She’s always hungry is a collection of short stories with themes of abuse, disordered eating, violence, and body horror. All the classic themes Eliza Clark is known for turned up a few notches. Laced in dark humor and often slow paced to falling into these stories are unsettling and leave you thinking of them long after finishing them. 

I did feel myself struggling to get into a few of the stories that felt a bit more experimental to me. Mainly those dealing in apocalypse and or climate change themes giving them sci-fi elements which were hard to follow.  The writing of these stories (hollow bones, extinction event, the king) were very stream of conscious and had no thorough line throughout. That may work for some people and some people may have fun with that, but they did not work for me. 

My favorite stories in this collection are those dealing with the themes Clark is most known for. In build a body like mine we see what it’s like to deal with body dysmorphia and disordered eating through a new lens. In goth gf we see female dominance in the work place laced with issues of self harm. Nightstalker tells the story of a homoerotic friendship in the 1970s. Shake well is a horror story of grooming and sexual violence with a black market cure for acne that induces  body horror. Much like Clark’s previous books they are dark and full of content warnings so I would proceed with caution. 

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy black mirror, rick and morty and feminist horror. 

Thank you Netgalley and Harper perennial for this arc! 

In very whimsical fashion Jenny Slate takes us on a journal of what it’s like to wake up every day heartbroken over the loss of one love, thinking you’ll never love again. Only to find out that one day you will find another human to love you! And they will love all your little quirks that make you the human you are! And you’ll love all their little quirks that make them the human they are! But you do still harbor the fear of loss, because after all you are only human. But maybe one day when you’re both the epitome of wind chimes in the wind and song birds on the sea, you may even find the courage to wed each other! But shortly after that magically lyrical period of life the two of you may decide “hmm I like their quirks and they like mine, I wonder what would happen if we tried to make another human” and that’s when the true transformation begins. When you have the ability to create another form of life, a lifeform! And you’re ever changing! And the life form inside of you is ever changing obviously because you’re still growing it, and you’re filled with so much curiosity and wonder. But this whole motherhood thing should be easy right? We’ve been doing it for centuries so how hard could it be right? RIGHT?! 

Slate tells us exactly how hard it can be! Through veracious essays in all shapes and sizes. Dreams of storks delivering babies, having a way too comfortable one sided relationship with your doctor, what a postpartum body is really like, daydream scenarios of all the best gossip! 

Jenny Slate has this insatiable ability to burrow deeply inside your soul and stay there with her art. She’s a master of stringing words together in such a concise way that feels fresh! She is able to put emotions you couldn’t even comprehend feeling, into words you’d never say, but that feels so right. She’s simultaneously original and relatable. She’s romantic and sparky and continues to make you fall deeper in love with her each time you consume her art. I know Lifeform will be reread many time over by me, just like Little Weirds was. And I know each time I read it, I’ll glean something new. 

I recommend this book to longtime Jenny Slate lovers, new moms, people in tune with their body and the earth below their feet!!!Thank you netgalley and Hachette Audio for this audio arc! 

flop

Model home takes us through the lives of the Maxwell siblings as they continue to navigate their distance from the white suburbia they were raised in outside of Dallas. Being the only Black family in the neighborhood, the neighbors were nice enough, but upon moving scary unthinkable things began to take place within the home. Was it ghosts? Demons? Whatever held power, the Maxwells heeded their mother’s word to stay put and not abandon their home. 

Upon becoming adults, the siblings fled leaving their parents to dwell alone in the home. The siblings are called back home and soon realize the demise of their parents. The death wasn’t natural but was it supernatural? Ezri their sisters Eve and Emanuelle reckon with these passing determined to uncover their horrors and trauma being held in the home. 

This is not your average haunted house story, this is the commentary that the dark history of segregation and deep seated racism of southern suburban America holds. It is elevated horror. This is a visceral, raw, heartbreaking story of a queer family trying to survive the traumas they’ve endured. This is the story of what lengths your mind will go through in order to protect you. This is story that is full of discomfort and disassociation as a means of protection. It’s compelling, poetic, horrifying and complex. I cannot even begin to imagine how painful and cathartic processing this story must have been. Solomon is so intelligent and concise in their writing this story will stay with me long after reading.

I would recommend this book to readers who enjoyed Bad Fruit, Bitter is the Heart, and lovers of elevated horror. Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this arc!

Sugar is a 1970s acid soaked fever dream about love, death and deceit. We follow Satara who uncovered an illicit affair her husband Dean was having with her best friend Lilah. Satara is no stranger to disposing of men’s bodies once she’d done with them, but having Lilah on her case itching to expose her, Satara must surpass others to keep her secrets safe. Searching for meaning in the leftover pieces of her life she seeks help from a Love Witch. With her newfound powers at play she’s working on manipulating those around her for her own personal gain. She quickly learns that sometimes her heart doesn’t always get its way. 

Sugar is a dark dreamy tale of what happens when feminine rage calls the shots, when women let their most primal urges bubble to the surface. With immersive writing that showcases how trauma and abuse shape the way we love. Full of horrific twists and turns ensuring you that you’ll never guess what will happen next. 

This book packs a punch! It has so many moving pieces to it that at times, it does seem a bit much. The timeline and jumps were unclear at first and really took me out of the story in places. Satara’s demeanor in some of her flashbacks bewildered me a bit. The penultimate chapters reveal proved to be a bit problematic to me. But that ending drew me back in, in such an electrifying way! I’m interested to read more by Ballard and hope she continues working on projects like these. 

I would recommend this book to readers who loved Gone Girl, Maeve Fly, Go Ask Alice and Girl Interrupted. Thank you to Netgalley, Galaxy Press and Mia Ballard for the arc!