A wonderful collection of stories that depict women and the lives they have lived and continue to live, today.

A tender and meditative stories delving into the women and girls' demanding domestic inner and exterior lives metaphorically mirrored through the landscape of rural Vermont. The ten stories feature the exploration of complex gender imbalances in their various aspects of their lives and coming to terms with their own power.

Genevieve Plunkett's stories created a sense of solitude and quietness yet a mysterious aura that lingers in the air. Her stunning prose with her keen eye for details in capturing the rural Vermont landscape are met with fragments of the author's personal anecdotes that are the root of her inspiration and enhance these stories to sing. Set in the surroundings of Vermont, Plunkett's writing gorgeously flows creating an atmosphere of such beauty yet haunting with a sense of unsettling brewing beneath the surface. A moving perception of marriage, motherhood, sex and gender politics manifested in subtlety yet fierce and dramatic. 

Thank you to NetGalley and Catapult providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So well written so involving a book of short stories that I was I involved in from the beginning. Stories of women that are so well written an author I will be following.#netgalley #prepareher

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. The opinions expressed in this review are my own and unbiased.

3.5 stars. These were certainly well written short stories. They practically dripped with the polish of MFA workshops. Yet for me something was missing. While I enjoyed this book, I was never emotionally involved. Perhaps if I hadn't already read two amazing short story collections this year (Afterparties and Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self) then I would have had a greater appreciation for this one.

I'm sure that many will love this collection and be completely drawn in to the psyches of the young women depicted within, but while I enjoyed the lush prose something just fell flat. That said, I would definitely seek out this author again.