Moonflow

in a nutshell: Sarah, our 'heroine,' is broke af and her regular buyer no longer wants the drugs she is currently selling- they want a new shroom, delightfully named 'The King's Breakfast,' which can only be found in the mysterious, dank-as-hell Pamogo Forest. A potentially haunted (?) forest which can only be navigated by a hapless but endearing dork of a park ranger, Andy. Together they set out into the wilderness and encounter a capital 'H' Horror that leaves them stranded and lost, until a dark force leads them (via text messages) to... a radically religious politically lesbian separatist cult hidden deep in the Pamogo. Then, the fun (re: drug-fueled orgies, ill-advised kidnappings, and some vivid gross-outs) begins!

the vibes: A series of very far-out trips, man! I mean, not 'man,' we don't want that phallic energy here, not before our weird and potentially deadly magic ritual, if you're spongin' what I'm spillin', but trans sisters welcome! As long as you sit in the back, ya hear?

main themes: The hermaphroditic nature of, well, nature!; Gender ideologies are cults; Hostage situations and bad trips share a rule of thumb: the only way out is through; The longing for belonging can blind; The song 'Orinoco Flow' by Enya is endlessly playable.

the writing: Definitely has a "debut book" feel to it, in that it Has Something To Say (distinctly about gender and the trans experience of belonging) but doesn't successfully "say" much of anything. It does manage a fantastic and distinctly gay sense of humor through a story that can get slightly wonky at times. The characters are all, in a word, wild, which is meant as a compliment. A very fun if unsteady ride, with the first half more 'horror' and the second half more 'gross' but entirely bizarre throughout.

The least interesting part of the whole book was the protagonist, our trans girlie who just cannot keep her mouth from repeatedly making her situation worse. Every time she made a decision I felt like a person watching a slasher flick, yelling at the TV "Girl do not go in that basement!" (or in this case, "Do not go down on that girl!") But then, there's no movie if she doesn't descend the stairs, right?

The highlight among all the body fluids (at least, for me) was the cult leader, an older hippie named Mother Moonflow. Her colorful 60s-style dialogue and penchant for hitting 'repeat' while listening to Enya delighted me. The fact that she was utterly zonked out of her ever-loving mind for the entirety of the book? Chef's kiss. Spoiler: The reveal of her ideological origins was just, lame. Wanted more for her than 'second-wave feminism bad.'

Highlight of the entire trip for me was the line: 'Everything about their appearance screamed INSANE HILLBILLY, and Sarah was certain from a glance that they were the sort of hicks who would probably either rape your corpse or eat it, but they definitely would not bury it.' If that tickled your fancy, you might enjoy this one.

Am I listening to 'Orinoco Flow' as I type this, have I been listening to it the whole time I was writing this? You bet your ever-lovin' bum!