Each of the stories in this collection centers around the concept of bodies that are differently abled, differently shaped, or simply differently perceived. There are a variety of scenarios that are played on: "freak shows" (We Is We, Saltwater Assassin, Ruby), tall vs. short, obese vs. skinny, tattoos and body modification, etc.

Most of the stories fell quite short for me, and the drastic inconsistency in length was disruptive - some stories were a mere 3-4 pages, while others were 30-40 pages, and it seemed like most of the good ones were on the shorter side. My most common commentary/note on the stories was that they left me wanting more backstory and could have been excellent had they been a bit longer.

A lot of the writing had interesting concepts or characters but was poorly delivered or started strong with a weak ending. Although I gave it 2 stars, Scars: First Session is also a really good example of a strong concept - a woman who has been horribly abused begins the therapeutic process of covering her scars with tattoos and in doing so begins to confront that not all her scars are physical. The actual content of this story, however, read like something a high schooler would write. The pacing was off, the intense scenes were not dramatic enough, and the dialogue was not fluid or realistic. From The Inside, which had some gorgeous atmospheric writing and intriguing concepts, contained the g***y slur and some borderline cultural appropriation that made it a huge disappointment. Given this book was published in 2015, I really do feel like maybe that should have been caught and edited.

The highest rating I gave any of the stories in this collection was a 4 - and trust me, to get a 4, these pieces had to be pretty good because I was so frustrated by how many of the stories I disliked that I was slugging my way through the book. My favorites in this collection include In Her Image, Don't Touch Me, Undead Cyborg Girl, and Ruby (all 4 stars). My least favorites were All The Devils, Three Poems, Made for This, Rudy & Deirdre, The Well-Rounded Head, Reserved, and Scars: First Session (all 2 stars). Everything else was 3 stars. Unfortunately, I can't provide a summary of every single story at this time because even though I just read this book in February, I have already forgotten some of the stories entirely. It does appear that the lower ratings I gave were mostly clustered toward the back of the book, if that helps you in your reading at all, however it did not end up helping me because I skipped around.

I did like that most of the stories were respectful and even appreciative of body diversity, and how many of the characters were strong and impactful. Some strong examples include Saltwater Assassin and We is We - characters who are exploited for their bodies by carnival owners and learn to take their autonomy back into their own hands, Undead Cyborg Girl - a sassy female character who is trying to navigate her identity after not only being turned into a cyborg but also a "zombie" of sorts, and Daedulus's Daughter - a young woman who returns to the lake cabin where her little brother drowned and confronts the profound changes the trauma has made in her. There are parts where villains are done well, too, where the whole of their evil is not the sum of their (body) parts. Skin features a teen girl who is obese who learns how to change her image, rockets to popularity, and becomes more of a monster than the bullies made her out to be as time goes on.

I would say that there are definitely some pieces in this collection that stand out and deserve to be read. Every short story collection has the good and the bad. But there are far too many 2-star stories in this collection and it took me like three months to read because I could only handle a couple stories a week.

Note: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. I was not compensated in any other fashion for the review and the opinions reflected below are entirely my own. Special thanks to the publisher and author for providing the copy.

This is an interesting and eclectic collection of short stories, with some poetry too. The theme is the wide-ranging experiences that the human (and cyber) body can go through. It ranges from horror, science fiction, fantasy, and erotica. And as with any anthology, while it is unlikely that the reader will like every offering, there are contributions that should please anyone. The quality of the prose does vary – all are capable writers, but some, such as Daniel Arthur Smith in From the Inside are excellent – well-written and absorbing. Others, such as Sally Basmaijan’s The Well-Rounded Head, just seem pointlessly bizarre.

Two arms, two legs, two eyes, a nose, a mouth... typical equipment of a normal human body. Then there are the different bodies, those that by a cruel joke of nature, by someone's malice or by an accident, differ from the so-called normality. The Romans used to say "mens sana in corpore sano," emphasizing something that has taken modern people a long time to understand, namely that it is easier for the body to influence the mind than the other way around. The stories in this anthology, which touch on almost every genre, are a celebration of both the diversity of bodies and their influence on the mind. As is often the case with anthologies, their quality is uneven, but some are small masterpieces I'm unlikely to forget.

A cabinet of curiosities indeed and really rather delightful. A fun imaginative read that I enjoyed from start to finish. Recommended if you love the strange and surreal.