disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

The titular story "Bugsy" was probably the story that stood out the most to me, and the one that viscerally impacted me. Bugsy drops out of college, is not welcome back home with her parents, and begins working part-time to try to move forward. This was a tough read, because I really felt for Bugsy, whose birth name we never learn (the nickname Bugsy is given to them by her new employers/chosen family and she just accepts it, because she notes that so many people have said her name is "horrible"). 

Bugsy navigates depression, isolation, and generally feeling deeply misunderstood. She finds Vanessa, who inducts her into their sex work family/house , with Bugsy eventually moving in and falling in love with Stella, one of the other sex workers/producers. Bugsy explores her identity a bit, but mostly falls head over heels for Stella, while not recognizing how naive and sheltered she looks in others' eyes. I was so devastated for Bugsy's self harm and suicide attempt; it was again, very hard to read.

The other story that pulled me in was "On the Inside," which includes a short author's note at the very beginning with Frumkin sharing that as a neurodivergent person, he wanted to expose the harmful practices that impact the autistic community, especially children. I appreciated this note, and this story ends with a hopeful note of Lina, the POV we receive, in naming her humanity, rather than being a test subject or "other". 

This is my first read of Rafael Frumkin (nonbinary trans man) and I will definitely seek out more of their work!