This was a messy, fun ride. There are no heroes in this book, but also no totally innocent victims. It all goes down smooth. 

The writing and voices in this are so strong! I particularly loved reading Abigail’s sections. Can’t believe this was a debut and can’t wait to read more from Emily St. James. 

Haunting and bleak af and occasionally gets in the weeds on legality and policy instead of exploring questions of ableism, ageism, racism, etc. But overall compelling, well-written, and, frankly, gave me nightmares. 

All these stories have classic Kevin Wilson flare and themes and it’s interesting to see how his signature style and questions have evolved since this debut. Some of the stories have aged better than others to the point that I would hesitate to recommend this collection. Still, every last one is unique and distinct. My favorite story was “The Museum of Whatnot.” Interested to see how his other short story collection compares.

😭😭😭

Thank you to Libro.fm for the educator ALC. These collected folk/fairy tales are a delight and the narration is the icing on the cake.