Wednesday 28 January 2009
From Amazon -

Sure, love is hell. But it,s totally worth it.

In these supernatural stories by five of today's hottest writers—Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely), Scott Westerfeld (Specials), Justine Larbalestier (Magic or Madness), Gabrielle Zevin (Elsewhere), and Laurie Faria Stolarz (Blue is for Nightmares)—love may be twisted and turned around, but it's more potent than ever on its quest to conquer all.

From two students who let the power of attraction guide them to break the hard-and-fast rules of their world to the girl who falls hard for a good-looking ghost with a score to settle, the clever, quirky characters in this exciting collection will break your heart, then leave you believing in love more than ever.

My review -

Laurie Faria Stolarz is up first in this anthology and tells a great ghost story. What would you do if you found out your new house was the scene of a murder? Can't sleep? Seeing things in your dreams that can hurt you? This was a spooky tale and I loved it. I have come across this author before and have to say that I always enjoy her books and I look forward to reading more from this author.

Then Scott Westerfeld comes along and takes us into the future. A place where nobody gets ill or needs to take public transport. Learning about the good old days is mandatory and the main characters in this book pick some interesting ways to pass their class about the subject. Wonderfully written this had me wondering if the future could really be that boring? Interesting? Westerfeld is a brilliant writer and anyone looking for something different should check out his books.

Next up was an author I thought I hadn't come across before. However Justine Larbalestier's (married to Scott Westerfeld) newest release 'How to Ditch Your Fairy' was something I tried and didn't like. In this collection her story about a girl being pushed to conform to her parents beliefs and faeries was very good. The author has some other books available so I am going to give her another try after reading this short story.

The fourth story was by a writer I didn't recognise. Gabrielle Zevin writes about a girl who just fits in, isn't anything special and loves to read. When the new school librarian suggests a new book completely different to what she likes she only reads the first words and gives up. What she doesn't realise is that book has now changed her life. An unusual story with no happy ending but very well written. I am going to look up this author as well.

Lastly there was Melissa Marr's contribution. Although I know this author and have enjoyed her books I didn't really like this story about selchies. Not, for me, the best of this collection it was still worth reading but wasn't for me.

Love is Hell has five authors telling five stories. All young adult and all a little paranormal, fantasy or sci-fi, this book is really worth reading. This collection has some very unique stories but they always had a main underlying theme. Love. All in all a great anthology that will be appreciated by adults as well as young adults.

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posted by Unknown at Wednesday, January 28, 2009 |


1 Comments:


At 1 February 2009 at 14:31, Blogger Kimberly Swan

Totally missed this one. :(

 






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