Laura Madeline Wiseman’s newest collection of short stories, The Hunger of the Cheeky Sisters, Ten Tales, uses second person to create a sense of unease. The reader is thrust into the center of the story, where imagery of poverty, resplendent with cockroaches, lice, and the perils of being female are shoved into your psyche. Her stories of young girls and women who deal in their own way with body image, femininity and hunger is raw, gritty, powerful, and real. Wiseman’s skilled rendering makes you appreciate how such a telling can be incredibly effective in conveying a work with an important message. This is a collection that will stay with you for a long time.
– Lisa Kovanda
