I really enjoyed this book. Historical Fiction with a horror twist. The only reason I gave it 4 starts was that it left me wanted more. The book is split into monthly sections and those months are split into chapters. They were times when the shift between months seemed to be abrupt and left me wanting more details.

I stole this gem from my high school English teacher. By steal I mean I borrowed it and then told her she was never getting it back. It resonated with me in my tumultuous teenage years.

Today while baking, I thought of a few lines from one of Jenny's poems. I was compelled to reread every poem in one sitting. It still resonates with me at 30, although in different ways.

If you ever come across this little book if poems, I encourage you purchase it and devour it whole.

Reid has a beautiful way of weaving words. The dialogue was easy and enjoyable. It all seemed so relevant and timely, but the end left me wanting. It wasn't bad, it just hits in an odd way.

Now that I'm finished, I can say that this book was pretty far out of my comfort zone. I picked it purely because it was a series of short stories. I'm glad I did. Each story was original and absolutely provocative. Machado seamlessly blended genres. I appreciated listening to the audio version, but I would have much rather had a print copy. I think this book is best read slowly. I found myself constantly rewinding to relisten to passages and paragraphs that needed more time to digest.

The only thing stopping me from giving this 5 stars is the ending, literally the last three pages. I loved so much about this book. It's frightening, intriguing, and steadily paced. Definitely worth the read, despite the lack of true closure.