This is such a bold collection of interconnected short stories that will give the reader a lot to think about. For each story, de la Cerda managed to create really engaging characters that continue to develop whenever they appear in other short stories. I think something that struck me about this collection was a particular kind of kinship grounded in the feminine that existed between the protagonists of each story. Furthermore, it was refreshing to get harsher and different depictions of female characters (even if their voices sometimes blended a bit, in my opinion) without there being much negativity around the messiness that comes with being rough around the edges. I think the reason this worked as well as it did was due to the writing style, which had a very casual—even crude—approach that frequently gave the impression that the reader was “in the know” of the narrator’s life and proclivities.

I really appreciated that de la Cerda was so deliberate about focusing on the lived experiences of girls and women in México, particularly the brutal violence they might face, regardless of their position in society. To me, it felt as though the stories were steadily building up to the final one, which really drove the point home about the serious issues of femicide and violence against women in the country. De la Cerda never shied away from depicting the violence these characters faced, ultimately, leaving a devastating impact that might be a lot for some readers.

One thing I was a little ambivalent about was that a few of the characters in these stories were minors. On the one hand, I did find it uncomfortable that they were put in such horrific situations as teenagers, along with the way they were being sexualized by men in particular. Yet, on the other hand, this did get de la Cerda’s point across that these experiences affect girls and women equally, that it should unsettle and cause significant discomfort. I also would have loved deeper commentary about transmisogyny, which she gestured at but I felt was a little underdeveloped compared to other issues brought to the table.