I plucked this delightfully disgusting collection off my shelf to read just in time for Halloween. But before I even launch into the ominous awesomeness of these stories, can we just talk about this amazeballs dedication?
I know! Pretty fantastic, right? I have a feeling that dedication is true for far too many of us. Anyhoo, this is straight up HORROR, so for those of you who just dabble, STOP READING NOW. It just gets bloody after this point. Nova Ren Suma starts us off with a BIRDS inspired tale about a creepy next door neighbor who knows way too much about the neighborhood girls, but soon gets his just desserts in the form of a feathered babe WHO DOESN’T PLAY. Woo. Serious shivers. Then there’s a nice grouping of giant serial killer rabbit (?! don’t ask, just read. Probably the most terrifying & inventive monster of the bunch), sweet but deadly ghost, insane asylum teen sensation singer, backwoods folklore trickster and son of Satan, by the uber talented Carrie Ryan, Cat Winters, Leigh Bardugo, Megan Shepard & Danielle Paige, respectively. More sleepless nights will no doubt be inspired by editor April Genevieve Tucholke‘s I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER’s car accident yarn, Jonathan Maberry‘s outsider zombie fable (winner of best story title=FAT GIRL WITH A KNIFE), Jay Kristoff‘s online predator tale, and Stefan Bachmann‘s DOWNTON ABBY-type murder mystery. Â I could continue to curdle your bedtime milk with diabolical descriptions of the equally eerie stories by Marie Lu, McCormick Templeman, A.G. Howard and Kendare Blake (author of the super scary Anna Dressed in Blood
Month: October 2015
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella
Audrey is missing out on her life. Ever since her ex-friends Tasha, Natalie and Izzy launched a bullying campaign that gave her an acute case of Social Anxiety Disorder with a side order of Depressive Episodes, Audrey has been wearing dark glasses and rarely leaving the house. Dr. Sarah has assured Audrey that her “condition is fully treatable,” but Audrey isn’t so sure. The only time Audrey feels safe is when she is alone in a darkened room watching sitcoms. If she wasn’t being so entertained by her mother’s crazy crusade against her brother Frank’s video gaming habits, she’d probably forget how to laugh. Then Frank brings home his gaming partner, Linus, who’s sweet, cute and intrigued by Audrey’s dark glasses. They embark on the most adorable courtship ever, which mostly involves passing notes and touching the tips of their shoes together. Then Linus challenges Audrey to go out to Starbucks with him. Audrey is torn–should she stay home where no one can ever hurt her again? Or should she trust Linus and face the caffeinated crowd at Starbucks? Audrey thinks she can do anything as long as Linus is there to love and support her. But it’s only when she takes her anxiety into her own hands that the glasses come off and her life REALLY begins to turn around. This delightful oddball romance comes from the pink pen of British Confessions of a Shopaholic
