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A review by cloudedreads
Wink: Young Adult Tales that Wink at Classic Children's Books by Henry Herz, Kendare Blake, Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Maggie Stiefvater
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Everything about this book was alluring to me - the idea about twisting fairytales, some of the authors I have loved for years, even the cover is by an artist who’s work I enjoy - and perhaps the high expectations I have worked up made this just another middle-of-the-road anthology for me. On one hand, there were no stories I actively disliked, but on the other, some of them felt too childish (and I don’t mean in the fairytale way) and flimsy in their structure and writing style.
I will probably join the majority and will note that “Special” by Seanan McGuire was truly something else (and coincidentally, exactly what I expected the whole anthology to be, based on the cover…), and ended up being my favorite of the bunch. Some stories had enough heart (pun intended) and a simple idea, that made it reminiscent of a fairytale while still staying just a wink, instead of a full blown retelling, like “Waii-chan and Sparklepony” by Nancy Holder and “The Monster at the End of this Story” by Alethea Kontis. There were even stories that I think could have benefited from being of a longer format, like “Tabula” by Henry Neff.
All in all, it was, as it usually is with such books, a mix of good and bad, but it is worth picking up, even if just to see which ones of these will wink at you.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
I will probably join the majority and will note that “Special” by Seanan McGuire was truly something else (and coincidentally, exactly what I expected the whole anthology to be, based on the cover…), and ended up being my favorite of the bunch. Some stories had enough heart (pun intended) and a simple idea, that made it reminiscent of a fairytale while still staying just a wink, instead of a full blown retelling, like “Waii-chan and Sparklepony” by Nancy Holder and “The Monster at the End of this Story” by Alethea Kontis. There were even stories that I think could have benefited from being of a longer format, like “Tabula” by Henry Neff.
All in all, it was, as it usually is with such books, a mix of good and bad, but it is worth picking up, even if just to see which ones of these will wink at you.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.