SHORT STORIES

Holler, Child: Stories

by LaToya Watkins
Tiny Reparations. Aug. 2023. 224p. ISBN 9780593185940. $28. F
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Set in the same Black Texas community as Watkins’s debut novel, Perish, a Black Caucus ALA Honor book, this debut collection uses vivid, edgy writing to tell powerfully affecting stories about people meeting life’s challenges. An ailing woman refuses to give up her secrets to a series of clueless young white reporters; a survivor of rape who adores the grown son that resulted from her assault fiercely calls him out on his predatory behavior; a sister sets out to find the estranged brother who’s always had her back; and a wife fed up with a mismatched, emotionally careless husband pulls a gun on him that may or may not work.
VERDICT Watkins expands her grasp with stories that are distinctive yet create an indivisible, propulsive whole, and readers will be hard-pressed to put the book down.
Reviewed by Barbara Hoffert , Dec 22, 2023
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