Book Review: Softie by Megan Howell

By: Emily Barnard

Softie, written by Washington, D.C. author Megan Howell (pictured), is a thought-provoking book featuring a collection of short stories. These stories, while including contrasting characters, worlds, and genres, carry similar themes that ring true for many. Many of the protagonists in Howell’s stories are young women of color, who have experienced some form of prejudice either within their own experiences or their families’. 

Family is a prominent theme throughout Howell’s stories, both the challenging and priceless aspects of it. In particular, abuse within families is a subject touched on frequently, as is how Howell’s protagonists overcome it. Howell delivers on these themes in her stories in a powerful way, creating an air of sympathy and relatability for her various protagonists in their different, yet recognizable dynamics between parents and their children. 

One story in Softie that touches on the topic in an endearing and emotional way is the very namesake of the book, “Softie.” The story features a young Black girl named Clio who lives with her father, a famous Hollywood director. Clio’s father has treated her poorly her entire life, abusing her in ways a father never should. In this excerpt, Howell reveals Clio’s internal feelings toward her father: 

“I’d been infected by him for so long I could only feel sorry for him the same way he did for himself and maybe me to some extent. He looked like a little boy even though he towered above the squat businessmen sitting with him. His hands were folded politely in his lap. He nodded. His eyes look worried. His back was hunched. I felt so humiliated for him that I wanted to kill him just to stop feeling.”  

Clio resents her father for everything he has done to both her and the other girls in his industry. She is embarrassed that he is her father, but at the same time, knows no other alternative. Clio does not yet realize that there is a way out. Howell’s tragic and realistic tale of child abuse will make readers’ hearts ache for Clio. Throughout the story, Howell builds strong development for Clio as she realizes the extent of how troubling her situation is, and her desire to be free grows. 

Another story in Softie that explores such themes in both a harrowing and realistic way is called “Melissa, Melissa, Melissa.” The namesake of the title, Melissa, is a young girl who lives with her parents: a white father and a Black mother. While she has many fond memories of her father, a darker side to him is revealed throughout the story when Melissa recounts the moment leading up to him leaving. Howell successfully uses juxtaposition to compare the behaviors of Melissa’s parents, highlighting a healthy relationship between a parent and child with an unhealthy one. By telling the story in the eyes of a young girl, Howell captures just how damaging these situations are to children. Readers, through Melissa’s perspective, will feel just as powerless as she did when she reflects on her father’s behaviors toward his family: 

“I don’t think he ever apologized to Mom for anything. Not when he called her filthy names just to get a rise out of her; not when he went behind her back to make big, confusing purchases like the antique set of fishery books; not when he poked fun of her anger, dressed her down, or lied to her.” 

Though “Softie” and “Melissa, Melissa, Melissa” are written in a realistic nature, Howell has quite a few stories in Softie that, while drawing elements of the fantastical, still carry these recognizable themes of relationships and family. An example of such a story is “Kitty & Tabby.” The protagonist, Tabitha, is a high school girl who has remarkably familiar struggles. She does not have many friends, nor does she have a healthy relationship with her father. When Tabitha befriends Kitty, a girl who lives nearby, Tabitha’s perception of the world around her changes forever. Howell delivers these themes in a new, exciting way while digging deeper into the psychology of parents, exploring how many view their children as their own legacies. 

Abuse within families can take many forms and have various roots, which Howell portrays sensitively in Softie. By writing in the perspective of these young women, she demonstrates their inner thoughts superbly. Readers can feel how distraught and unsafe they feel in their situations and cannot help but root for them when their resolve to be free grows. Howell’s provocative stories, no matter the genre, will prove inspirational for anyone who can relate to and feel moved by the various strong and complex protagonists in Softie. 

Softie will be released in November 2024. Copies are available from West Virginia University Press.

Bios:

Megan Howell: Megan is a DC-based writer. She earned her MFA in Fiction from the University of Maryland in College Park, winning both the Jack Salamanca Thesis Award and the Kwiatek Fellowship. Her work has appeared in McSweeney’s, The Nashville Review and The Establishment among other publications. Her debut short story collection Softie is forthcoming with West Virginia University Press in November 2024.

Emily Barnard: Emily Barnard is an undergraduate student at UWM. She is majoring in English, currently on the Creative Writing track, and minoring in Film.

Book Review: Brazos by Justin Carter

By: Emily Barnard

Brazos is the first book written by former Cream City Review contributor Justin Carter. This poetry collection primarily focuses on Carter’s upbringing and childhood in a small Texas town. The poems within Brazos have themes within them that many, whether they’ve grown up in a small town or large city, can relate to. Themes of belonging, growing up, and desire for change are all found within Carter’s thought-provoking poems that ring true for many Americans’ lives. 

One poem in Brazos, “Self-Portrait Without Adornment,” details how Carter views his hometown after spending many years away. Like many, Carter left his hometown as an adult to discover what else was out there. In this poem, Carter reflects on the behaviors and mannerisms of the people he used to call neighbors. An excerpt from the poem that portrays this feeling of displacement reads: 

“I visit / for holidays & leave again, / a tourist in a world of familiarity. / Self-portrait as endless train. / Years ago, an electronic billboard / advertised the fireplace store / & the boat repair shop. But one morning, / I looked up and saw Barack Obama’s face / behind prison bars. I knew, then, / I needed to escape.” 

There were many factors that made Carter feel alienated from his community, and the imagery that he uses to display these complex feelings is phenomenal. These differing opinions and values in life were the deciding factor for him to leave his hometown behind and look to the future, to find a place where he can truly feel a sense of belonging. Without feeling connected to your community, it can be very hard to live a fulfilling life, which Carter portrays beautifully in this poem. 

Even though Carter emphasizes how important it was for him to leave his hometown behind, he does not gloss over the challenges and hardships that came with renouncing everything that he knew. Carter displays some of these melancholic feelings in this excerpt from “Self-Portrait Without Adornment”: 

“I’m 32 & know I’ve seen my parents / more in the past than I will / in the future.” 

Though Carter reflects on his hometown with a feeling of sorrow, there are some bittersweet aspects of his childhood that he looks upon with fondness, as seen in the poem “Some Things I Miss”: 

“Every bar called a beer joint & my uncle in a cowboy hat crooning George / Jones songs on Friday nights, the drift of cigarette smoke, the small / impact of pool cues. Straining my eyes in the midnight fog for a lone / doe beside the road, ready to swerve away.” 

The way Carter incorporates senses in this poem, such as hearing his uncle sing, and smelling cigarette smoke, helps readers imagine what life was like for him in this town. Though Carter knew that he had to leave his hometown to move forward with his life, he still holds fond memories of living there. Sometimes the smallest moments can be the most meaningful, and Carter illuminates this nostalgic feeling exquisitely.  

The poems in Justin Carter’s book Brazos display a sense of humanity that encourages reflection upon one’s own life. Growing up, moving away, and discovering who you are, are all aspects of life, even if hard, that everyone must go through. And even though it is important to move forward in this way, we should hold and treasure the memories that have shaped the people we have become. 

Brazos will be released on August 6, 2024. Copies are available from Belle Point Press.

Bios:

Justin Carter: Justin Carter’s poems have appeared in The Adroit Journal, Bat City Review, DIAGRAM, and other spaces. Originally from the Texas Gulf Coast, Justin currently lives in Iowa and works as a sports writer and editor. Brazos is his debut collection.

Emily Barnard: Emily Barnard is an undergraduate student at UWM. She is majoring in English, currently on the Creative Writing track, and minoring in Film.