Freda Sciarappa's "Paper Plates and Talking Plants" is a beautifully written piece that made me smile and cringe at the same time. Narrated by an unnamed child, it hauntingly depicts a borderline abusive relationship that forces her to seek solace from the plants she loved. Sciarappa creates her characters to be polar opposites, from the child who relishes in plants and the "weird fascination with the sun" that they shared, to the cold and dark loving aunt that shyed away from the prospect of a new lamp. The ending is bittersweet, even more tragic through the honest language of a child. Thank you, Freda, for creating a story so powerful it made me rush home just to tell my plants how much I love them.