Julia ☕️
book 1/30 The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
First book of 2023 is complete! The Changeling is a story of, as the title suggests, ancient magic that brings changelings to our world. The story starts off a little slow, but picks up FAST about halfway through. I finished the last half of the story in a few hours (including into the wee hours of the morning today)
I really enjoyed this novel! I love magic and folklore in books and this novel had the right mix of it all for me.
book 2/30 Black Eyed Susans by Julia Heaberlin 3.5/5
I read one of Heaberlin's other novels We Are All the Same in the Dark last year and absolutely LOVED it! Black Eyed Susans was good, but I didn't love any of the characters like I loved the protagonist in the former.
Black Eyed Susans is a thriller following Tessa, who was kidnapped and found buried alive with bones and body of other girls who were killed in rural texas as a teenager. The story flashes between present-day Tessa who is trying to get the man convicted off death row and 15/16 year old Tessie who is recounting her harrowing experience to her therapist before the trial. It's slower to start, but about 65% of the way through it really picks up speed to a crashing finale.
This short story collection will take you on a wild ride. These stories are a mix of horror, magical realism, and fantasy and if you aren't a fan of those elements, you may not enjoy this collection. These stories are beautifully written and Machado creates gorgeous tapestries from her writing and characters. I think this is a collection I'll revisit in the future.
Notable stories: “Real Women Have Bodies,” “The Resident,” “Difficult at Parties”
I love stories about hauntings - houses, people, nature - if it's haunted, I will read it. She Is A Haunting is a beautifully written story about colonialism, self-discovery, and trauma and how it manifests in a physical structure, but also in the people that occupy it. The author does a great job of meshing past and present together to create a vivid and moving novel. I really, really enjoyed this and found the supernatural elements to be just right. After reading Piñata and being disappointed, I needed something good and I'm so glad that I picked up She Is A Haunting! If you like haunted place stories, this is for you.