“Pharr convincingly presents the modern American college experience as a continuous struggle for daily survival…a haunting yet relatable short story collection…”
– Kirkus Reviews
A place where adolescence and adulthood intersect, college has always represented a challenging journey of self-discovery.
Those challenges were only amplified by the Coronavirus pandemic and compounded by the simultaneous evolution of technology.
Noah, a socially stunted freshman, obsesses over a tabletop roleplaying game, blurring his reality. A nineteen-year-old with a chronic illness questions being made in God’s image, leading to a new perspective on life. Lucas is forced to confront his feelings for a friend after hooking up with another woman, and Josephine’s struggle for happiness, amidst boys and illness, opens and closes this collection – from high school to grad school.
In his debut collection of nine short stories, Aaron Skye Pharr investigates the melancholy reality of a generation of students seeking to understand and develop themselves while caught up in world-altering events, where barriers both physical and digital leave them increasingly isolated. Pharr’s position as a Coronavirus graduate and an English teacher of the generation directly impacted by the pandemic propels A College Account as a bold, new voice in Gen-Z short fiction. Narratives are grounded in the everyday, real challenges of young adulthood: from mental health to lost friendships. Magical realism elevates these complexities in select stories, giving an escape from routine that readers may desire. These coming-of-age themes have been written through a decidedly contemporary lens for a generation that experienced a global pause just as their lives were meant to begin. While the tone is melancholy and evocative, it ultimately provides a sense of catharsis and validation.
A College Account is an honest and atmospheric exploration of what it means to find your feet as the world is shifting beneath you.
“…the characters often charge these stories with a compellingly dark energy, challenging the reader to consider the secret obstacles that people all around us must navigate (often invisibly).”
– IndieReader