makeitso

What a delightful read this was. A collection of short stories that really fly, not because they are "light" but because you are so hungry for more the whole time you are reading.

Ms. Engel has mastered the completely down to earth and practical telling of very compelling stories about people I've never considered (because their lives are both achingly ordinary and far away from my own experiences) but somehow now find entirely relatable.

The author truly and deeply understands humanity, and can paint it for you with near photorealistic detail, but in so few strokes. The efficiency of her writing is stunning and fun.

I highly encourage these stories for anyone who enjoys great character development and authors who are adept as using prose to open windows into the stories of others that are tiny, but somehow provide a very complete view, down to the soul, of the people and happenings therein.

Masterful. A treasure. I believed every word. I'm haunted haha...what else can I say!?

It is not often that I miss characters from short stories, or wonder about them, or need to know more...but I have found myself thinking about the people I met in this book a lot.

TL;DR: read it. Even if you think you don't love collections of short stories...just for the sake of truly, truly excellent writing, read it.

PS: I do not know why this picture is sideways...I have tried to fix it?? It wont fix??

I liked this story a lot. I would describe it as a survival sci-fi with some interesting twists, with questions about the nature of family, love, and humanity itself at it’s surprisingly tender core.

There is action and drama, even some heartache, without super graphic or gratuitous violence. I like the world and society that the author builds. I could feel the climate and the harshness of the landscape, the author did well there. I believed the characters and didn’t have a hard time understanding what motivated them.

I will read the next book…my only real problem with this book was how aware I was of the next book while reading this one. It really does read, especially toward the end, like the first of three or four books. It’s a clear setup for a trilogy.

Overall this was exactly what I needed and I’m glad I picked it up. I was in a bit of a reading slump. I do this thing at the beginning of summer, where I want a “beach read! fun!” but then everything I pick up that is “in that category” feels vapid and I hate it.

I love a deep sci-fi read, with winding, sprawling, endless world-building and detail that almost feels tedious…but this time I just wanted something lighter-feeling but engrossing, with characters I wanted to know more about and a story that made me turn the page. B-I-N-G-O.

TLDR; This really is a beach read for people who super dig sci-fi.

I liked this story a lot. I would describe it as a survival sci-fi with some interesting twists, with questions about the nature of family, love, and humanity itself at it's surprisingly tender core.

There is action and drama, even some heartache, without super graphic or gratuitous violence. I like the world and society that the author builds. I could feel the climate and the harshness of the landscape, the author did well there. I believed the characters and didn't have a hard time understanding what motivated them.

I will read the next book....my only real problem with this book was how aware I was of the next book while reading this one. It really does read, especially toward the end, like the first of three or four books. It's a clear setup for a trilogy.

Overall this was exactly what I needed and I'm glad I picked it up. I was in a bit of a reading slump. I do this thing at the beginning of summer, where I want a "beach read! fun!" but then everything I pick up that is "in that category" feels vapid and I hate it.

I love a deep sci-fi read, with winding, sprawling, endless world-building and detail that almost feels tedious....but this time I just wanted a lighter-feeling page turner with characters I wanted to know more about and a story that made me turn the page. B-I-N-G-O.

TLDR; This really is a beach read for people who super dig sci-fi.