Reviews tagging 'Suicide attempt'

Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite by Natalie C. Parker, Zoraida Córdova

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emily_mh's review against another edition

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3.25

This anthology was a bit average for me. There weren’t any outstanding reads, but neither were there many terrible ones. My favourite was Senior Year Sucks. I will review each story individually: 

Seven Nights for Dying by Tessa Gratton: This is one of two problematic stories in this anthology. It featured a romance between a teenager and a vampire who was hundreds of years old and looked like they were 30. This story says it’s all about the right to choose to become a vampire, yet how could the teenage MC be in control of her choices if she was being groomed? 

The Boys from Blood River by Rebecca Roanhorse: An atmospheric and compelling story ruined by its ending when the MC romanticises a murderer. 

Senior Year Sucks by Julie Murphy: The MC of this story had great narrative voice, and the plot developed a philosophical question well. The romance was also cute. 

The Boy and the Bell by Heidi Heilig: This was spooky and atmospheric and worked really well as a short story. 
A Guidebook for the Newly Sired Desi Vampire by Samira Ahmed: The format of this story gave both a fun and unique approach to the subject material, and had a great take on vampires and colonisation. 

In Kind by Kayla Whaley: This was a really confronting story with a powerful resolution, defying “mercy” killings and the ableist “magical cure” trope. The mixed media format also worked well. 

Vampires Never Say Die by Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker: This was the second problematic story of the anthology. This is due to more grooming. Why on earth is it considered okay for a 200 year adult to be seeking friendship with a teenager? 

Bestiary by Laura Ruby: In my opinion, this is the worst story of the non-problematic entries in this anthology. I simply didn’t understand the point of it. It was supposed to be related to animal companionship, but there was no plot or development generally, let alone one involving that concept. 

Mirrors, Windows, and Selfies by Mark Oshiro: The blog format elevated the narrative, which was otherwise average. 

The House of Black Sapphires by Dhonielle Clayton: This was incredibly atmospheric, but too much time was spent on the (albeit fantastic) worldbuilding, so that the plot felt squished in at the end as an afterthought. I think this concept would have worked better in a longer format. 

First Kill by V.E. Schwab: I think this was a good story, but it was nearly identical to Senior Year Sucks which I found to be stronger. 

Some final general notes. The first is that I am sick of YA modern vampire stories containing the immortal/mortal romance/friendship trope. This anthology even states it will be seeking to rectify the more problematic traditions in the vampire genre, yet it still includes this! Secondly, the editor’s notes at the end of each story were frustrating. Not only did it take you out of the fictional zone, but they should have been unnecessary, i.e., the story should have done a good enough job of showing its relevance to an aspect of the vampire tradition - and this often wasn’t the case. Finally, I listened to the audiobook for this one and it was also average. Some narrators were good; some, not so much. 
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