Kayla Randolph

Kayla RandolphWhile nothing extraordinary compared to her fiction, Wharton does write nonfiction in pretty much the same style. (Though I don't know whether to commend or scold her for being so near the front! Like girl back up!)

Kayla RandolphSPOILERS This really had me invested, and I think it's because our main heroine wasn't at the center of the book's romance. I don't know what it says about me that I found the book, as a result, more interesting, but that's a thought for another day. Also, it was one of my preferred workings of a title into an Austen novel.

Kayla RandolphIt’s been a good while since a book gripped me like this. It was infuriating and devastating, full of vitriol and desperation. It had the kind of ending that leaves a gaping hole in your chest, an endless pit in your stomach, and no fully formed words on your tongue.

Kayla RandolphSPOILERS What a gruesome ending. That aside, the deep suppression of the speaker’s thirst for Oroonoko and Imoinda was almost painful. You find them attractive! Just say it without all the mental gymnastics to make it clear that you still think they’re “other” from you!

Kayla RandolphI’m glad Catherine ended up with whom I wanted her to! The suspenseful elements of her imagination getting the better of her at Northanger were a pleasant way to add some spice to this work of Austen’s and differentiate it ever so slightly in tone (and almost genre) from her other works. Also, what a hilarious final line.

Kayla RandolphSPOILERS AHEAD Ah, a utopia! I felt the calm I imagine pervades the future’s atmosphere. I felt the story dragged a bit toward the middle when Old Hammond was explaining the societal breakdown and rebuilding to our dear guest, which I’m sure Morris would roll in his grave to hear. I also wish the ending was a bit more definitive in its answer of dream versus temporary time travel and that we circled back to our Chapter 1 narrator, but overall I enjoyed this.

Kayla RandolphI'm very grateful that my piece "To My Unborn Baby Sister" was selected to be included in this anthology. Jackie Bluu was a pleasure to work with. I loved the addition of the page at the end that gives the reader the space to write their own letter they'll never send. I hope they do. Here are some pieces by fellow contributors that made me feel something: - "Your Birth Mother" by Candace Cahill (This was like a punch to the gut.) - "Mulch for Winter Blooms" by Joanell Serra - "Dear Justin" by Sarena Tien - "P.S. I Still Love You" by Brianna Little - "Wish You Were Here" by Shelley Logan - "Dear John" by Amy Cotler - "One of the Other Six" by Sarah E. Morin - "The Real Deal" by Valerie Wong - "From Time to Time" by Savannah Moix-Rogers - "You'll Find Love When You Start Looking for It and Other Nonsense" by Merrill Elizabeth Gray

Kayla RandolphThe illustrations were as beautiful as one could hope! I loved the informative bits describing the illustration and storyboarding processes of the graphic novel adaptations for both of the live action films. However, I was disappointed there was no breakdown of the art of the 1951 animated film (as it’s also Disney), but that’s my only complaint!