Review : The Planting Prayer by Caroline Diorio

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Review of The Planting Prayer by Caroline Diorio (919 words)
Flash Fiction Online, October 2019 Issue : Read Online


I particularly enjoyed the second person POV narration. I don't get to see that enough, honestly, so this stood out for me right from the outset.
The story opens with our unnamed protagonist fulfilling a ritual - their sister is dead and they need to do this for the sake of her soul. For peace.
The revelations are scattered throughout the story, and each new bit of information makes the story more intense and terrifying.
The fear of death is a real thing, especially if youth are involved. Both the protagonist and the sister are fairly young, and while they have experienced the death of a close one (their mother) before, it's worse when it's someone quite young.
This touches on that visceral fear, and the heightened terror and magic intertwine to create a beautiful, if scary, story.



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