I've reached a point in my life where I buy print copies of SGJ titles whenever possible, because I already know ahead of time that I'm going to highlight the hell out of it, just as I did with this one. Half of my copy of this little story is highlighted because there's something about this author's writing that mesmerizes me from the very first page and doesn't let go, and Mapping the Interior was no exception.

Mapping the Interior isn't your average ghost story: in this, we follow a teen boy who's seeing his late father's ghost, but the spirit's motives are unclear at first. Is he visiting to watch his boys grow up? Is he seeking out closure for unfinished business? Or is there something darker at play here?

This novella packs such a powerful punch, and in so few pages! It's an atmospheric, immensely eerie horror tale, but it's also a look at Native experiences, generational trauma, and the endless absences that grief creates. Junior and his younger brother Dino are impossible not to fall in love with, which created such a high-stakes, emotional reading experience for me.

There's something about SGJ's way as a natural storyteller that makes every story feel like sitting at a campfire, listening to the most incredulous tales, hanging on every word — and, as always, I walk away already eager for the next one.

✨ Representation: the narrator and his family are Native American