In Herkert’s speculative short stories, everyday people confront mysterious and absurd circumstances.

The collection opens strongly with “Strange Frequencies,” which follows married couple Ella and Levi Jacobson, who’ve been struggling through Ella’s cancer diagnosis. While listening to a radio station that plays all of Ella’s favorite songs, they hear an advertisement for the services of a Dr. Ernest Willingham, who promises to solve all their problems. They make an appointment immediately, but the doctor’s strange methods have bizarre and unexpected results. This somber yet fantastical story primes the reader for what’s to come. In the second tale, “I Absolutely Hate Cats,” Pat strives for a promotion at Johnson Financial, but four stray cats have loudly taken up residence in his yard, leaving him sleep-deprived. A coworker offers him a dangerous solution, but it’s one he can’t resist. It’s one of multiple stories featuring cats and a general loss of humanity. “Mr Forward & the Misbelievers” follows the Rochefort family’s panic after receiving threatening letters. In them, a mysterious Mr Forward informs them that “all the misbelievers will die,” but the family struggles to solve the mystery. The haggardly title character is seen again in “Mr Forward & The Misintervention,” in which a deadbeat father is forced to confront his adult son; the conclusion is cleverly intertwined with the Rocheforts’ tale, effectively feeding into the underlying plot of the entire collection. Some of the stories end in an overly abrupt manner and suffer from repetitive prose that unnecessarily states what characters are thinking while also showing it through action. However, each character has a voice that’s distinctive, and each story has a specific mood and tone. Herkert also ably transports readers into the puzzle of who Mr Forward really is and what he wants from humankind.

Thirteen uneven—but often compelling—tales of death and sharp, pointy teeth.

A neglected girl encounters unexplainable events in Herkert’s YA novel.

Thirteen-year-old Perry Shiner has a distant, neglectful single mother and a lonely life at school, so she’s become used to forging her own solitary path through adolescence. But although chaos is familiar to Perry, her town of Hex Point, New Jersey, is about to deal with supernatural events to which its residents aren’t accustomed. Perry, in a dream, encounters an otherworldly blue being that speaks to her: “It appeared to be swaying slightly, side to side, like it was adrift on the sea.” Unsure of what to think about it, she keeps her visions to herself—until a rekindled friendship results in a violent attack, and reveals a connection between “the other side” and her own reality. The young protagonist’s uncle, Martin Shiner—who also meets the blue being, who presents him with a warning involving Perry—and his family, alongside private investigator Alex Peters, who catches a whiff of the case, work hard to protect Perry from paranormal happenings. The tale is told through the alternating third-person perspectives of Perry, Martin, Alex, and others, so it may take a while for readers to piece together the various characters and events. At the start, readers are immediately dropped into an atypical scenario without any worldbuilding to explain why the town is specifically affected by the supernatural—and why a young, troubled teen is the one tasked with saving it. Characters are also surprisingly quick to believe the paranormal aspects of their situation; there’s little to no disbelief, reflection, or searching for answers, which results in behavior that feels inauthentic. That said, the author does a great job of painting an intricate picture of each scene—specifically Perry’s dreams and Martin’s supernatural encounters. However, such descriptions occasionally disrupt the story’s flow, burying important details and making it difficult to discern what’s significant and what’s not. Although questions are left unanswered, the conclusion satisfyingly addresses the novel’s themes of redemption, family, and second chances.

A creative, if sometimes-confusing, coming-of-age fantasy tale.