October is just around the
corner, which means it's only a couple of weeks until Halloween, and
since it is never too early to get into the spirit it's the perfect
time to get a head start on that Halloween reading list. And when it
comes to horror, nothing beats a good anthology.
Slasher Girls and Monster Boys features 14 stories that all draw inspiration from a classic
book, film, or song – not necessarily from the horror world – and
use it to create something new …and terrifying.
Even though I am a huge
horror fan, I trend to be rather picky about the kind of horror I enjoy. So most anthologies end up being really hit or miss, but
with this one I can honestly say that there wasn't one story that I
felt like skipping. Every single one–even those with themes I
usually don't care for–was so well written that it kept me
interested (and chilled) throughout. Plus, my favorite part of it
was probably to identify what each story is based on. Here are a couple of my
personal highlights:
The Birds of Azalea
Street by Nova Ren Suma
The first story of the
collection, is about teenage girls, a creepy neighbor and birds (lots
of birds). On the eerie instead of the scary side, it's perfectly
situated at the beginning of the book, as it sets the mood without
being too much.
Verse Chorus Verse by
Leigh Bardugo
This one takes place in a
rehab facility and deals with the pressures and sacrifices that come
with being a teen idol. The theme definitely makes this
one stand out a little, and without spoiling anything I have to say
that the inspiration for this story is right up my alley.
The Flicker, The
Fingers, The Beat, The Sight by April Genevieve Tucholke
Tucholke is the only one of
the authors I was actually familiar with, so I expected to like this
one. And I wasn't disappointed. The story mixes one of my all time
favorite books with a famous urban legend. That said, it isn't
anything new, but sometimes a feeling of familiarity can make things
scarier than they actually are. So in a way this works in the story's
favor.
Stitches by A.G. Howard
This might be the
goriest out of the stories. The imagery is nothing for the faint
hearted, but if you're not turned off by a little blood (and severed
limbs) it's an excellent read with a very classic horror feel.
All in all, I was really
impressed with this anthology and would recommend it to anyone who
loves a good scare.
Peace, Love, and Lobsters
Laura
