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shinychick's review
3.0
A book of short stories I picked up just for Holly Black's entry, "Virgin." If I read it correctly, I may have an idea for NaNoWriMo, but if I read it incorrectly, I'd be copying shamelessly. Also decent were Cassandra Clare (surprisingly not as bad and fanfic-y as her books are, I've heard), and Nina Kiriki Hoffman.
lozile16's review
2.0
I couldn't finish it. Some of the writing was confusing, and I felt as though most of the stories lacked something.
crystalisreading's review
3.0
hmmm. Why do authors seem to save up all their creepiest, most depressing stories and turn them into short stories? I don't know, but I'm finding that just because I enjoy an author's novels does NOT mean I will enjoy their short stories, and vice versa. Oh well. I enjoyed this more than the vampire story collection, despite an odd running theme of sibling sacrifice. a few of the stories were even pretty good. Also, the author bio blurbs at the end were funny, especially the editor's additional comments on each.
what I thought of individual stories:
Eugie Foster: one of the more enjoyable stories, for me. it was cute, although overly simplistic, especially in how it rushed over the explanation at the end. Anyone who's read Princess or prince enchanted as a ____ fairy tales will see the end coming a mile away, but it was cute anyway.
Cecil Castellucci: interesting. the young Hollywood starlet angle was interesting. the story was bizarre, without being creepy. I enjoyed it.
Ann Zeddies: a really creative story that interwove Korean magic with modern American life in the Great Plains. it was a weird story, but it kept my attention and was enjoyable. I still don't know what Jun Ho's deal was with junk food, though...
Craig Laurance Gidney: a strange, sad, dreamy story. It was difficult to tell what was real or meant to be real, but the two main characters were compelling, in spite of or even because of their mutually sad stories. I liked that the story wasn't lily white. and the quilt sounded beautiful!
Cassandra Clare: I liked this unhappy high school story better than several of her other short stories I've read, but it was still weird and strange, with a creepy ending.
Lawrence M Schoen: If this high fantasy sort of story had been part of a larger story, I think I would have liked it more. As it was, the setting and interactions were fascinating, but the ending was really dissatisfying to me.
Sean Manseau: creepy. just creepy. reminded me of an Americans on vacation version of "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie", and coming from me that is not a compliment. I didn't like anyone in this story. Also, how the monster was so breezily and elaborately, yet incompletely described, especially his origin, was really annoying to me.
Nina Kiriki Hoffman: also creepy, in a way, but more enjoyable for me. The people seemed to deserve their various fates, and I appreciated the pro-activeness of the main character. I am curious what happened in the aftermath of this story, though. what a ring!
Jim C Hines: a bizarre story. creative and not terrible. not my favorite, either, though. I guess I'm just not a big fan of goblins meet Hex Hall.
Tiffany Trent: absolutely very creative. kudos for fantasy that isn't lily-white, and for setting it in an interesting time and place. but kind of hauntingly creepy nonetheless. and considering the scope of the creative setting, the story could have stood a little more explanation of its world setting. as it was, I think I understood everything the author was trying to say, but not all.
J.D. Everyhope: nice pen name. unappealingly creepy story, although I appreciated that it worked in Central American mythology.
Gregory Frost: this sort of retread of the Sinbad stories did not feel very creative to me. It wasn't bad. it just felt like a story that had already been told.
E. Sedia: a sad, slow, lingering story, much like the illness of the main character. The salamander and alchemy aspects were creative, and the London (Victorian?) time period/ setting was enjoyable. and I respected the main character a lot more for her final choices.
Holly Black: I don't think I've liked a Holly Black short story yet, and I am starting to wonder if I ever will. This story was gross and creepy and disturbing, and I did not enjoy it, even in spite of its nods to the foster care system and unicorns.
Beth Bernobitch: I don't enjoy stories about merry little bands of trouble makers and thieves (aside from those who do it for a cause, like Robin Hood or Zorro). So there was one big strike against this story. But I think it was the only one. The story had a fascinating Asian fantastical setting that was well-developed and engaging, and characters that were easy to invest in. I found myself loving Ma Mi and Yue almost more than Kai. Even the princess grew on me. This story made me think of Cinder, Firefly, and the Golden Compass all at once, and yet told its own charming story, complete with magic, spirit dragons, and steam punk technology. I want more of this world!
what I thought of individual stories:
Eugie Foster: one of the more enjoyable stories, for me. it was cute, although overly simplistic, especially in how it rushed over the explanation at the end. Anyone who's read Princess or prince enchanted as a ____ fairy tales will see the end coming a mile away, but it was cute anyway.
Cecil Castellucci: interesting. the young Hollywood starlet angle was interesting. the story was bizarre, without being creepy. I enjoyed it.
Ann Zeddies: a really creative story that interwove Korean magic with modern American life in the Great Plains. it was a weird story, but it kept my attention and was enjoyable. I still don't know what Jun Ho's deal was with junk food, though...
Craig Laurance Gidney: a strange, sad, dreamy story. It was difficult to tell what was real or meant to be real, but the two main characters were compelling, in spite of or even because of their mutually sad stories. I liked that the story wasn't lily white. and the quilt sounded beautiful!
Cassandra Clare: I liked this unhappy high school story better than several of her other short stories I've read, but it was still weird and strange, with a creepy ending.
Lawrence M Schoen: If this high fantasy sort of story had been part of a larger story, I think I would have liked it more. As it was, the setting and interactions were fascinating, but the ending was really dissatisfying to me.
Sean Manseau: creepy. just creepy. reminded me of an Americans on vacation version of "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie", and coming from me that is not a compliment. I didn't like anyone in this story. Also, how the monster was so breezily and elaborately, yet incompletely described, especially his origin, was really annoying to me.
Nina Kiriki Hoffman: also creepy, in a way, but more enjoyable for me. The people seemed to deserve their various fates, and I appreciated the pro-activeness of the main character. I am curious what happened in the aftermath of this story, though. what a ring!
Jim C Hines: a bizarre story. creative and not terrible. not my favorite, either, though. I guess I'm just not a big fan of goblins meet Hex Hall.
Tiffany Trent: absolutely very creative. kudos for fantasy that isn't lily-white, and for setting it in an interesting time and place. but kind of hauntingly creepy nonetheless. and considering the scope of the creative setting, the story could have stood a little more explanation of its world setting. as it was, I think I understood everything the author was trying to say, but not all.
J.D. Everyhope: nice pen name. unappealingly creepy story, although I appreciated that it worked in Central American mythology.
Gregory Frost: this sort of retread of the Sinbad stories did not feel very creative to me. It wasn't bad. it just felt like a story that had already been told.
E. Sedia: a sad, slow, lingering story, much like the illness of the main character. The salamander and alchemy aspects were creative, and the London (Victorian?) time period/ setting was enjoyable. and I respected the main character a lot more for her final choices.
Holly Black: I don't think I've liked a Holly Black short story yet, and I am starting to wonder if I ever will. This story was gross and creepy and disturbing, and I did not enjoy it, even in spite of its nods to the foster care system and unicorns.
Beth Bernobitch: I don't enjoy stories about merry little bands of trouble makers and thieves (aside from those who do it for a cause, like Robin Hood or Zorro). So there was one big strike against this story. But I think it was the only one. The story had a fascinating Asian fantastical setting that was well-developed and engaging, and characters that were easy to invest in. I found myself loving Ma Mi and Yue almost more than Kai. Even the princess grew on me. This story made me think of Cinder, Firefly, and the Golden Compass all at once, and yet told its own charming story, complete with magic, spirit dragons, and steam punk technology. I want more of this world!
spaceyfaerie's review
3.0
Skimmed through most of the stories in here and really only read Cassandra Clare's and Holly Black's contributions. Middling tales really, and they really didn't jump out at me as being wow, this was amazing and I wish this was an entire novel, not a short story type.
pattydsf's review
3.0
As always, trying to quote from a short story anthology is difficult. I don’t always find one story that is clearly more quotable than all the others. That is true of this collection. I found most of the stories interesting, and the writing was good. However, there wasn’t any story that grabbed me and said you must remember this idea. Possibly this is because this collection is aimed at teens. I haven’t been a teen in decades.
I had fun reading these stories. In most cases I was transported to another place or time. The magic was fun and sometimes funny. This book took me out of myself. That was more than I hoped for.
I had fun reading these stories. In most cases I was transported to another place or time. The magic was fun and sometimes funny. This book took me out of myself. That was more than I hoped for.
djblock99's review
1.0
I got halfway through and then couldn't finish. Some of the stories were really bad. Others were kinda clever & cute, or just okay. I sometimes felt like I was reading C-grade homework assignments from a creative writing class. The one that finally made me quite was a really bad Harry Potter rip-off filled with cliches and stereotypes.
Cecil Castellucci's "Lights, Camera, Action" and "The Jewel of Abandon" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman are the only ones I recommend.
Cecil Castellucci's "Lights, Camera, Action" and "The Jewel of Abandon" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman are the only ones I recommend.
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