Never Have I Ever

December 7, 2020
Yap’s impressive debut collection of 13 fabulist, sci-fi, and horror shorts explores themes ranging from monstrousness, shared trauma, and systemic violence to friendship and the ambiguity of love. Yap is at home with whatever topic she puts her hand to, easily immersing readers in the perspectives of high schoolers, ancient goddesses, androids, and witches. Standouts include “A Cup of Salt Tears,” about a grieving woman who encounters a demon in a bathhouse; “Only Unclench Your Hand,” in which the governor’s niece plays witness to dangerous folk magic; “Hurricane Heels (We Go Down Dancing),” which speculates on the inner lives of magical girls; and “A Canticle for Lost Girls,” in which a group of Catholic schoolgirls call down dark powers on one of their teachers. Yap’s work is emphatically engaged with Filipino culture, with most of these stories either set in the Philippines or following immigrant and diaspora characters, and drawing upon Filipino folklore and mythology to beautiful and frightening effect. Yap’s penchant for ambiguous endings undermines the impact of one or two pieces, but at their best these tales call to mind the works of Rich Larson, Carmen Maria Machado, and Neon Yang. Yap is a powerful new voice in speculative fiction.

Starred review from February 15, 2021
Yap's short stories are infused with rich Filipino folklore, urban legend, fractured teenage-girl friendships, and loyal, often queer love. Kappas, curses, healers, and witches drift through these tales, occupying unexpected roles and infusing weirdness into Yap's realities. One standout is "Have You Heard the One about Anamaria Marquez?," a story of haunted girls and the way real female pain occupies the space of teasing legend. Another is "Milagroso": in a future where all food is artificial and ""perfect,"" people flock annually to see the miracle of real, imperfect fruit blossoming, and pray they'll get a slice. Yap's gift lies in her ability to layer darkness and pain onto magic just weird enough; her characters face huge obstacles but are grounded in their tales, and glimmers of hope are always at the horizon. Yap writes of the casualties of Rodrigo Duterte's drug war in "Asphalt, River, Mother, Child"; in "Misty," a girl who has nightmares of her father becoming violent channels her fears into a horror tale of her own crafting. Yap's characters foster fierce protective love, and her ability to channel those emotions into extraordinary, strange tales is what makes Never Have I Ever such a joy to read.

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