A review by mg_in_md_
The Color Master by Aimee Bender

4.0

This review is based on the FirstReads copy I was lucky enough to win. Since I loved [b:The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake|7048800|The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake|Aimee Bender|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320541766s/7048800.jpg|7299170], I was excited when I found out I'd won a copy of this collection of short stories and couldn't wait to start them. The stories were both familiar and fantastical infused with inventive language. Several of them had a modern fairy tale feel to them, which I particularly loved. If asked to pick my favorite story from each of the three sections the book was divided into, it would be tough but I'd pick "Faces" (from Part One), "The Fake Nazi" (from Part Two), and "The Color Master" (from Part Three). One of the strengths in this collection is how unique the voices in the stories are -- for example, I would have easily believed a teenager had written "Lemonade," could not help but identify with the narrator of "Wordkeepers," and easily became engulfed in a story in which a human woman married an ogre in "The Devourings." Thanks to the Goodreads FirstReads program for giving me the opportunity to read this short story collection!