I'll Give You a Reason: Stories

by Annell López

The vibrant stories in I’ll Give You a Reason explore race, identity, connection, and belonging in the Ironbound, an immigrant neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. A young widow goes on her first date since her husband’s death and finds herself hunting a bear in the woods with a near stranger. An unhappy wife compares her mother’s love spells and rituals to her own efforts to repair her strained marriage. A self-conscious college student discovers a porn star who shares her name and becomes obsessed with her doppelgänger’s freedom and comfort with her own body.

Annell López’s indelible characters tread the waters of political unrest, sexuality, religion, body image, Blackness, colorism, and gentrification—searching for their identities and a sliver of joy and intimacy. Through each story, a nuanced portrait of the “American Dream” emerges, uplifting the voices of those on its margins.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Anthologies, Audiobook

230 pages, Paperback

Published April 9, 2024

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annell López has crafted beautifully written short stories, mostly set in Newark, New Jersey, and in particular its Ironbound neighborhood, a mostly welcoming place for immigrants. Of course, not all is perfect in this space. After all, it’s still the United States, so an undocumented teen worries about what she hasn’t been told by her parents; a dark-skinned child is mocked at school; a white woman is haunted by the potential outcome of her do-gooding. Sex is a component of several of these stories: acts of degradation, insecurity, profit, lust, and love

López’s flash pieces are so effective, especially the gut-punch of a story depicting the sexual harassment of a dark-skinned young woman, in Hungary, by white boys, in the United States, by white men. Another favorite of mine is a flash in which an expensive rug, given as a wedding gift, stands in for everything the couple has neglected, and not faced up to, in their very short marriage. The other standout story for me is the last of the collection and easily its longest. I read its last paragraphs about five times in a row.

If you’re a fan of Barb Johnson’s More of This World or Maybe Another or
Deesha Philyaw’s The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, you’ll love these stories as well.

4.5

[Lupita Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a sharp and captivating voice throughout each story and character navigating identity, gentrification, colorism, and much more through the immigrant lens. This unique voice echoes the type of storytelling that captivated me in my youth and which made me long for more of its kind.

I can't wait for others to read this one. López voice is truly mesmerizing and captivating.

[Andrea Beatriz Arango]

Have you read I'LL GIVE YOU A REASON? I started it at the beach in Mississippi yesterday & finished it today in between chores and writing.

I think my favorite thing about this collection was how wildly varied the stories were while still having a deeply rooted sense of place. (The whole book is tied to the Ironbound neighborhood in Newark, NJ, where Annell moved to from the DR at 14.)

I don't know. It's hard to explain how I felt while reading. Like I was pulling on a hangnail or an ingrown hair. Painful but grounding in a way I keep reaching for in books lately... perhaps to keep from feeling so geographically unmoored 🥲.

My favorite stories were:

• The Fake Wife
• Worry Bees
• What Is Yours
• The World As We Know It
• Boxes

Do we have any favorites in common? 👀

[Mary Rose Fissinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third book from the Skylight Books Invisible Friends book subscription and favorite to date. It was nice to read a collection of so many stories that had such a clear unifying theme/subject (Dominican immigrants living in Newark) but felt completely distinct.

Some didn’t grab me so much but I enjoyed the overall reading experience, and some were great:
- Dark Vader: a much older sister is motivated by trying to be a good example for her little sister while navigating her cold relationship with her mom.
- What Is Yours: a young girl realizes the man she hated for holding back her mom might actually be alright, and her mom the failure.
- So I Let Her Be: a daughter watches her mom give up on the thing that saved her from grief because of the impacts it has on her daughter
- The Fake Wife: a green card marriage turns into true love.

Seems the mom/daughter ones tended to stand out for me.

—

I've woken up from dreams where she is mine: dreams where I come out as a mother and all of a sudden I have an external reason for bettering myself-a human being whose needs wipe away my feelings of inadequacy, and the crippling anxiety that keeps me from passing the fucking GED.

There was no good way to explain the malaise.
There was no good way to explain that my life felt like an endless performance, always a few degrees shy of truthful.

I couldn’t tell her that hell had to be real. That you couldn’t hurt people and walk away unscathed.

I didn't ask Marisa how she had made all these connections. We all knew shady people. In fact, some of us were shady people ourselves.

And as she spoke, I found myself rapt-I could see her dreams and felt an undue sense of pride in her, for all she had done so far to get herself here. And then it hit me that the telltale sign of love is when you want the other person to win. I wanted her to win. I needed her to win because I loved her.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a reader, the last page of each of Annell López’s stories left me taking a small gasp, eyes widening. It may only be January, but this short story collection, I’ll Give You A Reason, will be a stand out of the year for and many others. These stories are playful, gritty, delightfully weird, startling, stomach-churning. They feel undeniably real, López capturing New Jersey life across age, gender and class experiences.

Each story finds a way to detail transgressions in these characters lives—moments where they decide who they really are, sometimes by actively betraying who they thought they were or what other people expect of them. López asks what are the ways we feel fragile? Where are our fissures? What happens when we press that tender skin around our wounds?

The title story is one I won’t forget. It introduces us to Maria, a deeply sensitive girl at school who brings home a classmate that she believe stole something from her. I won’t spoil it, but the build of the story snaps power back into the hands of someone cast of powerless. López’s characters will not let you take control of their fate.

This collection will give you a reason to question reality, risk what felt stable, forgive what stood in the way, reach for the unlikely. It’ll give you a reason to expect surprise, to be unsettled, to find comfort in the uncomfortable truth.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid short story collection, especially for a debut. Every story has a really strong sense of place. I think the first story works well as a frame for the rest of the collection. My favorites here were Bear Hunting Season (I read that the author is fleshing this one out as a novel), The Fake Wife, and The World as We Know It.

[Allan Broslawsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though I only spent six years in the Ironbound, Annell Lopez’s story collection makes me feel like I’ve spent multiple lifetimes there. It only takes a few sentences for each character to come alive. An excellent read for those with and without connections to the great city of Newark, New Jersey. Highly recommend!

[Elisa Speranza · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of evocative, engrossing stories set in gritty yet beautiful neighborhoods. Lopez' reverence for these people rests easily alongside her clear-eyed depiction of their lives--sometimes heart-breaking, sometimes triumphant. Intelligent, literary prose and memorable characters, plus a sense of place we don't have enough opportunities to access.

[Serene Almehmi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can’t decide if I liked it or not. I did like “The Fake Wife” for certain

[Anastasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do I live in Ironbound NJ now?? Sure feels like it

Short stories typically aren’t my forte but this collection blew me away. I felt myself wanting to read more from every story while simultaneously loving the endings and various interpretations possible.

Honestly just lovely writing and unique stories where I feel so familiar with that i’m under the impression i can navigate and feel at home with the various people and cultures in Ironbound NJ.

Can’t wait to read more!!!

*The Fake Wife was an amazing and wonderful pick to end the book w/!*

Quotes that stood out:

“Change is imperceptible sometimes. That is until it grows and accumulates. Before you know it, a nuisance becomes a problem, and a leak becomes a flood. You could say Rodrigo and I are standing in a puddle of water. Our socks are gettting wet. And i’m wondering if we still have a chance” pg. 115

“I watched and understood. We all had our ways of dressing our wounds, of pacifying what are away at our souls every single day.” pg. 138

[D'Linda Pearson · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
So good!!!! Oh my gosh! So many wonderful stories to connect to. It’s rare when you can find a short story collection where more than half of the stories just do something for you, and this surpassed my expectations!!

[Avi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable short story collection with diverse, well written and captivating characters.

I liked that all of these felt written in the present (post-2010s) which made their stories feel real.

Lopez is a great writer and in some of the stories you can truly feel the characters’ emotions.

[Darcy Gallego · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed these stories! Looking forward to reading more by this author 🙂‍↔️

[Anjie · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

[ALEX MOERSEN · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thoughtful, emotional, at times heartbreaking and at times joyful look at what it means to be human

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, I'll Give You a Reason can be divided into 4 sections:

My favorites *(in order):
"The Fake Wife"
"The World As We Know It"
"Bear Hunting Season"

Stories whose premise/main theme I liked more than the story itself:
-"Great American Scream Machine" - grappling with identity and the staggering discovery of being undocumented
-"The Other Carmen" - the notion of parallel lives and actually stumbling upon one's real-life doppelgänger that turns out to be their complete opposite (and in the case of the protagonist, her brazenly unapologetic alter ego)
-"Love Language" - the concept of long-held ancestral rituals and spells utilized to repair/salvage a marriage
-"Something Larger, Something Whole" - the intricacy of the couple's marital gift (a rug of unknown origin) and the wear and tear (and, at times, neglect) it undergoes that mirrors their union

Space fillers:
"Dark Vader"
"What Is Yours"
"Jászárokszállás, Hungary, or Newark, New Jersey, or Anywhere, USA"

And stories that just did nothing for me:
"Thirty Miles West"
"I'll Give You a Reason" (*though I'll admit that's a twist I didn't see coming)
"Boxes"
"Worry Bees"
"A Grieving Woman"
"So I Let Her Be"
"This Wasn't Supposed to Happen"

López's enthralling diction (even in the stories I liked least) is undeniable throughout the collection. I loved that the collection as a whole was something of a love letter to her hometown of the Ironbound and Newark, common threads mentioned and made the focus to varying degrees throughout—sometimes as central character ("The World As We Know It") and other times making mere cameos/as a backdrop ("Dark Vader"). "Boxes" as far as I could tell was the only story where neither was mentioned at all.

As a fellow Dominican writer, I applauded not only López's achievement of having her work published but also her consistent shout-outs to Dominicanness, the countless facets of the Dominican experience (particularly in the diaspora), and Dominicanisms throughout:

"Our mother had named her after the month of June, which wasn't the month when Junie was born but the month our mother had trekked the Mona Passage from Santo Domingo to Puerto Rico by boat, eventually making her way to New Jersey. It took her the entire month of June to make it to Newark. So she named her second daughter Junie, to remind herself that America was for second chances." ("Dark Vader," 21-2)

"Nicole's presence is suffocating, which is ironic, given the smallness of her body. It's not a single thing though. Sometimes it's the way she contorts her face into a variety of fake-nice expressions. Sometimes it's the waft of Dominican hair-salon smell—chemicals, heat, and burnt fibers—that's releases when she does that performative hair flip." ("The Other Carmen," 113)

"Are there good ice-cream shops in New York?" she asked. I wanted to correct her. To remind her that I lived in New Jersey. But then I remembered Dominicans used "New York" and "New Jersey" interchangeably." ("The Fake Wife," 207)

Similarly, as a Portuguese speaker and lover of all things Brasil, I've long been intrigued by both communities' historical ties to the Ironbound, which López also highlights in I'll Give You a Reason:

"We walked down down Barbara and Wilson. From there we strolled down Ferry, past the coffee shops with outdoor seating and the old Portuguese men drinking espressos and smoking cigarettes. They laughed and blabbered in what sounded faintly like Spanish punctuated by "shhh" noises at the end of some words." ("The World As We Know It," 71)

"At the Brazilian café the server attempted to take our order in English. Usually in this neighborhood people assumed you spoke their native language, and you had to try to make sense if it. We watched her struggle, remaining patient.
"They're accommodating us," Joy whisperered as I took a sip of water. "You don't think so?"
"I don't think what?"
"You don't think they're trying to accommodate us? They probably feel pressure to speak English, you know."
...I asked if that was a bad thing.
"It's a sad thing," she said." ("The World As We Know It," 71)

"We ordered a little bit of everything: mozzarella sticks, coxinhas, pão de queijo." ("The World As We Know It," 71)

Final fun detail/Easter egg: I liked the random reapparition of Danny and Desiree ("Thirty Miles West") in "The World As We Know It" (60).

Overall, I enjoyed I'll Give You a Reason, and its handling of complex themes like gentrification, undocumented existence, cultural erasure, immigration journies, colorism, and even grief. Even though I'd only classify three of the collection's 17 stories as favorites, the strength of López's writing made up for it—a true rarity—and for that alone, I'm willing to round up and give the collection 4 stars instead of 3.5 (which Goodreads wouldn't allow me to do anyway). I celebrate the arrival of a new Dominican voice on the book scene, and I look forward to reading more of López's future publications.


Noteworthy lines and passages:

"She'd never cared before. She lived her life like a dull knife, or like a muscle atrophied from never being used. Maybe that was the problem." ("Great American Scream Machine," 6)

"She and Jay were friends who shared each other's apathy." ("Great American Scream Machine," 8)

"She had been so aloof for so long, deliberately monochrome in a whirlwind of colors." ("Great American Scream Machine," 10)

"What do you do when the bad things that happen to other people happen to you?" ("Great American Scream Machine," 11)

"Eva stared at the dimple on his left cheek. It was deep, like the divot of a thumbprint cookie. She wanted to trace it with her fingers." ("Great American Scream Machine," 13)

"She pictured them sitting on the living room couch, its collapsed vertebrae hidden under sagging fabric, an eyesore that swallowed anyone who sat on it." ("Great American Scream Machine," 16)

"She believed she would have spent the rest of her life with Jeremy...But now Jeremy was gone, and she was reading about doves—mourning doves—and it reminded her of that Prince song, so she stopped her search to play the song, then wondered if doves actually cried. Was Prince referring to the tremolo of their cooing, or did he mean actual tears? Which she came to find was indeed a possibility because doves had tear ducts that kept their eyes from drying out. But were the tears always functional, or could they also be the byproduct of grief, of sadness?" ("Bear Hunting Season," 75)

"He spoke with the authority of someone who had mastered grief. Nina wondered if that was part of the future that awaited her once she crossed the finish line—the imaginary threshold of sorrow, the frontier that divided joy from pain." ("Bear Hunting Season," 84)

"But maybe this was what healing was, an exploration of the unknown, an excavation of soil that doesn't belong to you." ("Bear Hunting Season," 85)

"The other Carmen is wearing clear stripper heels, a modern-day rendition of glass slippers." ("The Other Carmen," 115)

"I've never made love. No one's ever made love to me. Not the way I imagine it, anyway...Sex has always been circumstantial. It's been noise. But you can't fill a void with sound alone. A loud empty room is still empty." ("The Other Carmen," 126)

"Change is imperceptible sometimes. That is, until it grows and accumulates. Before you know it, a nuisance becomes a problem, and a leak becomes a flood. You could say Rodrigo and I are standing in a puddle of water. Our socks are getting wet." ("Love Language," 130)

"Our relationship has corroded like a cheap necklace exposed to the elements." ("Love Language," 132)

"There was no good way to explain the malaise. There was no good way to explain that my life felt like an endless performance, always a few degrees shy of truthful." ("Worry Bees," 158)

"I watched and understood. We all had our ways of dressing our wounds, of pacifying what ate away at our souls every day." ("Worry Bees," 160)

"I asked Lucía if she thought we would go to hell..."You seriously believe in hell?"...I couldn't tell her that hell had to be real. That you couldn't hurt people and walk away unscathed." ("That Wasn't Supposed to Happen," 182)

"You see that doll without a face? That's a Dominican artisanal craft," she said proudly...She explained the faceless dolls were built that way to represent the multiethnicity of the country." ("The Fake Wife," 190)

"She'd never owned a pet—not because she didn't want one but because she had never spent time around an animal she didn't have to eat." ("The Fake Wife," 198)

"If anything, they served to tame some of my excitement. I was a helium balloon, buoyant with happiness. The logistics were the hand holding on to a string, yanking me back to reality." ("The Fake Wife," 204)

"And then it hit me that the telltale sign of love is when you want the other person to win. I needed her to win because I loved her." ("The Fake Wife," 208)

"I thought of my mother, how she'd never let me play with anyone else's toys, how she'd never even let me drive her car, how she'd insisted I never get used to enjoying what wasn't mine." ("The Fake Wife," 210)

"The house smelled like fresh sazón. She'd blend garlic, peppers, onions, and herbs. The whirring blender was a noise I wanted to get used to. We ate plantains a lot. Mashed, twice-fried, stuffed, boiled, baked. She kept finding new ways to cook them." ("The Fake Wife," 212)

"Instead I felt her arms around me, spooning me, her breath softly caressing my neck, and her tears trickling down my skin. I didn't speak and neither did she. In some absurd, irrational way, we fit like the interlocking bones of vertebrae." ("The Fake Wife," 219)

[Ailey | Bisexual Bookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll Give You a Reason by Annell López is a luminous debut that delves into the intricacies of immigrant life, exploring the tension between belonging and alienation, hope and despair. Through a collection of short stories set in the vibrant Ironbound neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey, López crafts an intimate portrayal of the immigrant experience, centering on the complex relationships between family members, the pressure to assimilate, and the ever-present search for identity.

López's prose is introspective and evocative, rich with vivid imagery that captures the emotional landscapes of her characters. The language is poetic, often blending personal narratives with universal themes, as in the line, “She had been so aloof for so long, deliberately monochrome in a whirlwind of colors.” This imagery paints a picture of the internal struggles that many of López’s characters face—struggles between the identities they’ve inherited and the ones they’re trying to carve out in a new world.

At the heart of this collection are the fraught dynamics between immigrant parents and their children. López deftly explores how these relationships are shaped by the clash between the protective instincts of parents and the children’s desire to forge their own paths in a culture vastly different from the one their parents know. The tension is palpable in lines like, “I was trying my best to get somewhere, to be something that’d make her journey to this country worth a damn.” These stories reveal the emotional weight of expectations and the fractures they can cause within families, while also offering glimpses of hope and reconciliation.

The Ironbound neighborhood itself becomes a character in the book, its streets and skyline providing a backdrop for López’s exploration of race, identity, and the American Dream. Through the experiences of her primarily Black and Brown characters, López confronts issues of colorism, misogynoir, and gentrification, bringing to light the survival concerns that often overshadow any sense of normalcy. One standout story, Great American Scream Machine, follows a teenage girl grappling with the realization that she is undocumented, a narrative that poignantly illustrates the precariousness of life on the margins. Another, Fake Wife, delves into the complexities of a green card marriage that evolves into something more, highlighting the nuanced portrayals of relationships that López weaves throughout the collection.

López also offers subtle but significant queer representation in her stories, adding another layer to her exploration of identity and belonging. Her characters are rich, flawed, and deeply human, their journeys leaving a lasting impression long after the final page is turned. As one character reflects, “What if life was as ugly as it was beautiful, as bleak as it was hopeful?” López doesn’t shy away from these contradictions, instead embracing them to create a collection that is as heart-wrenching as it is hopeful.

I’ll Give You a Reason is a triumph of storytelling, a book that resonates deeply with the immigrant experience while offering universal insights into the human condition. López’s characters, with their defiance and resilience, will stay with you long after you’ve closed the book, their stories a testament to the enduring struggle for identity, connection, and a place to call home.

📖 Recommended For: Readers who appreciate introspective and evocative storytelling, those interested in immigrant experiences, fans of short stories that explore race, identity, and the complexities of family dynamics, and anyone who resonates with narratives centered on the pursuit of the American Dream.

🔑 Key Themes: Immigrant Identity and Assimilation, Familial Relationships and Expectations, Racial and Cultural Tensions, The Struggle for Belonging, Healing and Resilience, Anti-Gentrification.

Content / Trigger Warnings: Suicidal thoughts (minor), Drug use (minor), Abortion (minor), Alcohol (minor), Sexual content (moderate), Racism (moderate), Bullying (minor), Infidelity (minor), Mental illness (moderate), Violence (moderate), Death of spouse (severe), Grief (moderate), Drug abuse (minor), Forced institutionalization (minor), Abandonment (minor).

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Annell Lopez has crafted an extraordinary collection in "I'll Give You a Reason" that captivates from the first page to the last. Each short story is a gem, shimmering with depth, emotion, and profound insights into the human experience.

Lopez's writing is a masterclass in storytelling. Her prose is both elegant and powerful, effortlessly drawing readers into richly imagined worlds and intimate moments. Whether exploring themes of love, loss, or redemption, she handles each with sensitivity and grace, leaving a lasting impact on the reader's heart and mind.

What truly sets "I'll Give You a Reason" apart is Lopez's ability to infuse every story with genuine emotion. From heartwarming tales of unexpected connections to poignant reflections on life's challenges, each narrative resonates deeply, evoking laughter, tears, and everything in between.

This collection is a testament to Lopez's talent as a writer. Her ability to craft characters so vivid and scenarios so compelling is nothing short of remarkable. "I'll Give You a Reason" is not just a book of stories; it's a journey—a journey through the complexities of human relationships and the enduring power of love.

For anyone seeking a literary experience that is both enriching and profoundly moving, "I'll Give You a Reason" by Annell Lopez is an absolute must-read. Prepare to be swept away by her storytelling prowess and to discover new reasons to cherish the written word.

[Alicia Guzman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow wow wow !

It's been a while since a short story collection has blown me away like this.

I'll Give You a Reason is a debut collection of short stories connected by place. Most of the stories take place around Ironbound - an immigrant neighborhood in Newark, New Jersey. I loved the range of these stories. Across age, identity, gender and class, Lopez breathes life into these stories. I was so immersed that I forgot I was reading.

The end of each story was a gut punch.

Lopez is a talented writer. I truly can not wait for what she writes next.

CW: potential school shooting

[Logan Tunick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each story delves deeply into the pivotal breaches that define these characters' lives—moments of truth where they grapple with their identities, sometimes by betraying their former selves or defying the expectations imposed upon them. López masterfully examines profound questions: How do we confront our vulnerabilities? Where do the cracks in our identities lie? The writing carries a sharp voice, weaving through themes of identity, gentrification, colorism, and more, all filtered through the immigrant experience. I loved this storytelling, López’s voice is both mesmerizing and unforgettable.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this collection of short stories primarily set in Newark with a clear focus on immigration and specifically Dominican immigrants as either a central or adjacent theme. The stories were different lengths and focuses but on a whole found it easy to sink into the majority of them quickly and easily and found most storylines compelling.

[Syd ⭐️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sharp and biting go short stories of Latina women in mainly New Jersey. The stories are cut throat. They are biting and read straight. Each story explored topics concerning these women and their community: gentrification, school lockdowns, body image, and citizenship to name a few. These stories are pertinent and important. I highly recommend them.

[The Globetrotting Bookworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked the writing and length of these stories. Besides identity and race and the immigrant experience, there was an overarching theme of loneliness and desire for human connection. The melancholy was balanced with hope in a way that felt genuine. Would love to read a full-length novel by this author.

[Alex (novelswithalex)]

These were okay! I think I’m starting to realize that I prefer speculative or horror short stories rather than just regular fiction short stories. I enjoyed these, they just aren’t sticking with me or making me feel anything exciting.

[Sheila Sundar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll Give you a Reason is gorgeous. Annell Lopez brings her characters to life with such vividness and humanity, and I found myself thinking about them long after I put the book down. This book is a love story to New Jersey, to immigrants, and to young people everywhere who are finding their way.

[Jenn Jackson · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a beautiful and affirming collection of short stories. I love how developed all of the characters are and how they reflect the texture and fullness of Afro/Latine experiences in the Northeast. People who love short story collections will love this one.

[J R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazingly done collection. I loved the way the characters worked in each short story, especially the bear one, the ex one, and the last one.

[Myriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fresh new voice! Love these stories by Dominican American author Lopez.

[Casey Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each story easily captivated and transported me into worlds I’ve never known. I would hands down read each story if they were written as their own novel. 👏🏻

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection had a handful of really great pieces, though some of the shorter stories started to blur together by the end for me.

3.5 stars rounded up.