Coco

by Kristy Webster

Coco is the story of two families; the Trozcos and the Fabos and the two children that set the destiny of both families in motion.
Sammy Fabo and Maribel Trozco are born on the same night, at the exact same hour and minute. However, the two children couldn't have less in common. Sammy is born with an exceptional beauty, both hypnotic and devastating, yet Sammy has also entered the world with a broken heart. Maribel is a child full of joy, a heart redder and more loving than most, but she has also been "cursed" with a birth defect: a third arm, that Maribel later names "Coco."

74 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 19, 2013

About the author

Kristy Webster is a writer, artist and mother of two. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing from Pacific Lutheran University and her Bachelor's Degree from the Evergreen State College where she majored in creative writing, visual arts, and feminist studies. Her work has appeared in several online and print journals such as Pacific Literary Review, The Feminist Wire, Molotov Cocktail, Ginger Piglet, Stone Hobo, Connotation Press, Abacot Journal, Thickjam, A Word With You Press, A Fly in Amber and in two print anthologies by GirlChildPress. She is the daughter of a Colombian immigrant and a Montana cowboy.

Reviews

[Judith Shadford · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, I loved it because Kristy wrote it. Then, I love the sheer story: its jumps and juxtapositions become part of the storytelling magic. I love the grandmother who worries and works and tries SO hard to make everything the way it should be. And finally, Coco herself, becoming a presence with a mind of her own.
More subtly, I'm intrigued by Kristy's playing with the idea of Spirit--that there is a balance, which can, sometimes, be achieved. The concept of spirit, outside institutions and religions, gives Magic Realism its power and credibility, which Kristy has both achieved and joined.
Next time--a full-length novel, please!