As the petty wishes accumulate, the world becomes alien, though no one else notices. After their pastor declares that dogs can’t go to heaven, they turn the church into a massive puppy sanctuary. Shawna wills “complete compliance” from her former school bullies, and they consequently do anything she asks, “no matter how dangerous or disgusting.” Samuel conjures fifteen girlfriends, “rotating women” who follow him around everywhere, eager to please. They ask for “better skin, nicer clothes, and shinier hair.” They demand “open-ended Prime accounts with never-ending balances,” causing deliveries to arrive daily. The reader senses their wonder, as well as their mounting unease. Their early changes are mainly aesthetic: they turn all church music to death metal, all grass to a “sparkly purple,” and all socks to “rainbow over-the-knee socks.” They’re charmed by the novelty and enamored with their power. They soon learn that the book gives them the power to shape the world to their liking as the first line reads, if they “write it in the book, it comes true.” And, being teens, they have no shortage of ideas about what needs changing. “Roseate’s Book of Penmanship” tells the story of two teens-Shawna and Samuel-who stumble across the titular book in the attic of their Baptist church. Though it’s early work, it shouldn’t be mistaken for juvenilia the Arnett of With Teeth is already present in abundance. The markers of Arnett’s signature style are apparent: the queer, the uncanny, the Floridian. Yet, when I stumbled across this story in our archives, I was struck by its assuredness. She had a smattering of publications and an excellent Twitter presence, but her debut story collection, Felt in the Jaw, was still a year away from publication. In 2016, when we published “Roseate’s Book of Penmanship,” Kristen Arnett wasn’t yet a household name.

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