RaveThe Los Angeles Review of BooksThese 39 stories circle around you, link elbows, and hold the reader under a strange spell ... The prose is spare, and her stories often grin while they expose painful truths so deep in her characters that we are often reminded of the blush of self-awareness ... The short shorts in the second and fourth sections are small beams of light. Each directs the reader to the 'last call' of emotions. They do what short shorts, flash fiction, micro fiction should do: heighten language, compel us with voice, use a tiny space to make a big impression ... Unferth’s spell is in her absolute confidence and her sublime endings. You lean forward in her stories as the narrative and jeopardy build, but you trust her to get you there.
Christine Sneed
PositiveThe Los Angeles Review of BooksSneed’s strength is her characters; we often find them in the middle of a choice. It feels refreshing. These are not the aimless, wondering, interior characters we dread in short fiction ... a delicious brew of insecurity, comparison, and exposure ... [Sneed] punctures through the typical L.A. first layer to reveal a much closer and authentic depiction outsiders rarely comprehend ... The landings at the ends of a few of Sneed’s stories don’t hit the mark...Still, those are the minority in Sneed’s collection.
