Source: Publisher
Goodreads
In this unique YA anthology, thirteen acclaimed, bestselling authors team up with thirteen influential BookTubers to reimagine fairy tales from the oft-misunderstood villains' points of view.
These fractured, unconventional spins on classics like "Medusa," Sherlock Holmes, and "Jack and the Beanstalk" provide a behind-the-curtain look at villains' acts of vengeance, defiance, and rage--and the pain, heartbreak, and sorrow that spurned them on. No fairy tale will ever seem quite the same again!
Featuring writing from . . .
Authors: Renée Ahdieh, Ameriie, Soman Chainani, Susan Dennard, Sarah Enni, Marissa Meyer, Cindy Pon, Victoria Schwab, Samantha Shannon, Adam Silvera, Andrew Smith, April Genevieve Tucholke, and Nicola Yoon
BookTubers: Benjamin Alderson (Benjaminoftomes), Sasha Alsberg (abookutopia), Whitney Atkinson (WhittyNovels), Tina Burke (ChristinaReadsYA blog and TheLushables), Catriona Feeney (LittleBookOwl), Jesse George (JessetheReader), Zoë Herdt (readbyzoe), Samantha Lane (Thoughts on Tomes), Sophia Lee (thebookbasement), Raeleen Lemay (padfootandprongs07), Regan Perusse (PeruseProject), Christine Riccio (polandbananasBOOKS), and Steph Sinclair & Kat Kennedy (Cuddlebuggery blog and channel).
I'm not normally a fan of anthologies, but I could not resist picking up this book. With so many amazing authors and members of the bookish community coming together, I was so excited to see what they could come up with.
The premise of this book is that each booktuber/blogger gave their paired author a prompt. The author then took that prompt and made an original short story out of it. After each short story, the booktuber/blogger wrote a short essay that either was about the story or was about villains in general. Since this book was an anthology, I found myself reading through it pretty quickly because each story was only about 15 to 20 pages long. I flew through the stories and while some were AMAZING, others missed the mark for me.
Going into this book, I wasn't sure what kind of stories to expect. Some stories weren't all that villainous to me while others hooked me from the first page. My stand-out favorites were definitely Marissa Meyer's, Amerie's, and Nicola Yoon's. These three stories were very intriguing and I loved how they ended. I think, though, that I liked them the most because they were based on stories I knew very well: The Little Mermaid, Jack and the Bean Stalk, and Beauty and the Beast. Those three were such fun takes on the story and I loved their creativity!
As for the essays after each short story, they were very hit or miss for me. A lot of the times they read as an analysis of their story and I wasn't all that interested in them. I really enjoyed the more creative takes on villains, but I didn't think these contributions really made the book. Honestly, I think this anthology would have worked just fine with just the prompt and the stories. While it was a fun idea in theory, I was pretty uninterested in the essays included.
Overall, there were some unique and enticing stories while there were others that I found myself skimming because I didn't really care for them. I could have down without the essays, but I did think the prompts were a unique and fun challenge for the authors.
The premise of this book is that each booktuber/blogger gave their paired author a prompt. The author then took that prompt and made an original short story out of it. After each short story, the booktuber/blogger wrote a short essay that either was about the story or was about villains in general. Since this book was an anthology, I found myself reading through it pretty quickly because each story was only about 15 to 20 pages long. I flew through the stories and while some were AMAZING, others missed the mark for me.
Going into this book, I wasn't sure what kind of stories to expect. Some stories weren't all that villainous to me while others hooked me from the first page. My stand-out favorites were definitely Marissa Meyer's, Amerie's, and Nicola Yoon's. These three stories were very intriguing and I loved how they ended. I think, though, that I liked them the most because they were based on stories I knew very well: The Little Mermaid, Jack and the Bean Stalk, and Beauty and the Beast. Those three were such fun takes on the story and I loved their creativity!
As for the essays after each short story, they were very hit or miss for me. A lot of the times they read as an analysis of their story and I wasn't all that interested in them. I really enjoyed the more creative takes on villains, but I didn't think these contributions really made the book. Honestly, I think this anthology would have worked just fine with just the prompt and the stories. While it was a fun idea in theory, I was pretty uninterested in the essays included.
Overall, there were some unique and enticing stories while there were others that I found myself skimming because I didn't really care for them. I could have down without the essays, but I did think the prompts were a unique and fun challenge for the authors.
No comments:
Post a Comment