two stories tackling grief, its expressions, and how we learn to live with it-- i really liked kitchen. i actually preferred the second story, "moonlight shadow," to the first; i found the characters much more likable in that one and the plot felt more succinct, streamlined, and the prose had much more of that gut punch feel to it despite the fact it loses the "kitchen" element that the first has. 

it would have been nice to have some continuity in themes of the importance of food-- the characters are kind of always eating but to see the character in the second story speak to it a bit would have been a nice touch. also some very agonizing harping on the "actual sex" of a trans woman, persistently insisting on the "oh she's really a man" and all that but others have spoken better than me about its distinct cultural context. otherwise i really liked it. the final few pages had me tearing up at work ngl. an enjoyable read for suree