Thompson-Spires' first collection of stories avoids archetypes by confronting them head-on. Her characters often exist within their communities uneasily, questioning themselves and others about what it is to inhabit a particular race, class, gender, or body. Though each of the 11 stories stands alone, many characters appear several times or have relationships with one another. Central to the collection is Fatima, whose struggles with code-switching unfold over several stories and several decades. Thompson-Spires occasionally breaks the wall between the narrator and the audience in a way that's unexpected and effective, and she uses perfectly timed asides and parentheticals to underline a theme or deliver a joke. With a well-tuned ear for the cadence of comedy and dialogue, Thompson-Spires uses her characters to illustrate what real conversations about identity can be sometimes awkward, occasionally hilarious, but never simple.--Winterroth, Amanda Copyright 2018 Booklist

In Thompson-Spires's debut collection, she turns her keen eye onto members of the black community that don't often receive center stage-a maker of YouTube videos that induce the tingly autonomous sensory meridian response in viewers ("Whisper to a Scream"), fruitarians ("The Subject of Consumption"), and the differently abled and the women who love them perhaps a little too much ("This Todd"). Thompson-Spires eschews the easy or sentimental, and there is a satirist in her that lends the stories a dark, funny edge; for example, Fatima learns how to be black from an albino girl named Violet. The confidence she gains from their lessons lands Fatima her first (white) boyfriend, to whom she betrays Violet's insecurities about her albinism. In the title story, an anime cosplayer named Riley brawls with self-published comics artist Brother Man outside the Los Angeles Convention Center-the police, of course, misconstrue this, and an artist takes the opportunity to use the altercation and its aftermath in a personal project. This is also the most metafictional of the stories, with an omniscient "I" stepping away at the end to acknowledge the narrative clumsiness of the story before the reader can. Though the characters sometimes feel one-note, Thompson-Spires proves herself a trenchant humorist with an eye for social nuance. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Pain leavened by dark humor characterizes this debut collection by an exciting new voice. Thompson-Spires focuses on the quirky, the obnoxious, and the tragic as her characters navigate the tricky terrain of race and class in modern America. She explores ideas ranging from police brutality and suicide attempts to fetishizing the disabled; her protagonists are black, inhabiting mostly white spaces. "Belles Lettres," a deliciously funny story with a sad subtext, tells of two highly educated mothers exchanging caustic notes about each other's daughters, the only African American students in their private school. "The Subject of Consumption," humorous in its exaggeration, features a father rebelling against his extremist fruitarian wife by planning to run away with their seven-year-old daughter after a clandestine trip to McDonald's. Another story features a disturbed young woman wanting to film her suicide for her Facebook friends. Adenrele Ojo's narration captures the emotional intensity but does not overdo it. Verdict Thompson-Spires succeeds in striking just the right balance between acidity and pathos. This book will appeal to listeners who appreciate clever, innovative writing about painful subjects. ["Presenting unique characters, gifted storyteller Thompson-Spires navigates the black experience with humor and poignancy while also acknowledging the inherent tensions and exposure to violence black citizens encounter": LJ 3/15/18 starred review of the Atria hc.]-Nancy R. Ives, SUNY at Geneseo © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.