Thank you Netgalley, Memento Vivere Press, and Angélique Jamail for sending me this advance review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was an interesting little novella. I wish there was a little bit more worldbuilding in the beginning. It took a bit to figure out what was going on. It has a strong vibe of dealing with racism and being "other". Elsa deals with constant hate from her family, her work, and everyone around her because she doesn't have an animal affinity. It does have a happy ending, but there was a ton of pain and an unaliving attempt to get there.

Short and engaging, hopefully a precursor for more to come. Horrible boss, horrible family, and even her cat doesn't like her - but there are a couple others who believe there is more, and maybe they are right! Definitely has potential.

Magical realism. Sci fi and fantasy. A wonderful read of family, finding oneself and magic. Does have a dark element to it with the main character wanting to unalive herself - please do read the intro/blurb. A short story that triggers so muc emotion. Very well done.

I requested this not realizing that it was a short story which is not really my thing. It is set up as a series of scenes following a woman who has not developed her animal half which effectively is treated as a disability in this society. She suffers socially, economically, and especially mentally/emotionally by not coming into her power. Will she be stuck in this place of disadvantage forever estranged from the majority of society? Most people get their form as they mature but some need a life event.  Her personal desperation drives her to try to force it on the very low probability that she could have a form that requires she die to discover it.  Honestly, the story lost me here. I didn't find the ending satisfying and if there was a deeper meaning I didn't understand it. The world the author built is interesting in its fantastical details.

Elsa has never fit in all her life, not discovering her inner strength as have others in her family. This causes her to be in that small group of unfortunate Plain People treated like lower class forms of life. Even a sympathetic cousin and workmate barely lighten her everyday existence.

The plot was a bit predictable as well as the ending. The extreme prejudice from her parents was a bit unbelievable, as well as her passiveness when dealing with her abusive boss. True, jobs for Plains are hard to find, but seriously…

What was also hard to swallow was her lifelong aversion to the environment that eventually becomes her calling and solution to her problems.

The book opened with a warning about self-destructive content, and I did find it disturbing, especially as a plot device for a person to discover their inner truth. I would suggest caution when putting this title in for school children.