really great, powerful collection - important commentary and each story felt cohesive but uniquely beautiful. definitely recommend!

This is an exquisite short story collection with a wide focus and razor-sharp commentary. I think it's better to savor these stories 1-2 at a time, rather than read the collection in one setting, but it will stick with you for a long time.

I love short story collections in general, but this one was something truly special. Each story presents a unique and meaningful struggle, and each is written with such beautiful expression that my heart breaks every time.

It took me some time to read through the entirety of this book, not because I didn't enjoy the stories, but because every story hit me hard enough that I needed to set them down for a bit! Bellinger has a real talent for reaching deep into a reader's heart to find the most tender and vulnerable threads to pluck. I highly recommend this to all.

Interconnected disconnected short story vignettes, ethereal yet darkly grounded, weave throughout this short long book.

I'm reminded of the first time I read Kafka's "Metamorphosis" ... and The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope, or River Mumma by Zalika Reid-Benta.

It's not so much a linear story that happens. It's the fog and the light in the darkness that appears and disappears without warning.

The author calls it Black girl magic, and it's woven through every page of the book.

Somehow, a bit of story- Wisconsin maybe - about a violin called Vivien stays in my head.

And Samana? That little pocket of academia was a masterpiece.

What a whirlwind of a book. The kind you should probably put down. Not read in one sitting. But you will anyway.

Expect magic and ghosts and trauma and hope and magic. Especially magic.