Life’s a bitch. That’s why you gotta rattle her cage, even if she’s foaming at the mouth. 

Reservoir Bitches by Dahlia de la Cerda, translated from Spanish by Julia Sanches and Heather Cleary, is the epitome of female rage. This is the first time I’ve picked a collection of short stories to send to you, and I hope you’ll enjoy them. The stories overlap in the same world, reading like chapters of a larger tale set in Mexico, where women need grit to survive.

There’s a story about a young woman desperate for a narco boyfriend to give her the glamorous, dangerous life she craves. And another about a woman needlessly murdered by men—except her story refuses to let her become just another statistic, instead giving her power and courage in the afterlife.

This collection hit me as powerful, raucous, and utterly unique. And for a book club that passionately supports both women’s rights and women’s wrongs, Reservoir Bitches is a must-read.