This is not a book you read. This is a book you devour. This is a book that haunts your memories long after you've finished reading. I just finished it and I'm sobbing my stupid face off as I start it again. It's a collection of short horror stories, but not the slash-and-gash kind; it's the kind that has you wanting to reach into the book and grab the characters for a hug and hot choccy. So. Good.
Spoilers ahead.
"The Lake" - "The new English instructor at Gracetown Prep was chosen with the greatest care, highly recommended by the Board of Directors at Blake Academy in Boston, where she had an exemplary career for 12 years. No history of irregular behavior presaged the summer's unthinkable events." Goosebumps.
"Summer" - the unthinkable relief of a new mother, folded in the shrouds of demonkind.
"Ghost Summer" - slavery's unkind ghosts meet contemporary life in unexpected and unexpectedly heart-wrenching ways.
"Free Jim's Mine" - only trust family in your darkest hour... unless -
Reads like an urban legend in the best way.
"The Knowing" - one of (in my opinion) the most complex stories in the series, but may feel like a miss if you Haven't Been There. The twist rolled my soul up and fed it pastries afterward because this one hits hard.
"Like Daughter" - I just sobbed. And then I re-read it. And then I sobbed again. The loss of innocence is soul-shattering and the impacts ripple like the waves of a tsunami.
"Afternoon" - some of us are forced to grow up faster than our peers yet, despite that, we cling to child-like hope. This one slapped me like a 1920s escort and plopped my heart in a muddy puddle. 100/100.
"Patient Zero" - I cried. Not just cried, but ugly cried. A post-apocalyptic world viewed through a child's eyes via a (previously encountered by me) apocalyptic scenario.
"Trial Day" - Whoa. I re-read this one 3 times on my first go through this collection. There's so much packed into seventeen pages.
"Danger Word" - you thought "Patient Zero" and "Trial Day" were brutal? Good luck. I'm still not ok.
"Removal Order," "Herd Immunity," and "Carriers" are gut punch after gut punch in the most relatable and heartbreaking ways possible. Tananarive Due shines like a supernova over the course of these stories.
...and in case you weren't utterly enthralled by the previous stories in this series, unless you're a heartless monster "Vanishings" will wring the last of your soul from your body and leave you crying like a 3-year-old who's overdue for a nap.
Spoilers ahead.
"The Lake" - "The new English instructor at Gracetown Prep was chosen with the greatest care, highly recommended by the Board of Directors at Blake Academy in Boston, where she had an exemplary career for 12 years. No history of irregular behavior presaged the summer's unthinkable events." Goosebumps.
"Summer" - the unthinkable relief of a new mother, folded in the shrouds of demonkind.
"Ghost Summer" - slavery's unkind ghosts meet contemporary life in unexpected and unexpectedly heart-wrenching ways.
"Free Jim's Mine" - only trust family in your darkest hour... unless -
Reads like an urban legend in the best way.
"The Knowing" - one of (in my opinion) the most complex stories in the series, but may feel like a miss if you Haven't Been There. The twist rolled my soul up and fed it pastries afterward because this one hits hard.
"Like Daughter" - I just sobbed. And then I re-read it. And then I sobbed again. The loss of innocence is soul-shattering and the impacts ripple like the waves of a tsunami.
"Afternoon" - some of us are forced to grow up faster than our peers yet, despite that, we cling to child-like hope. This one slapped me like a 1920s escort and plopped my heart in a muddy puddle. 100/100.
"Patient Zero" - I cried. Not just cried, but ugly cried. A post-apocalyptic world viewed through a child's eyes via a (previously encountered by me) apocalyptic scenario.
"Trial Day" - Whoa. I re-read this one 3 times on my first go through this collection. There's so much packed into seventeen pages.
"Danger Word" - you thought "Patient Zero" and "Trial Day" were brutal? Good luck. I'm still not ok.
"Removal Order," "Herd Immunity," and "Carriers" are gut punch after gut punch in the most relatable and heartbreaking ways possible. Tananarive Due shines like a supernova over the course of these stories.
...and in case you weren't utterly enthralled by the previous stories in this series, unless you're a heartless monster "Vanishings" will wring the last of your soul from your body and leave you crying like a 3-year-old who's overdue for a nap.
