From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up—A mixed bag. The book opens with Kelly Link's forgettable "The Wrong Grave" and is followed by Chris Wooding's "The House and the Locket," a pale imitation of a Poe tale. The third story, "Kissing Dead Boys," however, is classic Annette Curtis Klause and it alone may be worth the price of the book. Klause takes the tired-sexy-vampire and vampire-hunter conventions and makes them fresh in just 14 pages. Marcus Sedgwick, Libba Bray, and Holly Black also contribute notable stories that their fans will enjoy. On balance this will be a worthwhile addition to most collections.—
Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School Library, CA Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
*Starred Review* "Whether motivated by shock, sorrow, self-preservation, or more subtle ambitions . . . the dead in this anthology are all restless, all awake when they shouldn't be, all conspiring to keep you up at night," writes Noyes in her introduction to this collection of terrifying stories from some of the most well-known authors writing for teens, including M. T. Anderson, Holly Black, Libby Bray, and Annette Curtis Klause. From vampires to vindictive ghosts, this diverse anthology has it all, and then some. In Kelly Link's wryly humorous entry, "The Wrong Grave," a young man digs up his dead girlfriend's corpse, only to find another girl in her grave. In Libby Bray's poignant "Kissing Dead Boys," nearly every reaction to death is explored, sometimes lyrically, sometimes with deliciously gruesome detail. Many readers who may typically avoid short story collections will grab this one, provided that they are horror fans. The creepy cover, depicting a black-and-white photo of hands crawling out of the earth, and the evocative title aptly describe the contents and will deter the faint of heart, who probably aren't the best audience for many of these seriously scary tales. Highly recommended, and not just for reluctant readers. Carton, Debbie
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
