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justinekorson's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
I’d heard mixed reviews so I was worried it wouldn’t live up to the hype but… IT DID.
I initially thought that none of the stories would scare me and I thought it was odd that the overarching theme was “I’m and/or my friend is dead but I don’t remember that I’m and/or my friend dead until something shocks my brain into remembering”. It happened SEVERAL times to different characters across the stories and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. The best version I think was in “In You To Burn”. Just something about queer girls fighting each other across centuries dying/killing each other was SO FUN.
Besides that… I READ “Nine Stops” BT TRANG THANH TRAN AND ALMOST HAD A GODDAMN HEART ATTACK AT 11:30 AT NIGHT. I’d just started to think that none of the stories would be that scary and then I READ THAT??!?! The universe clearly did not want me to sleep that night.
Other unsettling ones (in my opinion) included “welcome to Hotel Paranoia”, “The Visitor”, “Anna”, and “Save Me From Myself”. I thought each of these stories would end in an innocuous way but I was wrong. I wouldn’t say I was scared by them but just the idea of wrongness at the end of each of these got me all fucked up.
For the fun lighthearted ones, “A Brief Intermission”, “The Three Phases of Ghosthunting”, “Hey There, Demons” and “Kinkknack” were sone of my favorite. “Hey There Demons” ESPECIALLY was so funny to me and so very cute! I loved it.
For the rest I can’t categorize as they’re all vastly different. “Guested” could be in the unsettling category but… I wasn’t personally unsettled. Honestly there felt like something freeing about another entity coexisting with you in your body? It didn’t sound parasitic. It sounded symbiotic. It also didn’t sound like the “guest” had much control over the host body but I could be wrong.
“Rocky Road With Caramel Drizzle” was sad. I felt so much sympathy and empathy for him and I was glad he was able to have his revenge but I think I ultimately wanted more from the story. Not sure what though.
“Leyla Mendoza and The House At The End Of The Lane” actually made me burst into tears. maybe because I’m Filipino myself or maybe because part of me resonated with Leyla. Either way it wasn’t scary. If anything it was hopeful and sweet.
Overall I throughly enjoyed this collection!! I want more anthologies like this!
I initially thought that none of the stories would scare me and I thought it was odd that the overarching theme was “I’m and/or my friend is dead but I don’t remember that I’m and/or my friend dead until something shocks my brain into remembering”. It happened SEVERAL times to different characters across the stories and sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn’t. The best version I think was in “In You To Burn”. Just something about queer girls fighting each other across centuries dying/killing each other was SO FUN.
Besides that… I READ “Nine Stops” BT TRANG THANH TRAN AND ALMOST HAD A GODDAMN HEART ATTACK AT 11:30 AT NIGHT. I’d just started to think that none of the stories would be that scary and then I READ THAT??!?! The universe clearly did not want me to sleep that night.
Other unsettling ones (in my opinion) included “welcome to Hotel Paranoia”, “The Visitor”, “Anna”, and “Save Me From Myself”. I thought each of these stories would end in an innocuous way but I was wrong. I wouldn’t say I was scared by them but just the idea of wrongness at the end of each of these got me all fucked up.
For the fun lighthearted ones, “A Brief Intermission”, “The Three Phases of Ghosthunting”, “Hey There, Demons” and “Kinkknack” were sone of my favorite. “Hey There Demons” ESPECIALLY was so funny to me and so very cute! I loved it.
For the rest I can’t categorize as they’re all vastly different. “Guested” could be in the unsettling category but… I wasn’t personally unsettled. Honestly there felt like something freeing about another entity coexisting with you in your body? It didn’t sound parasitic. It sounded symbiotic. It also didn’t sound like the “guest” had much control over the host body but I could be wrong.
“Rocky Road With Caramel Drizzle” was sad. I felt so much sympathy and empathy for him and I was glad he was able to have his revenge but I think I ultimately wanted more from the story. Not sure what though.
“Leyla Mendoza and The House At The End Of The Lane” actually made me burst into tears. maybe because I’m Filipino myself or maybe because part of me resonated with Leyla. Either way it wasn’t scary. If anything it was hopeful and sweet.
Overall I throughly enjoyed this collection!! I want more anthologies like this!
b10tch's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
My favorites were knickknack, nine stops, and the three phases of ghost-hunting. Overall a really solid anthology. Usually with stuff like this there are always some kind of bad stories, but while I didn’t love all of them, none were bad, and I really enjoyed others :)
stitching_ghost's review against another edition
5.0
This collection is true YA, in that I would be comfortable putting it in the hands of an actual teenager, there is nothing overly graphic in there (no real gore, no spice) and the characters aren't just adults in teenage bodies they sound like actual teens and deal with things the way teenagers would.
I saw this book compared to Goosebumps and I think the comparison is fair in that it would make a splendid introduction to horror for a new generation of potential horror fans.
This anthology contains both sweetness and bleakness, and there's an overall good variety of stories. My favourite story was Hey There, Demons by Tara Sims because of the demon's sense of humor but every story has its own charm.
I received an eARC of this book though NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I saw this book compared to Goosebumps and I think the comparison is fair in that it would make a splendid introduction to horror for a new generation of potential horror fans.
This anthology contains both sweetness and bleakness, and there's an overall good variety of stories. My favourite story was Hey There, Demons by Tara Sims because of the demon's sense of humor but every story has its own charm.
I received an eARC of this book though NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
wdianasheppard's review against another edition
4.0
"Night of the Living Queers" is a YA queer BIPOC anthology specializing on my favorite topic: horror and Halloween! I knew about half of these authors and some were brand new to me going in, and I was very excited to get some nostalgic frights and chills from such a great collection of storytellers.
Like all anthologies, there are stories that spoke more to me than others, but they all were enjoyable in their own way. Slashers, ghost stories, monsters, all are represented here. My favs were by Tara Sim (Sim's story was hilarious, spooky, and clever) and Em X. Liu (eerie and strange!). Very much recommended to anyone who loves a good fright and most of all adores Halloween.
Like all anthologies, there are stories that spoke more to me than others, but they all were enjoyable in their own way. Slashers, ghost stories, monsters, all are represented here. My favs were by Tara Sim (Sim's story was hilarious, spooky, and clever) and Em X. Liu (eerie and strange!). Very much recommended to anyone who loves a good fright and most of all adores Halloween.
alt_air's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
breezysbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
aherro12's review against another edition
4.0
Honestly, a lot of these stories made me want them to be full-length novels. I just didn't want to stop reading them.
silenthillda's review against another edition
I don’t rate books that I DNF (Do not finish).
raeanne's review against another edition
I love everything about this collection and inclusion. Everything except the actual book. Made it til 28%. The stories weren't bad. I just discovered I don't like anthologies. So I'm not rating it because it would be unfair.