense household further divided by their father’s suicide, the novel follows Jessa, a young gay woman attempting to uplift the family business and maintain complex interpersonal ties. And when I say complex, I mean Complex. Jessa and her brother, Milo, could not be more different; however, they are determined to fall in love with the same women time after time. This spun out into a disaster with Milo’s first wife, Brynn - a ghost who seems to haunt over both siblings throughout the novel. True tragedy then strikes as Jessa’s father dies by suicide, wrecking the family stability. Following this event, Milo and Jessa’s mother descends into a depressive tailspin and it seems to be up to Jessa to piece back together this dismal puzzle. The novel gripped my attention from beginning to end as the author slowly explained parts of plot through carefully placed flashbacks. Interwoven themes of unnatural intimacy perfectly presented in the scene of a taxidermy storefront pepper the novel, reminding readers of the ties of life between us all.