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whitwizzle's review against another edition
5.0
She is one of the few authors that can really sell her reality so effortlessly. This collection is one of my favorites ever written.
annaqq's review against another edition
Very good and very well written, just made me feel too disturbed to want to read more
mryjne's review against another edition
5.0
i usually can't get into short story books but this one was really really good
edboies's review against another edition
4.0
I actually learned about her from the New York Post and was blown away by her passion and imagination. I sat through a bunch of terrible clowns to hear her read and it was worth it.
carolined314's review against another edition
3.0
There are some amazing stories in this. The tale of the boy whose mom needs a heart transplant had me laughing piteously, painfully, achingly guffawing. But most of the stories didn't touch me--there was a contrivance, a distance, a lack of heartfelt connection. For a book so enticingly, boldly titled, I expected more risks and more engagement. That said, her use of language is beautiful. The characters aren't as interesting.
jonathanwlodarski's review against another edition
4.0
The best story here is "Skin Care," which is the heartbreaking tale of a girl with leprosy looking for love. It's poetic and beautiful and so LONELY. Ugh. What a great bit of writing. My other two favorite are the first two in the collection: "Dog Days," which is a post-apocalyptic that doesn't focus so much on the "why" as it does on feelings, and "Guilt," which is about heart transplants and family and love.
It's overall a very strong collection, and I enjoyed how the stories are all rather short--there are about 250 pages in Flying Leap, but Budnitz packs in 23 shorts. Some of the stories are surreal and some of them aren't, and I liked the mixture. There are a few I found rather dull: "Directions," "Train," and "Burned" didn't do much for me. Had they been cut, I would eagerly award this book five stars.
4/5
It's overall a very strong collection, and I enjoyed how the stories are all rather short--there are about 250 pages in Flying Leap, but Budnitz packs in 23 shorts. Some of the stories are surreal and some of them aren't, and I liked the mixture. There are a few I found rather dull: "Directions," "Train," and "Burned" didn't do much for me. Had they been cut, I would eagerly award this book five stars.
4/5
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