RaveThe Dallas Morning NewsSometimes the hype around a highly anticipated title makes me skeptical. This short story collection by Lesley Nneka Arimah silenced that cranky inner cynic and instead gave me something to celebrate ... Her sentences often seem to teeter on the brink of collapse, but then are revealed to be soundly constructed. When I finished, I paused to connect the dots, marveled at the relationship of the past to the present.
Mary Miller
PositiveThe Dallas Morning NewsThe stories have a Southern flavor that deliver on the publisher's promise of a book with savage Southern charm and hard-edged prose. That promise created an expectation of well-crafted tales, which the author delivers. But don't expect a lot of charm from strong women with a sense of humor. Instead, it can be a bit of a slog to sort through the stories of women in modern relationships that leave them dead inside ... It's frustrating to read about women mired in the illusion that they have such an abundance of days remaining in their lives that they can afford to waste them. If this sounds like a negative review, it's actually the opposite. The best literature illuminates the human condition and provokes contemplation. Miller puts readers inside the experiences of these women, has us stand in their socks, make their mistakes and survive.
Alice Hoffman
RaveThe Dallas Morning NewsHoffman demonstrates how a young woman's strength and self-reliance grow over the years. She reminds readers who have experienced events powerful enough to break your spirit that, in time, the resulting cracks really are what let the light into a survivor's soul.
Stuart Nadler
PositiveThe Dallas Morning NewsNadler's novel examines a predatory sexual environment America's daughters confront as they explore the jagged terrain of early adulthood ... For all the serious topics this book tackles, Nadler takes a light tone. He doesn't preach; he reveals.
Helen Ellis
RaveThe Dallas Morning NewsFrom her first story, 'What I Do All Day,' to the last, 'My Novel Is Brought to You By the Good People at Tampax,' Ellis’ dispatches from the dark side of domesticity live up to a description in the book’s early publicity campaign: They are delightfully unhinged.
