On "Seven Points for Love" by Alexander Luft (4569 words) ****

"Seven Points for Love" uses the motif of a game of Scrabble to rehearse the events of a marriage and eventual divorce. Indeed, dating may be a game, but so is life. The point scoring comes at the end. Read the piece here at Coachella Review.

On "A Negative Number" by Rochelle Germond (1282 words) ****

Here's a clever story about obsession, in this case about weight and food. The goodness here is in the telling, which isn't much unlike the title. Read it here at Coachella Review.

On "The Mother Thief" by Leah Erickson (4981 words) ****

I've long been a fan of stories about werewolves and vampires in theory; however, in execution, such stories don't tend to interest me much. It's more the tradition and oddity of such ideas that intrigues me, I realize, then the actual stories that come from such traditions. Erickson's "Mother Thief," however, managed to keep me focused--well into the part where we learn that Grace is mother to a werewolf. Part of what is intriguing is the realism the Erickson brings to the subject matter, and another part, I think, is that the wolf theme becomes emblematic of another part of Grace's life. Eric, her former husband, was her best friend until marriage--until she brought him into her home. And in the same way, the transformation of this child from near-human to near-wolf leaves Grace's home battered. Nature--and marriage--are glorified, but really, in the end, both are indifferent, subject merely to what we make of them. And yet, within all of this there is passion, the passion of the wolf. You can read it here at the Coachella Review or here at Jenny Mag.

On "Babes" by Natalia Cortes Chaffin (3818 words) ***

Here's an adventure story--and a political tale. I'm reminded of the five-year-old boy who came to America on a boat during the Bush administration. The relatives refused to send him back to Cuba, where his dad lived. The dad insisted the boy be sent home. Chaffin's story empathizes more with the political feelings and assumptions of the relatives rather than the father, but it still holds one's attention. How to save a child? Not once but over and over? Read the story here at the Coachella Review.

On "Star Babies" by Elizabeth Crane (4164 words) ****

I've never read a story like this. Elizabeth Crane has taken her usual elongated and random-sounding sentences and added to them an element of complete absurdity that runs throughout the work. Imagine a nation in which the normal is to be famous. No longer do people strive to become famous. Everyone is famous. And everyone hates it. Well, not everyone, but a large portion of the population, which strives to become not famous. These are people like those who drive into nature to get out of the city, who give up all the wonderful pleasures of society to commune with nature. Only, when you're famous, this is impossible. People follow. You make nature hip. There is mass interest in whatever you do, and everyone is the mass. There are vague elements of truth in this piece. I can't help but think on how the Internet has changed the way that we view ourselves and each other, how in a way we're all part of the media now, even if we don't want to be. You may not be on Facebook or Flicker, but you still might get tagged. You are known, whether you wish to be or not. Read the story here at Coachella Review.