Penny Smith’s Reviews > Sunburn > Status Update
Penny Smith
is on page 211 of 288
“I put my mouth to her. She has soured. There are layers of dirt on my Susannah, and I love her. I will love her till her bones brown. I am taken over with relief when I see her chest rise and feel her shaking. There is something in her still. The breath she lets out is weighted, louder than the rushing of the water in the ocean, it brings new dimensions to me. She is not numb. I could bring her back to life”
— May 21, 2026 01:10AM
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Penny’s Previous Updates
Penny Smith
is on page 236 of 288
It’s cruel and frustrating that this is exactly what would have happened with Susannah. She would have lived in a new place, with a job and new friends, queer and accepting friends, and she would have blossomed in a new life without hearing from her family or her old friends. This is what was going to happen anyway. She was clinging to something that didn’t even exist.
— May 21, 2026 01:42AM
Penny Smith
is on page 224 of 288
The cruelest joke of all is that she is trying to keep things she never had. She never had a mother’s love, if it’s conditional. She’s never felt truly connected with the girls as friends. It’s just proximity. But suddenly, she’s so afraid of losing these things. She’s deluding herself because it’s not about them. It’s about feeling alone. What she doesn’t realize is that there is life behind beyond
— May 21, 2026 01:25AM
Penny Smith
is on page 189 of 288
I think this is a reveal?? I don’t think we knew that Susanna was part of kiss chase. But I did theorize it in the beginning. I love that.
— May 21, 2026 12:40AM
Penny Smith
is on page 181 of 288
I think the most compelling thing about this book to me is how Lucy describes the mother daughter relationships through being fed. What her mom feeds her changes depending on how she’s feeling about her. It’s. Brilliant way to show the projection of self worth from mother to daughter, how the girls are literally being fed their mother’s insecurities.
— May 21, 2026 12:19AM
Penny Smith
is on page 179 of 288
The sentiments about falling into the unknown are too relatable for the time I’m at in my life. “I will have no plans at all. Nothing will be coming, nothing will be going. I will just exist until I don’t.” It show I feel right now.
— May 21, 2026 12:17AM
Penny Smith
is on page 178 of 288
The self destruction of it all is sickening and relatable to read. And though it’s not a 1:1 for me, the mother daughter dynamic rings true in a lot of ways
— May 20, 2026 07:57PM
Penny Smith
is on page 166 of 288
Reading lit fic is scary because at any point you can pick one up and the out of nowhere it becomes a horror novel when you realize you relate too hard to the self hating self destructive main character
— May 20, 2026 07:41PM
