4.8/5. I almost wish I hadn't rated Volume 1 so highly because this was lengths better. The writer's really upped the stakes with this one and gave a little bit of everyone--Angel, Faith, Spike, Willow, Connor, Whistler (eh), and Pearl and Nash. While I'm not a fan of the Whistler bit, the Nash and Pearl interlude was reminiscent of the creepy family dynamic in Preacher (which I love). Family Reunion was really strong. The return to Quor'toth was really interesting while still feeding into what appears to be the season-long arc. The only reason I'm not giving this a 5 is because the story veers off after FR and I really wanted more of that story line. Like I said, love Nash and Pearl and their creepy-ass mom, but Whistler wasn't interesting in the show and he manages to be even less interesting in the comics. I'm glad Spike's story got us back on track at the end. Also super glad this edition wasn't super steeped in Angel because, man, that dude can get whiny as hell.

4.5 stars: A pivotal Chicana text worth reading. Many of the reviews I've seen on here bash Cineros for her merging of poetry and prose and call it "simplistic," even "horrible." For anyone who has lived on the margins of society, this text will speak to you. Just as Anzaldua negotiates the borderland, Cisneros does with fiction. Cisneros is not catering to the Euro-centric literature we were taught to herald, but rather she is pushing back against that very concept by crafting a text that anyone can understand in a multitude of meanings. Some of the lines in this text are breath-taking; I had to write several down. The only reason I've docked half a star is because I would like to get closer to Esperanza. However, I understand Cisneros's strategy. By keeping readers at a distance, Esperanza maintains a semblance of individuality and sense of self separate from the reader, and Cisneros recreates the sense of marginalization felt by minorities in the US.