The Skunks

By: Fiona Warnick

Published by Tin House, 2024

Dear Skunks, I wrote. Then I got stuck. What was there to say about the skunks? Of course there was the smell--the spraying. Everyone's mind jumped to the spraying. I often forgot about the spraying entirely, which was nice because it made me feel that I wasn't like other people.

From the outside, Isabel doesn't seem to have much going on. It's the summer after college graduation and she's moved back to her hometown, where she spends her days house-sitting, babysitting, working the front desk at a yoga studio, and hanging out with her childhood friend Ellie. But on the inside, Isabel's mind is always running, always analyzing, and right now, she's trying hard to not let her thoughts give weight to boys. So when Isabel spots three baby skunks in the yard, their presence is not only a strangely thrilling break from the expected, it feels like a fortuitous sign from the universe. Skunks. That's what she should be thinking about.

As the summer unfolds, Isabel becomes increasingly preoccupied with the skunks, while also navigating her various jobs and an ambiguous relationship with Eli, the son of the couple she's house-sitting for. In her own life and in the imagined inner lives of the skunks, Isabel ponders the nature of existence, love vs. infatuation, and the many small moments that make us animal, make us human. The Skunks is an unforgettable coming-of-age story about the complexities of crushes, desire, friendship, and modern life.