cover image Short Bus Hero

Short Bus Hero

Shannon Giglio. Nightscape, $13.99 trade paper (250p) ISBN 978-1-938644-21-4

Ally Forman, a young woman with Down syndrome and a burnt-out guardian angel, wins the lottery in this unusual work from horror scribe Giglio (Revival House). Twenty-four-year-old grocery bagger Ally is obsessed with pro wrestling, so when she finds out she’s won $314 million she vows to bring her favorite wrestler, the recently booted Stryker Nash, back into the ring. Determined to use her riches to finally make her own decisions, Ally—with the help of a few whispered words from her cynical spirit guide—fights for independence from a family that’s just as determined to convince her she can’t. And as the choices Ally makes take hold, she learns that being normal isn’t exactly what she thought it would be. In less sensitive hands, Ally’s story could have devolved into something unsatisfying and distasteful. But it never veers in that direction. Instead, what Giglio has presented is a compassionately written and uplifting tale of forgiveness and redemption. (BookLife)