FERAL BOY MEETS GIRL blends literary fiction with elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror to tell stories of outsiders within their communities, their homes, and even their intimate relationships. In “The Death And Life Of Bob,” a collective of textbook sales reps watches in amazement as their marginalized coworker returns from the dead with a new zest for life—but one sees something far darker in his new beginning. In the title story, “Feral Boy Meets Girl,” a young teenager, raised in the wild by a cougar until his adoption by human parents, is on the cusp of full integration into society, but finds that “civilization” is nothing of the sort. In “Static,” an experimental wormhole leads to a father receiving cell phone calls from his son twenty years in the future—and what he learns about himself isn’t pretty. “Minutes of the Pine Valley Residents’ Board” features a depressed, cynical secretary observing his condo board becoming a court of star chamber, but as a non-voting member he can only witness and record, rather than intervene. In “The Sound of His Voice,” a mother goes to near-superhuman lengths to care for her three-year-old son who has been infected by a zombie virus. And “Do Not Break The Heart Of Charles Nelson Bereiter” offers instructions on how to date an emotionally-broken man literally haunted by a spirit from his past.
FERAL BOY MEETS GIRL blends literary fiction with elements of science fiction, fantasy, and horror to tell stories of outsiders within their communities, their homes, and even their intimate relationships. In “The Death And Life Of Bob,” a collective of textbook sales reps watches in amazement as their marginalized coworker returns from the dead with a new zest for life—but one sees something far darker in his new beginning. In the title story, “Feral Boy Meets Girl,” a young teenager, raised in the wild by a cougar until his adoption by human parents, is on the cusp of full integration into society, but finds that “civilization” is nothing of the sort. In “Static,” an experimental wormhole leads to a father receiving cell phone calls from his son twenty years in the future—and what he learns about himself isn’t pretty. “Minutes of the Pine Valley Residents’ Board” features a depressed, cynical secretary observing his condo board becoming a court of star chamber, but as a non-voting member he can only witness and record, rather than intervene. In “The Sound of His Voice,” a mother goes to near-superhuman lengths to care for her three-year-old son who has been infected by a zombie virus. And “Do Not Break The Heart Of Charles Nelson Bereiter” offers instructions on how to date an emotionally-broken man literally haunted by a spirit from his past.
William Jablonsky is a professor of fiction writing at Loras College. His stories have appeared in "Beloit Fiction Journal," "Florida Review," "Phoebe," and "Southern Humanities Review," and he is the author of "The Indestructible Man." He lives in Dubuque, Iowa.
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 978-1-950730-53-7
Publication Date: October 27, 2020
