![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Which is better, the zombie or the unicorn?
Some of today’s finest writers have chosen their side, creating dazzling stories about both creatures.
Team Unicorn edited by Holly Black:
Kathleen Duey, Meg Cabot, Garth Nix, Mango Lanagan, Naomi Novik and Diana Peterfreund.
Team Zombie edited by Justine Larbalestier:
Libba Bray, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld and Carrie Ryan.
Black and Larbalestier have compiled a YA anthology aimed at proving whether zombies are better than unicorns or vice versa and I liked the competitive banter, which introduces each contribution.
THE HIGHEST JUSTICE BY GARTH NIX tells of a princess who secures the help of a unicorn against her tyrannical father and wicked stepmother.
LOVE WILL TEAR US APART BY ALAYA DAWN JOHNSON is an excellent gay love story about a zombie who falls for a zombie killer and was one of my favourites.
PURITY TEST BY NAOMI NOVIK is an amusing tale of a girl who reluctantly helps a unicorn battle an evil sorcerer in modern New York.
BOUGAINBILLEA BY CARRIE RYAN is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a girl’s island idyll is shaken by the arrival of a handsome young man.
A THOUSAND FLOWERS BY MARGO LANAGAN was my favourite unicorn story, a dark and twisted love story between a woman and a unicorn and the people who get hurt as a result.
THE CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION BY MAUREEN JOHNSON is a comedy zombie tale involving famous actresses and a strange cult, which I found a little too knowing.
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR BABY KILLER UNICORN BY DIANA PETERFREUND is a touching tale about a girl who becomes protective of a unicorn kept in a travelling circus and the lengths she’ll go to in order to help it.
INOCULATA BY SCOTT WESTERFELD follows a small group of isolated survivors in a post-apocalyptic world, where the teenagers are curious about the outside world but find that some of them are harbouring secrets.
PRINCESS PRETTYPANTS BY MEG CABOT was a funny story about a teenage girl who is less than impressed to receive the girliest unicorn in existence for her birthday. Essentially a morality tale, it went on a little long for me.
COLD HANDS BY CASSANDRA CLARE is a love story that continues after death, which is neatly told and was another of my favourites in the anthology.
THE THIRD VIRGIN BY KATHLEEN DUEY is a beautifully told story about a unicorn who heals with his horn but who takes years of life from the recipient in return.
PROM NIGHT BY LIBBA BRAY is a bittersweet story about the last teenage survivors in a small town who are trying to keep hold of as much normality as possible for as long as they can.
The Verdict:
Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier have compiled a YA anthology aimed at proving whether zombies are better than unicorns. It’s a thoroughly entertaining anthology that riffs on the traits associated with both creatures to original and entertaining effect.
Some of today’s finest writers have chosen their side, creating dazzling stories about both creatures.
Kathleen Duey, Meg Cabot, Garth Nix, Mango Lanagan, Naomi Novik and Diana Peterfreund.
Team Zombie edited by Justine Larbalestier:
Libba Bray, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld and Carrie Ryan.
Black and Larbalestier have compiled a YA anthology aimed at proving whether zombies are better than unicorns or vice versa and I liked the competitive banter, which introduces each contribution.
THE HIGHEST JUSTICE BY GARTH NIX tells of a princess who secures the help of a unicorn against her tyrannical father and wicked stepmother.
LOVE WILL TEAR US APART BY ALAYA DAWN JOHNSON is an excellent gay love story about a zombie who falls for a zombie killer and was one of my favourites.
PURITY TEST BY NAOMI NOVIK is an amusing tale of a girl who reluctantly helps a unicorn battle an evil sorcerer in modern New York.
BOUGAINBILLEA BY CARRIE RYAN is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a girl’s island idyll is shaken by the arrival of a handsome young man.
A THOUSAND FLOWERS BY MARGO LANAGAN was my favourite unicorn story, a dark and twisted love story between a woman and a unicorn and the people who get hurt as a result.
THE CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION BY MAUREEN JOHNSON is a comedy zombie tale involving famous actresses and a strange cult, which I found a little too knowing.
THE CARE AND FEEDING OF YOUR BABY KILLER UNICORN BY DIANA PETERFREUND is a touching tale about a girl who becomes protective of a unicorn kept in a travelling circus and the lengths she’ll go to in order to help it.
INOCULATA BY SCOTT WESTERFELD follows a small group of isolated survivors in a post-apocalyptic world, where the teenagers are curious about the outside world but find that some of them are harbouring secrets.
PRINCESS PRETTYPANTS BY MEG CABOT was a funny story about a teenage girl who is less than impressed to receive the girliest unicorn in existence for her birthday. Essentially a morality tale, it went on a little long for me.
COLD HANDS BY CASSANDRA CLARE is a love story that continues after death, which is neatly told and was another of my favourites in the anthology.
THE THIRD VIRGIN BY KATHLEEN DUEY is a beautifully told story about a unicorn who heals with his horn but who takes years of life from the recipient in return.
PROM NIGHT BY LIBBA BRAY is a bittersweet story about the last teenage survivors in a small town who are trying to keep hold of as much normality as possible for as long as they can.
The Verdict:
Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier have compiled a YA anthology aimed at proving whether zombies are better than unicorns. It’s a thoroughly entertaining anthology that riffs on the traits associated with both creatures to original and entertaining effect.
