may 18: review coming tomorrow, immediately!!

may 19:

✧ — 4.5 stars

❝and partly because you love her, despite all your efforts not to.❞

never have i ever is a beautiful collection of short stories penned by the wonderful isabel yap. every story is so poignant and stands on its own, firm in plot and characterization. i loved that most of the stories were female-centric because it made it easier to relate and empathize with the people within these little worlds.

there were so many wonderful stories, but i did have a few favorites.

01. "a cup of salt tears."

* i wrote a review for this on the short story itself
* this was so beautiful it made me cry
* i see motifs of water and i just lose it
* grief was displayed beautifully<3

02. "good girls"

* the characters really did it for me in this one
* the language was beautiful and thick, which heightened the atmosphere of both the city and the reformation
* i was so pleased by the relationships formed and expanded upon and i just think this was so well written

03. "how to swallow the moon

* sapphic romance?????
* no no bc the ROMANCE
* the way they spoke to each other, i had to stop reading to scream
* the fantasy was so beautiful and i love magical realism so much
* i will never get over it
* this had so many moon things and i am in love with her<3

and of course: 04. "asphalt, river, mother, child"

* i cried so much, why am i so emotional
* a touching exploration of grief even in the afterlife
* i loved the commentary on real-life events
* i teared up writing this

isabel yap is such a noteworthy author and i am so happy i got to read it this year. i loved it and would read it over and over again.

❝you'll notice her smile is a little sad.❞

✧