Reading these stories felt like a friend was telling me deep, personal stories from her life; like she wanted me to understand a part of her life that was difficult and complicated and that I hadn't really experienced myself. These stories of childhood, of growing up, and of young adulthood, were stories I felt could have come from any number of friends I had growing up, mostly because they generally dealt with suburban middle class families and schools, but also because they felt so real and raw. 
 Every story in this book is memorable, a surprising feat given that their plots and characters are so similar. Each story puts its heroine or someone around her whom she cares about in an isolated position (generally by making them social outcasts) and tells the reader how she works through it: the kinds of feelings that are present, the state of the world around her, the horrifying deeds that others commit around her, and the sometimes heartbreaking consequences of her thoughts and actions. They're focused solely on conveying an experience, and describing it to the best of the narrator's ability, which shifts depending on the story. The main character ranges in age from about ten to about thirty, with the majority sitting under the age of twenty, and the change in tone and level of detail depending on the main character's maturity is well-executed, and makes each story feel more authentic. 
 After almost every story, I had to take a deep breath to collect myself. Even though the stories all come from the same place as far as the characters involved and the basic conflicts, I felt different emotions after each one, ranging from disgust to sadness to horror to sympathy. The way that each character deals with the isolation in her life as well as some of the awful things that happen to her is unique but always compelling and resonant. 
 If you didn't notice, I'm having a hard time writing about this book. This is because I can only think of so many ways to say that this book made me feel many feelings. There are some small missteps here and there, and some stories work much better than others, but taken as a whole, this is a very high-quality collection of realistic, personal writing that I thought was extremely well-written. 
 I do wonder what it would take for me to dislike writing that is so personal; it kind of feels like I would like any writing that has that quality. I think it's probably a quirk of my age and personality at this given moment that I feel that way, but I guess I mention this because I'm not sure how reliable I can be as a judge of quality when the content is so realistic and emotional. I will say, however, that I really enjoyed Orringer's prose, particularly the way in which she infuses the narration with the personality of the narrator herself, and I think this collection is probably worth checking out for that alone. 
 Whenever I read reviews of short story collections, I find myself searching the text for mentions of my favorites or least favorites because I'm curious what the reviewer thought of those stories in particular. Since I am having such a hard time with this review, I'll end it by presenting some quick, spoilery thoughts about each of the stories. 
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 "Pilgrims": This may be the story that caught me most by surprise; the climax completely floored me, and really put me on edge for the rest of the collection. 
 "When She Is Old and I Am Famous": This was certainly sad at times, particularly Mira's descriptions of herself and her perception of her cousin. The happy ending kind of threw me off, though, and even slightly disappointed me. 
 "The Isabel Fish": This story made me tear up in the library. Probably the story that affected me the most, particularly with that incredible final piece of dialogue. 
 "Note to Sixth-Grade Self": Probably the only story in which Orringer focuses more on form than content. While the content was still worthwhile, I felt that the structure of the story and its narration didn't really add much. 
 "The Smoothest Way Is Full of Stones": This was a hard story to grab on to initially, given the completely foreign setting and environment, but Orringer was able to make it connect. 
 "Care": This is the obvious choice for "John's favorite story," given the poignantly relevant subject matter, the heartbreaking description of Tessa's mental and emotional states, and the very effective ending. 
 "Stars of Motown Shining Bright": This one kind of came out of nowhere, and I couldn't figure out how to feel about it. I'm still not quite sure. I think that means it was good, though. 
 "What We Save": This was an infuriating and frustrating story because of what happens in it. There are several very awful characters, and I was left feeling pretty down after this. The description of Helena's thoughts was especially well done. 
 "Stations of the Cross": This serves as a good bookend to the collection, as it is another story about how terrible children can be. The buildup to the horrifying climax was fantastic. 
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