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106 reviews for:
Vacations from Hell
Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Sarah Mlynowski, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson
3.32 AVERAGE
106 reviews for:
Vacations from Hell
Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Sarah Mlynowski, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson
3.32 AVERAGE
I read this purely because I had to find an anthology of short stories for a reading challenge, and this is short and mildly amusing (there is almost nothing worse in reading-land than having to plough through a long, badly written anthology of 'short' stories... not that I have ever had to do it).
This was OK. There are vampires, witches and the spirit of the French Revolution, but not a single short story was really frightening. I found Cassandra Clare's mirror concept quite chillingly portrayed, but the incestuous overtones of the romantic relationship between siblings-by-marriage was off-putting.
The rest of the stories adhered to the usual cliches about hormonally charged teenagers with little judgment or good sense (especially Libba Bray's 'Nowhere is Safe').
This was OK. There are vampires, witches and the spirit of the French Revolution, but not a single short story was really frightening. I found Cassandra Clare's mirror concept quite chillingly portrayed, but the incestuous overtones of the romantic relationship between siblings-by-marriage was off-putting.
The rest of the stories adhered to the usual cliches about hormonally charged teenagers with little judgment or good sense (especially Libba Bray's 'Nowhere is Safe').
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Average rating: 3/5 π
A solid anthology if you are into ya horror in the vein of House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland. Not a single short story was bad! Unfortunately, there also was not a single story that I outright loved, but the setting and the concept were always very intriguing and unique.
Cruisin by Sarah Mlynowski
3/5 π
Spending a few days on a cruise ship. The goal: the main character's first time. The problem: reports about people being killed by vampires.
Very funny, nice murder mystery and twist (although predictable)
I Don't Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray
2.5/5 π
A rather large coven of witches spending the holiday together at a beach. The goal: Changes constantly. The problem: A guy seems to be enchanted which is super-duper forbidden.
Good writing style, interesting to see the main character changing her to-do-list in her journal. A little bit boring.
The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson
4/5 π
Sisters spending the summer in Paris. The goal: Meeting their cousin and sightseeing. The problem: Ending up in the French countryside instead and meeting strange neighbours telling weird stories.
The best story in this collection by far! Very atmospheric, reads like a Gothic novel. Cool mystery and ending. Has some psychology and French history in there. Sometimes reminded me of some of Lovecraft's works as well as Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
The Mirror House by Cassandra Clare
3/5 π
A family trip to a beach. The goal: Relaxing. The problem: An asshole father, stepsiblings are in love with each other, oh, and there is a weird lady living in a weird house at the beach.
Very cool supernatural aspect and family dynamic. Nice idea of an ending. Dragged a little. Did not really care for the characters.
Nowhere is Safe by Libba Bray
3/5 π
A backpacking trip with friends. The goal: celebrating graduation from high school. The problem: Deciding to visit a haunted Eastern European village next.
Written as if the reader is watching a video on YouTube, but only at the beginning and in the ending of the story. Had some great elements such as the Satanic rituals, the talk about diaspora, a forbidden forest. Sometimes had The Ritual (Adam Nevill) vibes. Nice idea of an ending. Did not like the characters at all and wanted them all to die.
A solid anthology if you are into ya horror in the vein of House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland. Not a single short story was bad! Unfortunately, there also was not a single story that I outright loved, but the setting and the concept were always very intriguing and unique.
Cruisin by Sarah Mlynowski
3/5 π
Spending a few days on a cruise ship. The goal: the main character's first time. The problem: reports about people being killed by vampires.
Very funny, nice murder mystery and twist (although predictable)
I Don't Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray
2.5/5 π
A rather large coven of witches spending the holiday together at a beach. The goal: Changes constantly. The problem: A guy seems to be enchanted which is super-duper forbidden.
Good writing style, interesting to see the main character changing her to-do-list in her journal. A little bit boring.
The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson
4/5 π
Sisters spending the summer in Paris. The goal: Meeting their cousin and sightseeing. The problem: Ending up in the French countryside instead and meeting strange neighbours telling weird stories.
The best story in this collection by far! Very atmospheric, reads like a Gothic novel. Cool mystery and ending. Has some psychology and French history in there. Sometimes reminded me of some of Lovecraft's works as well as Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
The Mirror House by Cassandra Clare
3/5 π
A family trip to a beach. The goal: Relaxing. The problem: An asshole father, stepsiblings are in love with each other, oh, and there is a weird lady living in a weird house at the beach.
Very cool supernatural aspect and family dynamic. Nice idea of an ending. Dragged a little. Did not really care for the characters.
Nowhere is Safe by Libba Bray
3/5 π
A backpacking trip with friends. The goal: celebrating graduation from high school. The problem: Deciding to visit a haunted Eastern European village next.
Written as if the reader is watching a video on YouTube, but only at the beginning and in the ending of the story. Had some great elements such as the Satanic rituals, the talk about diaspora, a forbidden forest. Sometimes had The Ritual (Adam Nevill) vibes. Nice idea of an ending. Did not like the characters at all and wanted them all to die.
A very enjoyable read, short and easy to get through.
The last story was creepy af and now I can't sleep. Thanks Libba Bray.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A very enjoyable read, short and easy to get through.
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
The 5 stories were vastly different in quality in this book in my opinion. Overall they balance out to a three. Here are my individual ratings for each story below:
Cruisinβ by Sarah Mlynowski (2 stars) - This was my least favorite of the bunch. The characters felt lacking, and I guessed the twist long before it happened. Also, the trope of a teen desperate to lose their virginity is old and grates on my nerves.
I Donβt Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray (4 stars) - This was possibly my favorite of the bunch. I liked the idea of a coven of witches getting together on the beach in the summer to practice spells together. I enjoyed the descriptions of the spells, and albeit it was spooky, it still felt like a light summer read.
The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson (2 stars) - I wasn't as enamored with this one either, which was a disappointment since I like other books by this author. The premise of it was kind of weak to me, and the surprise ending was pretty meh.
The Mirror House by Cassandra Clare (3 stars) - I enjoyed this story for the most part, and I liked the ending a lot. I did not understand why the mother would marry the man she did. I didn't buy their relationship, and the was not my favorite.
Nowhere Is Safe by Libba Bray (3 stars) - I loved the overall story with the twist. Her descriptions are superb, and she really knows how to create atmosphere. I just didn't like any of the characters. They all were really obnoxious.
Cruisinβ by Sarah Mlynowski (2 stars) - This was my least favorite of the bunch. The characters felt lacking, and I guessed the twist long before it happened. Also, the trope of a teen desperate to lose their virginity is old and grates on my nerves.
I Donβt Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray (4 stars) - This was possibly my favorite of the bunch. I liked the idea of a coven of witches getting together on the beach in the summer to practice spells together. I enjoyed the descriptions of the spells, and albeit it was spooky, it still felt like a light summer read.
The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson (2 stars) - I wasn't as enamored with this one either, which was a disappointment since I like other books by this author. The premise of it was kind of weak to me, and the surprise ending was pretty meh.
The Mirror House by Cassandra Clare (3 stars) - I enjoyed this story for the most part, and I liked the ending a lot. I did not understand why the mother would marry the man she did. I didn't buy their relationship, and the
Spoiler
weird step-brother/sister crushNowhere Is Safe by Libba Bray (3 stars) - I loved the overall story with the twist. Her descriptions are superb, and she really knows how to create atmosphere. I just didn't like any of the characters. They all were really obnoxious.
I will preface this by saying that I generally dislike short stories. You don't have enough time in so few words to latch onto the characters, the plot, AND the prose. Generally at least one of the three will suffer.
I'm happy to say, however, that this is not ALWAYS the case. There are a few incredibly gifted authors that manage to pull it off!
My favorite in this collection (not surprisingly) was the story penned by Cassandra Clare: The Mirror House.
This story is told in first person present tense, and that worked unbelievably well! (My list titled "Authors who Successfully Use Present Tense" is now a whopping TWO names long!!!) I'm not going to go too much into the plot of these stories, but I will say that if you liked Jace/Clary...this story has a little something in it for you. ;) The story itself was haunting and I LOVED the ending, but it is always so hard for me to decide if I enjoy the story or the prose better in works by Cassie. I love them both so much it's impossible to tell. The way she manipulates the English language, and the vivid, constant use of descriptive simile makes me green with author envy. This short story alone was well worth the price of the book!
"I try to read, but the words dance on the page like the sunlight dances over the pool water. This kind of weather makes everything dance."
Seriously. There are no words to describe my love.
Also really enjoyable was the story by Libba Bray (who, in case you were wondering, is the other author on that list titled "Authors who Successfully Use Present Tense")
This quote alone should make you want to read this story. "Dude," Baz whispered in my hear, his white-boy dreads tickling the side of my face. "Did the creepy old lady just say 'bump asses with evil?'"
It was really fun to read something so DIFFERENT from Libba. I'm in love with her Gemma Doyle trilogy, but it's nice to see that she can pull off something completely different as well! Such a talented lady!
I also loved Maureen Johnson's story. If you aren't following Maureen online, you really should be. As funny as her blogs are, this story read much the same way. It was such a refreshing read, and I couldn't put it down!
Claudia Gray and Sarah Mlynowski both wrote fun stories as well. All in all, this entire collection is well worth the read!
I'm happy to say, however, that this is not ALWAYS the case. There are a few incredibly gifted authors that manage to pull it off!
My favorite in this collection (not surprisingly) was the story penned by Cassandra Clare: The Mirror House.
This story is told in first person present tense, and that worked unbelievably well! (My list titled "Authors who Successfully Use Present Tense" is now a whopping TWO names long!!!) I'm not going to go too much into the plot of these stories, but I will say that if you liked Jace/Clary...this story has a little something in it for you. ;) The story itself was haunting and I LOVED the ending, but it is always so hard for me to decide if I enjoy the story or the prose better in works by Cassie. I love them both so much it's impossible to tell. The way she manipulates the English language, and the vivid, constant use of descriptive simile makes me green with author envy. This short story alone was well worth the price of the book!
"I try to read, but the words dance on the page like the sunlight dances over the pool water. This kind of weather makes everything dance."
Seriously. There are no words to describe my love.
Also really enjoyable was the story by Libba Bray (who, in case you were wondering, is the other author on that list titled "Authors who Successfully Use Present Tense")
This quote alone should make you want to read this story. "Dude," Baz whispered in my hear, his white-boy dreads tickling the side of my face. "Did the creepy old lady just say 'bump asses with evil?'"
It was really fun to read something so DIFFERENT from Libba. I'm in love with her Gemma Doyle trilogy, but it's nice to see that she can pull off something completely different as well! Such a talented lady!
I also loved Maureen Johnson's story. If you aren't following Maureen online, you really should be. As funny as her blogs are, this story read much the same way. It was such a refreshing read, and I couldn't put it down!
Claudia Gray and Sarah Mlynowski both wrote fun stories as well. All in all, this entire collection is well worth the read!
Libba Bray was the only reason I picked up this book.
We start off with" Cruisin'" by Sarah Mlynowski. I can't honestly say I liked this one. This was the weakest story for me. I'm not familiar with the author so I don't know what her writing is normally like..but I don't be seeking out any of her books after this. I don't think I'm capable of caring for the main characters in this story...or this story in general. 1/5
"I Don't Like Your Girlfriend" by Claudia Gray was a fun one. I liked the way the magic was set up so quickly, it was very simple and easy to understand. I would read this is if it was a full book. 4/5
"The Law of Suspects" by Maureen Johnson was a weird one. I didn't really understand this one well, but that could just be a me thing. This had potential to be really spooky, but it felt far-fetched to me...1/5
"The Mirror House" by Cassandra Clare this was ok. I felt pretty neutral when I finished this one. 3/5
"Nowhere is Safe" by Libba Bray...well it's a Libba Bray story so it's amazing. Genuinely creepy and spooky...*chef's kiss* She really saved this book for me. 5/5
Overall rating: 3.5 (average of the stories)
We start off with" Cruisin'" by Sarah Mlynowski. I can't honestly say I liked this one. This was the weakest story for me. I'm not familiar with the author so I don't know what her writing is normally like..but I don't be seeking out any of her books after this. I don't think I'm capable of caring for the main characters in this story...or this story in general. 1/5
"I Don't Like Your Girlfriend" by Claudia Gray was a fun one. I liked the way the magic was set up so quickly, it was very simple and easy to understand. I would read this is if it was a full book. 4/5
"The Law of Suspects" by Maureen Johnson was a weird one. I didn't really understand this one well, but that could just be a me thing. This had potential to be really spooky, but it felt far-fetched to me...1/5
"The Mirror House" by Cassandra Clare this was ok. I felt pretty neutral when I finished this one. 3/5
"Nowhere is Safe" by Libba Bray...well it's a Libba Bray story so it's amazing. Genuinely creepy and spooky...*chef's kiss* She really saved this book for me. 5/5
Overall rating: 3.5 (average of the stories)