In Stories We Thunder

V. Ruiz's full-length collection, In Stories We Thunder, depicts the difficult and hopeful work of healing. Here, a bilingual mother writes letters of advice to their hija, balancing forgiveness and self-preservation in the face of the enormous obstacles of their world: sexual assault, racism, and drug addiction. The mother's family become ravens and jailbirds, winged creatures that are separated from them. Here we see the closeness among tíos and abuelas and we are drawn into this experience. In Stories We Thunder tracks the emotional and fraught path of a family discovering themselves while they build a life in a world filled with harshness they cannot escape. As the speaker explains to their hija, "a bird can be winged but flightless." As the hija and mother explore the freedom their ancestors did not have, they are also forced to reckon with the danger that comes with it. Nevertheless, Ruiz is relentless in their optimism. The tío finds forever peace, and hija dances a new dream for the family. This collection is forthright and concrete in its remembrance of trauma, yet perseverant in its search for joy and human goodness. The result is a collection that will leave readers awakened to the nuance of the lives of this family but not despondent, no, for there is hope contained herein.