A young girl who identifies with the witch instead of the princess, board games that have real-life consequences, a summer at camp that turns out to be memorable in more than the usual way. Each of the 14 short stories in Ellen Klages’s collection, Wicked Wonders, explores the way ordinary life is often nothing but ordinary, and sometimes it requires all of one’s wits to navigate successfully.

Klages writes fearlessly about adults and children facing pivotal moments, such as leaving home, losing loved ones, reacting to dangerous situations, and discovering things about their own sexuality. A few of the stories are humorous, others are creepy. All will leave readers pondering the situations and possibly contemplating how they would react in similar circumstances.

Even though some of the stories are about children, the subjects covered are more mature, and I recommend Wicked Wonders for adults and teens 15 and older.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.