{"product_id":"when-mystical-creatures-attack-9781609382834","title":"When Mystical Creatures Attack!","description":"In \u003ci\u003eWhen Mystical Creatures Attack \u003c\/i\u003e, Ms. Freedman's high school English class writes essays in which mystical creatures resolve the greatest sociopolitical problems of our time. Students include Janice Gibbs, \"a feral child with excessive eyeliner and an anti-authoritarian complex that would be interesting were it not so ill-informed,\" and Cody Splunk, an aspiring writer working on a time machine. Following a nervous breakdown, Ms. Freedman corresponds with Janice and Cody from an insane asylum run on the capitalist model of cognitive-behavioral therapy, where inmates practice water aerobics to rebuild their Psychiatric Credit Scores. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The lives of Janice, Cody, and Ms. Freedman are revealed through in-class essays, letters, therapeutic journal exercises, an advice column, a reality show television transcript, a diary, and a Methodist women's fundraising cookbook. (Recipes include \"Dark Night of the Soul Food,\" \"Render Unto Caesar Salad,\" and \"Valley of the Shadow of Death by Chocolate Cake.\") In \"Virtue of the Month,\" the ghost of Ms. Freedman's mother argues that suicide is not a choice. In \"The Un-Game,\" Janice's chain-smoking nursing home charge composes a dirty limerick. In \"The Hall of Old-Testament Miracles,\" wax figures of Bible characters come to life, hungry for Cody's flesh. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Set against a South Texas landscape where cicadas hum and the air smells of taco stands and jasmine flowers, these stories range from laugh-out-loud funny to achingly poignant. This surreal, exuberant collection mines the dark recesses of the soul while illuminating the human heart.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Iowa Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 10\/01\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781609382834\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 206\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.70lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.80h x 5.90w x 0.60d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eReview Citations: \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/15\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/25\/2014\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/01\/2014 pg. 75\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNY Times Notable Bks of Year\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/07\/2014 pg. 27\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 11\/30\/2014 pg. 34\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e 12\/07\/2014 pg. 80\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Kathleen Founds","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43103867109557,"sku":"9781609382834","price":13.6,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_740721fd-25a2-437e-b2e6-38675ef88b56.jpg?v=1693281599","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/when-mystical-creatures-attack-9781609382834","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}