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Please Read Me: A Collection of Short Stories and Some Poems Too
HELLO READER! Please Read Me is a scrappy compilation of quirky, coming of age short stories with a sprinkle of poems. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll feel uncomfortable. You'll love the narrators of the stories. They'e entertaining. At least, I think they are. You might not think so, but you'll enjoy it. But don't feel forced to. I did say please. If you do enjoy it, I'll appreciate it. You don't want to miss out. A lot of people will be talking about it. At least I think they will.
130 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 2, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 20, 2023
My favorite piece of this was Digital Love. I felt like this brought to life what dating is like now a days.
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April 24, 2024“Please Read Me” by Kathryn Sprandio Ells is a collection of short stories and poems that explore both girlhood and adulthood as a young woman, and the emotions that come with these ages. The author uses humor throughout the pieces, particularly in the way that she builds emotional experiences only to add a comedic buffer to soften the awkward memories.
Whether biographical or not, each piece follows a different character who experiences the same basic dilemma: trying to authentically be yourself. Through Ells, the reader gets to re-experience the all-too-common awkwardness of the universal experience of one’s first crush in the schoolyard playground. Throughout the collection, she also builds older and more experienced characters. But like the schoolgirl in the playground, they are all just trying to be themselves and learn from their emotions. Throughout this collection, Ells uses these universal experiences to build her stories and try to make them relatable to her readers.
In “Please Read Me” readers not only get to empathize with the characters’ struggles navigating the emotional turmoil of growing up, but they can also enjoy the fresh perspective of a young college student in the late 2000s who is enjoying the excitement of the advent of social media. Many characters are centered around their obsession with the newly minted Facebook. Ells uses the networking site to add a touch of nostalgia to her stories. She reintroduces us to a world where social media was still new and exciting. But even with the different era, through Ells’ creations, we are reminded that getting rejected by your crush on social media has always hurt!
I wish there had been more character development and closure within the pieces as I felt most of them were more like snapshots of scenes rather than short stories. The scenes and characters were interesting but seemed to lack the conflict and resolution that would have strengthened the collection. The stories and poems also stand alone but given that the collection is meant to represent growing up and the protagonists are quite similar to one another, I think the collection misses some transition pieces that tie the stories together.
Overall, “Please Read Me” by Kathryn Sprandio Ells is an interesting collection of stories and poems with relatable protagonists. Readers who are nostalgic for the late 2000s would enjoy this collection as would readers who enjoy coming-of-age stories. The poems are short and easy to digest, while the stories are short with relatable characters. Overall, the collection was an easy, light read.
Whether biographical or not, each piece follows a different character who experiences the same basic dilemma: trying to authentically be yourself. Through Ells, the reader gets to re-experience the all-too-common awkwardness of the universal experience of one’s first crush in the schoolyard playground. Throughout the collection, she also builds older and more experienced characters. But like the schoolgirl in the playground, they are all just trying to be themselves and learn from their emotions. Throughout this collection, Ells uses these universal experiences to build her stories and try to make them relatable to her readers.
In “Please Read Me” readers not only get to empathize with the characters’ struggles navigating the emotional turmoil of growing up, but they can also enjoy the fresh perspective of a young college student in the late 2000s who is enjoying the excitement of the advent of social media. Many characters are centered around their obsession with the newly minted Facebook. Ells uses the networking site to add a touch of nostalgia to her stories. She reintroduces us to a world where social media was still new and exciting. But even with the different era, through Ells’ creations, we are reminded that getting rejected by your crush on social media has always hurt!
I wish there had been more character development and closure within the pieces as I felt most of them were more like snapshots of scenes rather than short stories. The scenes and characters were interesting but seemed to lack the conflict and resolution that would have strengthened the collection. The stories and poems also stand alone but given that the collection is meant to represent growing up and the protagonists are quite similar to one another, I think the collection misses some transition pieces that tie the stories together.
Overall, “Please Read Me” by Kathryn Sprandio Ells is an interesting collection of stories and poems with relatable protagonists. Readers who are nostalgic for the late 2000s would enjoy this collection as would readers who enjoy coming-of-age stories. The poems are short and easy to digest, while the stories are short with relatable characters. Overall, the collection was an easy, light read.
May 26, 2024
"Please Read Me" - a beautifully written first book from up and coming author Kathryn Sprandio Ells!!! Her language flowed so wonderfully in this piece - I laughed and cried all through the pages and when it was finished, I wanted to read more. I can't wait to dive into, "Laugh Like a Mother"!!!!!!
Much Peace and Love.
-J.A. McGovern
Much Peace and Love.
-J.A. McGovern
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews