Book Review: Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones

5/5 stars. Jones writes some of the most interesting life-experience stories masquerading as horror novels, or in this case, a novella - about a young American Indian boy who wakes up one night to see his dead father walking through his house. The story revolves around the boy's experiences in trying to connect with his father but is really about how difficult every day has become for his hard-working mother, himself, and his little brother, since the death of his father. In less than 100 pages, Jones takes a significant life event and turns it into a coming-of-age tale that shares the experience of poverty with the reader, expounds on what it means to come from a tight-knit community (the reservation) but then to be alone trying to survive. This story delves into single motherhood, the difficulties of raising a child with special needs, and the loneliness and fear that comes from being different. Mapping the Interior is a powerful reading experience, ghost story, and coming-of-age tale that should not be missed! Highly recommended.