Review Detail

Are you for Team Zombie or Team Unicorn? Even if you're not sure where you stand, you will find something to like about this book. The layout if brilliant: each "chapter"-- or story-- is either about zombies or unicorns. Don't worry about not knowing which story you're reading, each story has a corresponding icon to help you identify what you're reading. Also, before each story is a short snippet from the two authors' long standing blog debate about zombies and unicorns. These "blurbs" are hilarious. I mean it. It's laugh-out-loud material. I think I actually caught myself snorting when Justine Larbalestier called unicorns "fart rainbows." Still not sold? Maybe knowing that authors like Libba Bray, Carrie Ryan, Garth Nix, and Scott Westerfield have written stories in this anthology will help you decide to read this collection of short stories.

For those wanting to know what's included, here are a few comments on some of my favorite stories in the book:

The Highest Justice by Garth Nix: Eh. Okay, this was so-so for me. It had a little unicorn and zombie action in it. I don't think I would have picked this as the first story in the book. I had already read some of the other stories, so I knew the contents got better than what this story represented.


Bougainvillea by Carrie Ryan: I had hoped to find out what caused the Return in this story (I heard someone say this story would explain it), but that didn't happen. Instead, I got a good stand alone zombie story told in the same fashion as the novels. Except, this one did flashback to the main character's childhood some. As a stand alone story, this was great.
The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Dana Peterfreund: Isn't the title great? Guess what the story is about? Did you say killer unicorn? If so, you deserve a cookie.
Princess Prettypants by Meg Cabot: Funny stuff. What would happen if a fluffy "fart rainbow" of a unicorn entered the life of a girl who was completely disinterested? You can only imagine...

The Third Virgin by Kathleen Duey: I'm noticing a trend with emo books... A little unexpected is the idea of an emo unicorn. (Is that even possible?) This poor creature is seriously conflicted. Reminds me of Hamlet...to kill or not to kill? That is the question.

Prom Night by Libba Bray: Love her. Great story to end with. Super creepy, spine tingling surprise ending.



So, if it's not obvious yet, you should run out to the store and buy this book RIGHT NOW. Right. Now. It's a great short story anthology AND it's all about zombies and unicorns. What could be better?