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Erica Robyn Reads

a horror book review blog

Recent Posts

Black Out The Stars by Christopher Bond - book sitting on wooden flooring. Book cover of Black Out the Stars by Christopher Bond, cover illustrated by Todd Kiesling. The design showcases a dark, atmospheric pond and sky filled with swirling fog and scattered stars. The title is prominently displayed in bold, white, pink and purple lettering, contrasting against the deep purple and black hues of the background.

Black Out The Stars by Christopher Bond | Book Review

Indie Bookstore Day 2025 | Book Event

A tablet lies on dry grass and surrounded by dandelions in a natural outdoor setting. The screen displays the cover of the book Everybody Is in the Place by Emma J. Gibbon. The cover features a colorful, fantastical illustration of a female figure with glowing eyes and curved horns, holding something mysterious in her hands. Stars and swirling cosmic elements fill the background, giving the cover a magical and otherworldly feel. The title text is in bold, colorful letters across the top and middle, with the author's name at the bottom.

Everybody Is in the Place by Emma J. Gibbon | Book Review

[Short Story Review] Polly by Rook Winters

June 9, 2019      Erica Robyn      Leave a Comment

Polly by Rook Winters photo

Polly by Rook Winters is a short story that covers a 24-hour period where our main character, Polly, is having a bit of a existential crisis.

Having already read the full length novel and another short story, I couldn’t wait to check this one out! Feel free to check out my reviews for each of those below:

  • Cubicleland
  • Minivans and Baseball

Let’s dive into my quick review!

My Thoughts on Polly by Rook Winters

This is a seven-page short story that takes place two years before Cubicleland. This is another item that works well as a standalone piece, but is also fun to read if you’ve already encountered the future versions of the characters from the full length novel.

The very first scene of the story is so heartwarming! What lovely characters Sirine and Polly are! They’re so friendly and kind. This scene sets the tone for the rest of the tale.

As the tale continues, we see Polly handle a very stressful event at work with grace. The stress that this situation brought up made Polly question if her work is really worth the stress, which is something that certainly hits home for me, as I’m sure it would for many others.

My Favorite Passages from Polly

She orders in a catered lunch for the team to thank them for their hard work. She knows that the arrival of free food has an almost magical morale-boosting effect on people.

“…And helping someone feel better in a bad moment is meaningful.”

My Final Thoughts on Polly

This was such a wonderfully heartwarming tale. It brings up a great question: is my work meaningful to me?

That’s something we all definitely need to ask ourselves from time to time. However, we also need to make sure we’re keeping an open mind about it and not getting stuck in the negatives.

I highly recommend this one!

Thanks for reading!
This story is exclusively for subscribers of the author’s Readers List. To subscribe to that, click here!

Here are a few more recent posts you might like:

  • Black Out The Stars by Christopher Bond | Book Review
  • Indie Bookstore Day 2025 | Book Event
  • Everybody Is in the Place by Emma J. Gibbon | Book Review

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Welcome to Erica Robyn Reads!

Erica Robyn of Erica Robyn Reads
Hello! I’m Erica, a Mainer living in New Hampshire who runs on hot tea, good books, and loud music. Join me as I seek out amazing horror tales and help support the indie horror community!
 

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