Story Unlikely, June 2025

“And Chitz For All” by Raphael Stigliano

Reviewed by Victoria Silverwolf

In “And Chitz For All” by Raphael Stigliano, the objects mentioned in the title are the small bits of paper that result when pages are torn out of spiral notebooks. A huge number of these things litter a school, resulting in the wrath of the janitors. The narrator is a student who witnesses the situation escalate into violence and revolution.

The premise seems at first to be a whimsical one, even silly. The story takes a much darker turn as it goes on, with the apparent intent of grim political satire. Some readers, expecting light fantasy, are likely to be taken aback by this change in mood. Others may be able to appreciate the author’s ability to transform a simple, comic notion into a deadly serious allegory.

Victoria Silverwolf used spiral notebooks in school.