RaveSeattle TimesTake note: Seattle author Andrew Palmer is one to watch after the release of his debut, \'The Bachelor\'. The unassuming, sharp novel quietly questions love and the nature of perception in an overconnected world ... Palmer’s novel features a quirky, aimless protagonist, with smart insights, dry humor and a character-driven narrative. But it’s all anchored in poignant, amusing, relatable observations of \'The Bachelor\' and Berryman ... This stimulating debut is a refreshing, thoughtful foray into what defines a human.
Rachel Yoder
RaveThe Seattle Times... witty and bizarre ... what makes Nightbitch stand apart from the usual early motherhood stories, teeth and all, is that Yoder doesn’t focus on how hard being a new mom is, nor does she romanticize the experience. Instead, by blending the real and the surreal, Yoder shows a woman following her primal instincts and becoming her own person — or dog, I should say — outside of cultural norms. And in doing so, she finds freedom ... Be warned — the novel is dark, gory, violent. But Nightbitch is fantastically rendered. Yoder’s voice is razor-sharp, poignant and wry. While it’s seeped in mythical qualities, the haunting premise doesn’t seem that far-fetched. Nightbitch is a stunning modern feminist fable that shouldn’t be missed.
Brandon Taylor
RaveThe Seattle Times\"... painstakingly authentic. Taylor’s prose hums with energy, and the reading experience expands from a textual happening to an immersive experience ... Along with the overarching story, one rife with so much tension and discomfort it leaps from the page, you get snippets into the lives of an intriguing set of characters ... written almost in real time, taking place over hours or days and transforming the mundane aspects of life into something meaningful. Filthy Animals could read as a single story. Yet, Taylor chose not to write another novel. And that is where the magic lies in Filthy Animals.
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Gabriela Garcia
RaveThe Seattle TimesIn Of Women and Salt, the debut novel from Gabriela Garcia, the daughter of immigrants from Cuba and Mexico, any preconceived notions of migrant women are thrown out the window. Garcia shows a flawed cast of characters that spans decades and settings in a world where their lives are rich and complex — and wholly and simply human ... Told in vignettes, the storyline moves around from 19th-century cigar factories in Cuba to present-day Miami and detention centers in Texas ... For a relatively short book — coming in at just a little over 200 pages — Of Women and Salt dives deep into subjects such as immigration, addiction, sexual abuse, death and mother-daughter bonds across two families and generations. These topics are heavy, and should be advised, certainly not for everyone, but when faced with adversity, the women in this novel don’t respond as they would in modern American media ... That’s what makes this novel wonderful. It provides a different view of migrant women — as more than those who only sacrifice their lives for their families ... Garcia shows these women in a wide range of character, conviction and personality, from weak-willed to strong and resilient. Some are emotionally distant. Some make choices without their children’s best interest in mind. They are humans before they are mothers, before they are anything else. They make mistakes and learn from them, and it’s beautiful and realistic ... a captivating and harrowing debut that will undoubtedly put Garcia on the literary map for years to come. It is a prime example of why diverse voices and stories need to be told, to shatter the one-sided narrative typically seen about immigrants, the Latino communities and beyond.
