september zombie event comes to a close...with unicorns?

Part of the fun of the ‘zombie craze’ is that authors who wouldn’t usually write a zombie story are getting on board and adding to our culture’s overall entertainment value. This includes authors of young adult books. And this is also how an anthology called Zombies vs. Unicorns comes into existence. Only an awesome, completely ridiculous world could spawn such a wondrous thing. And yes, I’m going overboard. I think you like it.

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths - for good and evil - of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

Holly and Justine are like competing Most Extreme Challenge (MXC) moderators. And by that, I mean they’re taking potshots at each other, each other’s choice of mythical being, and at the individual contestants (err…stories), all while being dubbed over in a foreign language. The result is hilarious, and the book is worth reading if only for their ‘introductory’ comments. BUT! Let me highlight my favorites for you and convince you to read this for yourself....

“Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Alaya Dawn Johnson

A dark, music-heavy zombie story featuring two misunderstood young men. One is struggling not to become a monster, the other already is – can they change? Is there hope?

“Purity Test” by Naomi Novik

Made of hilarious, in all sorts of ways. Combine a snarky heroine, a unicorn who can’t be too fussed about particulars, and five baby unicorns addicted to chocolate milk – what could go wrong?

“Bougainvillea” by Carrie Ryan

A seriously haunting story that draws from the true horror inheritance of the zombie canon. It’s a magnetic tale, set in the world of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, very shortly after the Return, on the island of Curaçao.

“The Children of the Revolution” by Maureen Johnson

Is the protagonist TSTL (too stupid to live) or just unlucky? Maureen Johnson crafts a hilarious and slightly horrifying zombie story that manages to do make fun of both celebrity adoptions and celebrity cults. Funny + frightful = fantastic.

“The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn” by Diana Peterfreund

Tragedy, teenage angst, a freak show, and a baby killer unicorn make for an out-of-the-ordinary story. Fans of Peterfreaund’s Rampant and Ascendant will be pleased, and newcomers to killer unicorns will probably be both confused and entertained. But what’s not to love about a boy named Yves?

“Cold Hands” by Cassandra Clare

Wow. Stunning story that takes the zombie trope and turns it on its head. Weird, wonderful (if you can use that word in conjunctions with a zombie story) and chilling. I think I may scream the next time someone with cold hands touches me.

“The Third Virgin” by Kathleen Duey

Mix a sociopathic unicorn in with a scarred young girl, and you have a disturbing story in an extremely well-written sort of way.

“Prom Night” by Libba Bray

What better way to close out the anthology than with a chilling, absorbing, but not so gory or violent that it’s painful sort of tale. One word? Haunting. Explores how people cope with loss, inevitable mortality, and what the law really means. Big themes for this magnificent (and oddly funny) little tale.

Recommended for: fans of zombies, unicorns, anyone not sure about either but willing to dip a toe in and test the waters, and those who like a little bit of horror with their comedy (but only every once in a while). Silly, suitable fun for the older teen set. Enjoy!

This is my final entry in the September Zombies event. Yay!

tyger tyger, burning bright

I owe Kersten Hamilton. Twice. First, she introduced me to NetGalley. If you’re not acquainted with NetGalley yet, I’m putting on my commanding voice and ordering you to go over to the website RIGHT NOW. Trust me. Read books before they’re released, for free on your computer. That concept? All sorts of awesome. And Kersten was a love and sent a link and explained the whole thing to me, adding, of course, that I could check out the galley for her novel on the website.

Second, she wrote Tyger Tyger. This book was fresh and interesting and UNIQUE. I alternately laughed and cried over it the other night, and my roommates worried until I looked up with a teary smile and said that I was reading a really good book. After that, they let me finish it in peace. My only real complaint is that the sequel will take so much time to arrive!

Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures--goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty--are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.

Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right.

The goblins are coming.

True story: I’m a horrible procrastinator. I got the note about this lovely book back in April? May? And didn’t read it until this month. I call this my hoarding tendency. If a book looks REALLY good, and I have access to it, I sometimes hold off on reading it, thinking that I’ll need it to get me out of a funk or to keep me occupied on the Metro or some such. When I know perfectly well that the Metro is always full of interesting people to watch, and that good books should definitely be read NOW.

Luckily, Juju at Tales of Whimsy reviewed this one and was super-enthusiastic about it ("beguiling, fresh, earnest?" sounds like love!). Then Heather of BURIED IN BOOKS urged me on by saying that it had zombies. And as it happens, I’m in the midst of the September Zombies Event. So…done deal. Turns out the ‘zombies’ are a sort of disgusting cat goblin, but that’s perfectly fine. Zombie = zombie equals zombie. It counts.

About the story: Tea thinks her family is normal. Well, weird maybe, but normal, when tragic things start happening,… and she begins to see things. Or does she? Then her cousin Finn arrives to disrupt the life she has all mapped out, and trouble follows him wherever he goes. Thus begins the adventure of a family caught between two worlds. It’s full of Irish legend and myth, and the rich descriptions of the creatures on both sides (or is it worlds?) are simply gorgeous.

I don’t think I can praise the inclusion of Irish myth enough. It was new to me (and probably will be to a lot of readers, even if they’re fantasy buffs), but it was woven in right with the rest of the story, and used to such an effect that I felt surprised and gratified when I figured things out. That may be a good test for a well-written book – if it teaches you something new in such a way that you are only impressed, and don’t feel ‘taught.’ This was such a one.

Hamilton’s story tugs on the emotions. Even while I alternately appreciated the fantastical elements and wondered a bit at certain gaps in the plot, I was feeling everything intensely. It’s not perfectly told, but I connected to it. It’s rather violent in parts, and some decisions made by the characters were hard – so hard! But I never felt cheated or wronged. Instead, it was emotional, un-put-downable, and a terrific start to a series that I’ll be reading to the very end.

Recommended for: fans of fantasy and fairy tales, emotive and romantic (in the best sense of the word!) YA lit, darkness with a heaping side of hope, worlds just beyond our own, and adventures that aren’t all that they seem.

Tyger Tyger will be released by Clarion Books on November 15, 2010. I received an e-galley from NetGalley for review.

teaser tuesday (55)

It's Teaser Tuesday, a bookish blog meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Here's how it works:

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

“And though they were clearly not doing well, I guess the voices in my brain were telling me that these kids had dieticians and had spent a lot of their short lifetimes on private aircraft (that has to mess with your inner ear balance), and maybe that’s just what being really rich looks like.

But there was another voice in my hear – a quieter one, way in the back, telling me to leave, to get out of the house and away from them, to go back into the rain, to hitchhike to London or starve or even just to call home.”

-p. 149 of Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier’s (eds.) Zombies vs. Unicorns, from “The Children of the Revolution” by Maureen Johnson

author interview with beth kephart (+ giveaway)

Today I’m welcoming author Beth Kephart to the blog. She has written several award-winning books, and her most recent, Dangerous Neighbors, came out last month from EgmontUSA. Did I mention that I LOVED it? [begin side note] I still cannot believe authors actually answer my questions! I mean, how awesome is that? I am a lucky, lucky duck. [end side note] Check out the interview below. Oh, and bold letters = me.

First of all, thank you for writing such a wonderful, moving book. I couldn't believe how much I loved it while I was reading it. You've made a fan for life! And thank you (a second time) for answering my questions!

Thank you for being an ideal reader. Because, truly, it takes two. A writer dreams. A reader chooses whether or not to embrace that dream. Readers make writers lucky people. My books are all quite different from one another. I’m so appreciative that Dangerous Neighbors did speak to you.

Do you have a sister? If so, did you model the relationship between Katherine and Anna on your own knowledge? And if not, how did you craft their relationship?

I do have a sister, but this relationship between the twins Anna and Katherine was not in any way modeled on my relationship with my sister. Katherine is a lot like me—responsible, heavied down by responsibility, prone to sweeps of guilt or remorse. I wrote of the sisters in the way that I did for I’d gone through quite a stretch of self doubt and, to be honest, a fear of marginalization. I understood Katherine deeply. She was within me as I wrote.

Do you have a favorite sister relationship in fiction? Who and why?

I have often encountered young sibling relationships that I love, for example, in the early fiction of Louise Erdrich. But I’ve never quite seen a relationship between women described as perfectly as Gail Caldwell describes her best friendship with Caroline Knapp in her new memoir Let’s Take the Long Way Home. I think that book is perhaps one of the truest books I’ve ever read—one of the most instructive and wise about the way that women lean on and grow up with one another—whether sisters or friends. I know you asked for fiction in your question, but for some reason, I am still very much inside that particular relationship—two grown women, as close as sisters ever are—in my head.

Your descriptions of late 19th century Philadelphia were superb. Do you ever sketch out physical spaces that you are going to describe? Or look at old floor plans or some other visual guide?

Thank you, and yes, you have pierced my process. When I was writing Dangerous Neighbors, my desk and my floor were overrun by maps of the city and photographs and sketches of imaginary places. I do that with every book I write, whether it is based in the truth or arising from fiction.

What books are on your nightstand (or wherever it is that you keep your 'read next!' pile) right now?

Well, at this very moment, I am reading the final pages of Proust was a Neuroscientist, which I love. Nearby is my newest grammar book. On top of that is the book that led me to my studies in the history and sociology of science,The Edge of Objectivity. Coming to me (they will be here tomorrow) are three books by or about John Gardner, the memoirs Breaking Night and Half a Light, and Room, by Emma Donoghue. I’ll probably read Room first, for the book I’ve just finished writing (three years in the making) touches on some of Donoghue’s themes. Needless to say, I was stunned when I learned that another writer had been writing toward those topics. Fortunately, it seems our two books are very different, but I must read to find out.

If you could invite literary characters to a dinner party, who would be at the table, and what would you serve?

I wish I could bring Terrence Des Pres back to life. He was a real person, an author, who died too soon. I would have liked to have known him. But if I were given the chance to bring a fictional character into my life, my room, it would be Hanna from Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. I’ve been doing a lot of cooking of late. I’d serve my very best recipes. There’d be color, taste, light, nothing heavy (perhaps salmon with a layer of dijon mustard, and a crust of herbs, and my famous potatoes). And then, of course, dessert (a small bit of chocolate chip cheesecake).

And lastly, can you share a photo? And perhaps a caption?

A photo.... I will share a funny one, from long ago. I am the girl in the homemade white dress. Kelly was my best friend. This picture reminds me of how my friends are often people who are not very much like me, and who I love precisely because of that.

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And now, the part you may or may not have been waiting for, depending on whether or not you read the blog post title carefully…a giveaway! And yes, I do write maddening sentences like the one just prior on purpose. *grin* AHEM. Back to business: I have one gently read ARC of Dangerous Neighbors to give away.

To enter:

Leave a comment on this post answering this question, “I asked Beth about ‘sisters in fiction.’ When you hear that phrase, what comes to your mind immediately?” You can earn an extra entry by commenting on my review.

Please include a method of contact. Giveaway is open internationally. Comments will close on October 3 at 11:59pm EST, and I will notify the randomly selected winners via email.

Good luck!