Bitter Apples

I received an advance review copy from BookSirens for free, and I am leaving this honest review voluntarily.

I deeply enjoyed this collection of horror stories based around teaching—it made me uncomfortable in the most delightful way. It felt like an exploration of my own stress dreams about school: I have skipped an entire semester or year of a class, and I have to sneak in and take the exam without the teacher/professor ‘s noticing; it's the end of the year, and I have to clean out my locker but I don't remember where it is; the teacher/professor detests me and only me (this actually happened to me, but it replays in grotesquerie in dreams). This book perfectly captured that stress dream horror feeling, and now I need a brightly colored blanket and a cookie. Thanks! That was fun.

4.5 rounded up.

The cover for this book immediately caught my attention there's just something about the juxtaposition of the flourishing greens and of the active decay of the human made structure that speaks to my soul. I know, we shouldn't judge a book by its cover but in this instance it does capture the essence of the book very well.

Overall, this collection does a very good job of conveying the anxiety, fear, and despair that comes with operating in a system which is actively falling apart and demanding ever more from you while offering you little to no hope of improving your lot.

Each story is unique and polished enough that I didn't feel the stories were bleeding into one another, something I often find to be an issue in collections with such a narrow scope. While each piece can stand on its own, they also work very effectively together and I had a low buzz of anxiety pretty much the entire time I was reading, and it even has ZOMBIES, I didn't want it to end!
It was my first encounter with Raglin's work and I feel almost cheated that I didn't hear about his work sooner!

Disclosure: I received a digital review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review through BookSirens.