Everblossom: A Short Story and Poem Anthology by Larissa Hinton is a captivating series of literary works that take you through the life cycle of the flower of life. The collection is separated into three parts of the cycle: Seed, Bud and Blossom. It also shows the progression and fine-tuning of Hinton’s writing craft.
Seed shares Hinton’s early poetry and short stories. The first poem, Seed to Seed to Seed, is a poem that shows how the rest of the collection proceeds. It is a poem that describes how the cycle of the flower is the cycle of life and, essentially, the cycle of her anthology.
In the Beginning, There were Fairy Tales is a playful short story where one man’s imagination is the limit. It is a short story that illustrates an early beginning of Hinton’s creativity and writing ability and toward the end of the story, the knowledge of a reality and the acceptance of an end. This short story has also paved the way for Hinton’s unreleased work titled, Iwishacana.
Bud, the second part of the literary piece, is the rising star in the collection. In Bud the reader’s view is transformed into the growth and development stages of life. The short story Crash and Burn relives the coming of age changing view of the opposite sex, where a life-long friend becomes a romantic interest and a mess of confusion of emotions. Hinton cleverly wraps up the intrigue of attraction in Sideways Glance and delivers the wonders and playfulness in flirtatious tactics. Forget is the beginning of the times we all miss our youth and the easiness and blissfulness that was ignorance. Forget reminds us of when that first pain of loss hit our hearts. Hinton turns the revelation into something more interesting by adding a paranormal component. The next few works are paranormal in nature and is especially tantalizing when short story Family Reunion gives an age-old tradition a sinister zombie twist.
Lastly there is Blossom, the third and final part. In Blossom Hinton uses poems like Bills, Bills, Bills and English Major Dues to show the stresses and responsibilities of adulthood. Using short stories such as Transcend, Hinton captures death and bottles it with a paranormal stopper. This is the ending of the life cycle and the writing represented shows how Hinton’s writing abilities have progressed.
The entire work has a continuation poetry titled Words Speak Volumes, which are weaved decisively in and out of the collection, like vines up white lattice. Hinton’s WSVs are perhaps the most valuable poems in the series. Hinton strings together single words and short phrases to piece together large murals of childhood, adulthood and aging in a fun and wonderful perspective.
Everblossom: A Short Story and Poem Anthology by Larissa Hinton can be purchased in paper back for $6.99 and in ebook format for $0.99 at http://www.amazon.com/Everblossom-Short-Poetry-Anthology-ebook/dp/B005H5GKIY?&linkCode=wey&tag=ther034-20
