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tdstorm's review
4.0
Kellie Wells is an impressive wordsmith. Though a few of the stories in this collection were slightly too nebulous and dreamy in their plotting, they were all inspiring since even in her weaker stories, Kellie can craft such beautiful scenarios. Here's what I mean: "Alison stares at her mother's tanned forearms, the fine white mist of hair that covers them. She wonders what she was doing at the time her mother was cultivating this tan, at the time bursts of melanin were blooming beneath her mother's skin. In math class, she thinks, examining the even beauty of an isosceles triangle or drawing huge dinosaur humps with the inside of her protractor, not even considering the fact that someone she knew was lying on a lawn chair somewhere, drinking sun tea, listening to a top forty countdown, and absorbing the color-altering heat of the sun. Alison is amazed how so much can happen without your knowledge, leaving you with only aftereffects and inferences" (105-106). Wells' tales are not climactic, action-packed plots. On the exterior, not a whole lot happens. But the stories are so imaginative and large-hearted. My favorites: "Sherman and the Swan," "Godlight," and "A. Wonderland."
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