3,5 Stars but I will judge each story on its own because this book is a collection of short stories that don’t really belong together (story wise)

Animals: 8/10 - shocking, bloody, weird (in a good way)

Jacob: 7/10 - cute, easy to read

Plum Pie. Zombie Green. Yellow Bee. Purple Monster: 9/10 - imaginative, surprising, everything I love about this book

In the Dark: 7/10 - mysterious, liked the open ending

Margaret and Mary and the End of the World: 8/10 - shocking in a very real way, love the thoughts about the Virgin Mary, so many emotions

Little Deaths: 6/10 - love the inclusiveness of this book, but other stories in here are better

The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night: 3/10 - did not like it at all, not my cup of tea which was sad because it’s the titular story, for a script like writing style I was very bored by the characters and the dialogue

Pebbles: 8/10 - great story telling, again the inclusiveness is great, almost cried (but I don’t see the connection to the supposed magical element of this book)

Aunt Libby’s Coffin Hotel: 8/10 - scary, loved the mythology and the ode to women and death

Sea Devils: 7/10 - good story but not the best in this book

Human Satellites: 6/10 - nice story but I felt no emotions

Bright White Hearts: 7/10 - has a great magic is all around us vibe but makes it actually realistic. Loved the sea analogies