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bluestjuice's review
2.0
I won't lie, I read this strictly for The Princess of Egypt Must Die, and I definitely thought it was the strongest piece here. For one thing, it wasn't hung up on how awkward it can be to be an adolescent, which is a place adolescent fiction tends to go that I really wish it wouldn't. Not that it can't be awkward to be an adolescent, just I hate the implication that it's invariably so. Anyway, here are the short stories that were included:
"Camp Cauldron" by Juli Alexander - Didn't much like this. Pretty much a typical teenage romance in a magical setting.
"Barre Hopping at Midnight" by Amanda Brice - Likewise. The fact that this seemed to be borrowing pretty heavily on the Twilight phenomenon did nothing to endear it to me either.
"The Vanishing Spring" by Carey Corp - This I actually liked a lot - it was short, intensely emotional, and went someplace different than the usual teenaged angst.
"The Princess of Egypt Must Die" by Stephanie Dray - Needless to say, I loved this. There is a love story, but it ends tragically, and hard choices are made along the way.
"Spring Perfection" by Leslie DuBois - I was fairly unmoved by this, in part because the baseball framework really didn't excite me.
"Picture Not Perfect" by Lois Lavrisa - It's probably not a good sign that I can't even remember this story.
"Potionate Love" by P.R. Mason - Cute, if kind of cliche. It reads like an episode of a teenage sitcom, but not bad.
"1:30, Tour Eiffel" by Jennifer McAndrews - I liked this. Another story with a hard personal choice.
"Off Balance" by Renee Pace - The topic was serious, and I liked that the point of view flipped around to show both perspectives. In the end I felt that the way the situation resolved was a bit unrealistically tidy, but it was fun to read.
"On a Field, Sable" by Diana Peterfreund - Full of dark, angsty mood, but I felt that this was just a glimpse into a world that really needed a whole book to make sense. Since I understand the author has a series set in this universe, that makes some sense. Still, as a story in its own right, it was underwhelming.
"The Language of Flowers" by Rhonda Stapleton - Okay, I'm a sucker for a story about a florist, having been one in a former life (i.e.: college). This is really just another teenage romance, but the flower angle was enough to freshen it up to interest me.
"Dating After Dark (With Clowns)" by Tawny Stokes - The teenaged exorcist thing didn't really do it for me, unfortunately.
"Sometime" by Alicia Street - Probably my second favorite story out of the lot. The plot was interesting, even though it was left mostly unresolved, and I liked the characterization. I might even go read the author's full length novel set in the same world.
"Camp Cauldron" by Juli Alexander - Didn't much like this. Pretty much a typical teenage romance in a magical setting.
"Barre Hopping at Midnight" by Amanda Brice - Likewise. The fact that this seemed to be borrowing pretty heavily on the Twilight phenomenon did nothing to endear it to me either.
"The Vanishing Spring" by Carey Corp - This I actually liked a lot - it was short, intensely emotional, and went someplace different than the usual teenaged angst.
"The Princess of Egypt Must Die" by Stephanie Dray - Needless to say, I loved this. There is a love story, but it ends tragically, and hard choices are made along the way.
"Spring Perfection" by Leslie DuBois - I was fairly unmoved by this, in part because the baseball framework really didn't excite me.
"Picture Not Perfect" by Lois Lavrisa - It's probably not a good sign that I can't even remember this story.
"Potionate Love" by P.R. Mason - Cute, if kind of cliche. It reads like an episode of a teenage sitcom, but not bad.
"1:30, Tour Eiffel" by Jennifer McAndrews - I liked this. Another story with a hard personal choice.
"Off Balance" by Renee Pace - The topic was serious, and I liked that the point of view flipped around to show both perspectives. In the end I felt that the way the situation resolved was a bit unrealistically tidy, but it was fun to read.
"On a Field, Sable" by Diana Peterfreund - Full of dark, angsty mood, but I felt that this was just a glimpse into a world that really needed a whole book to make sense. Since I understand the author has a series set in this universe, that makes some sense. Still, as a story in its own right, it was underwhelming.
"The Language of Flowers" by Rhonda Stapleton - Okay, I'm a sucker for a story about a florist, having been one in a former life (i.e.: college). This is really just another teenage romance, but the flower angle was enough to freshen it up to interest me.
"Dating After Dark (With Clowns)" by Tawny Stokes - The teenaged exorcist thing didn't really do it for me, unfortunately.
"Sometime" by Alicia Street - Probably my second favorite story out of the lot. The plot was interesting, even though it was left mostly unresolved, and I liked the characterization. I might even go read the author's full length novel set in the same world.
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