"Over and over, Howell offers us surreal narratives that defy the simplicity of a one-dimensional world lens. There are no good or bad people in Softie, only humans. Weird, complicated, and flawed, clawing their way toward some distant horizon."
-Washington City Paper

"Wonderfully speculative and weird, Megan Howell's debut collection of short stories explores meaning, embodiment, secrets and relationships. Howell's is an exciting new voice for the sad girl in all of us."
-Ms. Magazine

"...a beautiful and striking collection about friendship, secrets, and unspeakable desires."
-Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

"Howell's provocative stories, no matter the genre, will prove inspirational for anyone who can relate to and feel moved by the various strong and complex protagonists in Softie."
-Cream City Review

"The stories in Softie offer a bold and mesmerizing exploration of visceral grief and desire, of violence and survival, and of the body's capacity for both decay and shimmering afterglow. Expertly blending the strangeness and terror of magic with the strangeness and terror of being alive, this collection introduces Megan Howell as an unforgettable new voice."
-Danielle Evans, author of Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self

"Howell's collection definitely has a firm place in 'sad girl' literary fiction and carves a needed space for female characters of color that move beyond the stereotypical white, beautiful, rich characters who dominate the subgenre." 
-Kristen Gentry, author of Mama Said

"Megan Howell's Softie is a tender, sometimes absurd, incredibly impressive collection of stories about girlhood and womanhood and otherhood. What she does with these stories, with the wondrous, wandering, and whimsical women they center, is absolutely sublime." 
-LaToya Watkins, author of Holler, Child: Stories

"Smart. Lonely. Rare. Weird. Otherworldly. In Softie, Megan Howell has done something few can: she's made something new. This collection had me heartbroken in the best ways. Softie is the freak anthem I've been waiting for."
-Halle Hill, author of Good Women: Stories

"Megan Howell's Softie is a series of thirteen short stories which plumb the harrowing struggles and dark corners of womanhood and girlhood as 'all hell breaks loose' with regularity."
-Foreword Reviews