"Besides being weird, fantastic, and surprising, the stories in Favorite Monster are flat-out fun. Always a half-step ahead of the reader, Sharma Shields dares us to follow her through the twisted mazes of her dark rides, tantalizing us with just enough shocks so that when we come out the other side, we immediately want to go again." --Stewart O'Nan

"In this darkly funny and deeply affecting collection, Sharma Shields writes with razor-sharp prose about obsession, loneliness, desire, and guilt, the monsters we brush up against, the monsters we carry inside. The result is a wondrous and twisted journey, full of magic and mystery, beauty and betrayal, hope and heartbreak. Shields' debut is a dazzler, her voice as haunting as it is fearless." --Aryn Kyle

"In Shields' beautiful debut collection, Favorite Monster, a butcher is a vehement vegetarian, a man becomes a cricket, and a woman falls for a Cyclops. The stories are as devastating as they are funny. Shields dazzles with fresh language and insight, with wit and sensitivity. Hers is an unforgettable voice." --Diana Spechler