‘Mina’s Period’ by Kipe Lyan —BOOK REVIEW

Genre: Short Story; Coming of Age; Realistic Fiction; Contemporary Fiction

Life can change a lot in twenty-four hours:
Friday: First period
Saturday: Period party and my first girlfriend

I have also reviewed these other titles by Kipe Lyan:
The Wedding
Two Weeks on the Eastside

I like stories that give me something to think about and Mina’s Period certainly did. Admittedly, the concept of ‘period parties’ is weird to me and this story allowed me to explore WHY that is. It’s not that I think menstruating is gross or should be a cause for embarrassment, but it felt strange to announce and celebrate it. However, I thought about how boys going through puberty brag about their first hairs, are gifted their first razors/hygiene products and I realized that period parties are no different than that.

It did take me a bit to get into the author’s writing style. The story is mostly dialogue (inner and outer) with the inner dialogue coming out as thoughts would in real life. I mean, how many of us actually think as narrative in books are written instead of a rush of ideas, some complete, some not? It’s a quick read, so even if this isn’t a style you enjoy, it doesn’t really detract from the plot. I felt like the point was to make it seem more like reality, like you were hearing the memory of what happened, rather than the polished version of stories that we generally put on display.

Overall, I think it was a unique premise and the author has no trouble in talking about things that others shy away from, which is something I admire. I also felt there was a pro-equality message here: teaching that periods (much like I talked on earlier) aren’t something that should be weird for anyone and certainly something that kids (and adults) need to be better educated on.

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~Sahreth ‘Baphy’ Bowden