(4.5 ⭐) A striking, somber, beautiful collection of stories following Latina & Indigenous women. The pieces are slices of life with themes around family, tradition, cycles of violence, and girlhood.

Though the themes culminated to create a very cohesive collection, the stories were each super distinct and memorable. The flow worked well, and I felt like the stories led naturally into each other while still standing out individually. The location - Denver, Colorado - was also its own throughline & character.

Fajardo-Anstine is such a talent. Usually I have difficulty reviewing collections because some stories are so much weaker than others - and because a short story format is so difficult to get right - but I didn’t feel like there were any weak links here. I loved the depth of characterization in each mini world and the varying structures.

These stories are often sad, with unresolved endings. There’s not a lot of hope in this collection, so I would recommend preparing to enter that space before starting. It’s beautiful, though.

CW: death, abuse, toxic relationship, addiction & alcoholism, abandonment, cancer, racism, terminal illness, grief, abortion, gun violence, misogyny, pregnancy, sexual assault, car accident, infidelity, body shaming & fatphobia

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