Kuipers' light touch and eye for telling details will keep the reader
wanting more. A collection of delicate sketches that mark Kuipers as a
writer of promise. --Kirkus Reviews
Original, witty, and subtle, this collection of beautifully crafted
short stories features complex characters whose internal struggles
manifest in their most intimate relationships, told by a writer with a
compassionate eye.
A narrator watches her social sphere deteriorate after her boyfriend's
rough-housing leads to his best friend's tragic paralysis. Childhood
sweethearts, finally united later in life, find that they are not the
soulmates they believed themselves to be. After her mother becomes
depressed after a miscarriage, a daughter takes on the role of
caregiver.
Set in a fictional rural towns, these stories explore young people who
grow up against a religious backdrop, mothers who balk at society's
imposed identities, and characters who explore their individual roles
within their families as they navigate sexuality, suffering, and shame.
These narrators are blunt and sometimes obsessive, but bravely
optimistic as they strive to be the best versions of themselves.
As her characters struggle to discern deception from reality, using
their limited resources to parse charm and charisma from credibility,
Kuipers understated style is darkly witty and full of detailed
observation.
