Domestication Handbook — Kristen Stone

Domestication Handbook, writes Bhanu Kapil, meshes "gender theory...the philosophy of Donna Haraway, contemporary farming techniques, and suburban girlhood together, in a work that is both entertaining, slightly wild and incredibly brave." Kristen Stone's first book charts the diffusion of trauma in the suburbs, where "nothing ever happens." Little animals destroy dolls and learn language. They choose chatrooms over love, and scrawl on their friends with ballpoint pen. The girl/animal's lessons in geography, architecture, anatomy bewilder: learning is painful, filthy, slick with mucous and steeped in joy. Kristen Stone has degrees in anthropology, women's studies, and creative writing; she lives in Gainesville, Florida, where she works as a youth advocate.