Customer Reviews

Half-human

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I do not to like short stories: they have the annoying tendency to end just as I'm beginning to enjoy the characters. But I do love legend, myths and fairytales. Bruce Coville challenged his fellow author to submit stories --- their common theme being that the protagonist was caught in a state where he or she isn't quite human. This collection of mermaids, gorgons and selkies provide a wonderfully entertaining time while asking us to wonder at what precisely does it mean to be human, a question people have been asking since the beginning of time.

All of the stories are well written, which I expected considering that the credits read like an all-star line up of contemporary fantasy writers. The thing that makes the anthology interesting is how the stories play together in the mind to form a single work even as they remain separate creations. Dusie, from Nancy Springer's "Becoming" is the girl at the next desk at school who has awaken to find that her hair has been transformed into snakes while Princess Eleanor in Jude Man Dell's "Princess Dragon Blood" is both a fairytale princess and a mighty warrior at the same time.

The question of how and when are we human and when we are not is presented both forcefully and subtly. The authors use the short story form well, allowing the reader to think about the stories and ask themselves what the question means both personally and to humans in general. HALF HUMAN also explores what it feels like to not "fit in". While these characters may have extras --- like wings or tails --- their stories are touching and familiar to any kid who feels left out. If Harry Potter whet your appetite for fantasy or if you simply want to read something a bit shorter, pick up HALF-HUMAN. Your reading time will be time well spent.

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This is a series of short stories about young adults coming to terms with the fact that they are half human and half something else. Dusie wakes up one morning with a head full of snakes instead of hair and has to come to terms with the fact that her mother is a Gorgon. Linnea is turned into a mermaid by the god of the sea. She must figure out how to escape from this god and get back to her father again.

Laura has always thought she was strange, hearing the sea in her ears wherever she goes. But then in her grandmother's house she finds a sealskin that she can wear to turn into a seal, and everything makes sense. Qiom was a tree, mistakenly turned into a human by a magician. Now he is having trouble learning how to be a person, until a boy named Fadal offers to help him.

A scarecrow in a field realizes his existence and begins to wonder how he got there. A horse gives birth to a centaur, causing problems for the horse's ownders who now have to figure out how to hide the colt with the baby's torso and head.

A queen asks a witch to help her become pregnant. When the princess grows to be thirteen, she finds out her father was a dragon. Icarus, a boy in the freak show of a carnival, was born with wings he wishes he could use to fly away. Geoffroi's father lived an exceedingly long life, and left Geoffroi with a mission to accomplish.

I liked that each of these stories dealt with pain and acceptance in a unique way and each could be a metaphor for the struggle of growing up.

Actually a very decent anthology. I wish this system had half stars, because it really deserves 4 and a half as a whole. I will revise this review including the names of the short stories and possibly a short synopsis, but overall a decent collection. Very short book, I would have liked more, so it's recommended you buy this in paperback because unless you find a hardback used like I did, it isn't worth the hardback new price.

Stories:

Becoming by Nancy Springer (Medusa)
Linnea by D.J. Malcolm (Mermaid)
Water's Edge by Janni Lee Simner (Selkie)
Elder Brother by Tamora Pierce(Tree-people)
How to Make a Human by Lawrence Schimel(A poem, miscellaneous)
Scarecrow by Gregory Maguire (Scarecrow man)
Centaur Field by Jane Yolen (Centaur)
Princess Dragonblood by Jude Mandell(Dragon girl)
Soaring by Tim Waggoner (Winged boy)
The Hardest, Kindest Gift by Bruce Coville (Moth woman)

This is one of those books where you like some stories, and dislike others. I greatly enjoyed the story "Linnea" by D. J. Malcolm. My suggestion for this book (and all other books ever written for that matter), is to check it out from the library to read it first, before you buy it. I'm not saying that this is a bad book, but it's always good to check first! Anyway, I have a question for all of you: Does anyone know if D.J. Malcolm has a website? Is there a list of books he has written? And how can I contact him? Just checking!

It's been a long time since I read this book, but it still stands out as the best short story collection I've read. Okay, so I haven't read many short story collections, but I've read *some*! ;-)
This book is made of nine collected shorts written by great fantasy authors on the subject of half-humans, from a girl who discovers she's a selkie, to a girl who suddenly discovers that she's from a long line of Medusas when she reaches puberty, to a tree that's been turned into a man. That last one, by Tamora Pierce, really sticks out in my mind, because a long time after reading the book that it was an offset of, I came across this. It's based on the premise that, when in her series a powerful magician turns a man into a tree, somewhere some tree has been turned into a man. That idea is all that is mentioned of the subject in the book, but it is a very interesting and laden idea. I guess it stuck in Pierce's mind.
Anyway, this is a book worth your time. It is engaging, and the stories, being so wild, envelop you totally and take you away. Would make a great book to read on the beach during a vacation! Spring break hints, people...:-)

Nancy Springer, Jane Yolen, Coville, and others contribute to a powerful fantasy collection revolving around the theme of young adults who are only half human. From a scarecrow to a fallen angel, these are unusual characters who face basic conflicts of their nature. The very different plots and characters make for an involving collection packed with twists & surprises.

Each story better than the next. Awesome illustrations. A book for all ages, what a refreshing change from the norm. Every time I read it I feel invigorated. Such positive messages in each and every story. A must read. I lived every moment of Linnea's plight with her, so well written I felt I was watching a movie.
5 stars plus.

My soul was touched deeply by the beautiful and creative stories in Half Human. I read it at least once a week and it revitalizes my whole being. What a talented group of authors and the art work is wonderful. The stories are so descriptive and well written that I become "Linnea". Thank you for this work. This is a book for all ages and seasons. Once started it will be finished. You are less than human if you do not give this literary winner a read.

My book is about a girl named Dusie. She went to middle school. At her school she liked a boy named Troy. He never paid any attention to her though. That night when she went to bed, then she woke up in the morning and felt normal. But really woke up with a head full of snakes. Her mom took her to a place where there were people just like her. They talked to the king of the half human world and asked why it had to be her to get it. At the end of the book she learned to like them. I think poeple who like made up stories would like this book.If people took the time to read it they could like it. its not that funny but there is hummor.