Member Review
Review by
Corina S, Reviewer
Confession time: short story collections are not usually my thing. I’m very much a novel reader. Give me a big book, lots of pages, time for characters to grow—that’s my comfort zone. So this book ended up being a bit of a wild ride for me.
The first few stories didn’t really grab me. The opening three felt more like snapshots than full stories, and at that point I honestly started wondering if this collection and I were simply not a good match. But I kept reading.
And imagine my surprise when the next thing I know I’m on the treadmill at the gym—of all places—bawling my eyes out over a story called Released for the Day. Two former college sweethearts run into each other by accident in their forties and end up spending the day talking about what happened between them all those years ago. Their reconnection feels mature and unhurried, full of honesty and even a little humor. The way they talk through their breakup—with vulnerability and courage— it just felt incredibly real If only that maturity would exist in real life....
I was certainly not prepared for the next one What Grandmothers Hold. The ONE story that rocked my world. It’s about a little girl who has been raised by her grandparents while her father builds a new life somewhere else. The story takes place on the day he finally comes to visit with his new family, including her 2 years old sister. It feels messy and painfully real, beautifully crafted: the excitement of the child, the quiet anger of the grandfather, and the complicated love of a grandmother who stepped in when she had to.
What I loved most is that the story doesn’t force a neat ending. I can't spoil the ending, but it pulled at my hear strings in a way that I will remember for a long time.
From that point on something shifted for me. My early reluctance turned into curiosity, and I found myself genuinely wondering what kind of story would come next.
Not every story landed the same way for me, but a few hit me straight in the chest.
If, like me, you don’t usually reach for short story collections, I recommend you give this one a try.
The first few stories didn’t really grab me. The opening three felt more like snapshots than full stories, and at that point I honestly started wondering if this collection and I were simply not a good match. But I kept reading.
And imagine my surprise when the next thing I know I’m on the treadmill at the gym—of all places—bawling my eyes out over a story called Released for the Day. Two former college sweethearts run into each other by accident in their forties and end up spending the day talking about what happened between them all those years ago. Their reconnection feels mature and unhurried, full of honesty and even a little humor. The way they talk through their breakup—with vulnerability and courage— it just felt incredibly real If only that maturity would exist in real life....
I was certainly not prepared for the next one What Grandmothers Hold. The ONE story that rocked my world. It’s about a little girl who has been raised by her grandparents while her father builds a new life somewhere else. The story takes place on the day he finally comes to visit with his new family, including her 2 years old sister. It feels messy and painfully real, beautifully crafted: the excitement of the child, the quiet anger of the grandfather, and the complicated love of a grandmother who stepped in when she had to.
What I loved most is that the story doesn’t force a neat ending. I can't spoil the ending, but it pulled at my hear strings in a way that I will remember for a long time.
From that point on something shifted for me. My early reluctance turned into curiosity, and I found myself genuinely wondering what kind of story would come next.
Not every story landed the same way for me, but a few hit me straight in the chest.
If, like me, you don’t usually reach for short story collections, I recommend you give this one a try.
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