by Maggie Stiefvater, Brenna Yovanoff, and Tessa Gratton
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group (October 01, 2012)
Imprint: Carolrhoda Lab
ISBN: 9780761375272


Thank you Lerner Publishing Group for allowing me to review this ARC!


Blurb

From acclaimed YA authors Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff comes The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories.

- A vampire locked in a cage in the basement, for good luck.
- Bad guys, clever girls, and the various reasons why the guys have to stop breathing.
- A world where fires never go out (with references to vanilla ice cream).

These are but a few of the curiosities collected in this volume of short stories by three acclaimed practitioners of paranormal fiction.

But The Curiosities is more than the stories. Since 2008, Maggie, Tessa, and Brenna have posted more than 250 works of short fiction to their website merryfates.com. Their goal was simple: create a space for experimentation and improvisation in their writing—all in public and without a backspace key. In that spirit, The Curiosities includes the stories and each author’s comments, critiques, and kudos in the margins. Think of it as a guided tour of the creative processes of three acclaimed authors.

The Good

  1. The commentary.  What really makes this anthology stand out isn’t the amazing stories, it’s the author commentary. At the beginning of each story, the author of the story as well as one of the other authors comments on the story, usually giving insight into its origins or meaning. In addition to introductions, throughout the book you will find handwritten comments from the authors about various aspects of the stories. These additional comments give insight into the creative process that wouldn’t be available otherwise. For readers that are also authors, this book is a must-have.

  2. The variety.  Upon looking at the cover of the book and having read many of Maggie’s books, I assumed that all the books within the anthology would deal with magic or the paranormal in some way. Not true. This book deals with faeries, fire, murder, magic, vampires, love, loss, kisses, warriors. What more could you possibly want?

  3. The website tie-in.  I have visited Maggie’s website on several occasions and frequently look at her blog updates, but until this book came out I did not know there was a website dedicated solely to the Merry Sisters of Fate. On this website, these three authors post short stories just like those in the anthology. After reading the book, I am definitely going to keep the website on my radar and visit as often as possible. Honestly, their stories are addicting and it’s wonderful to know that I don’t have to wait to read more, all I have to do is open a web browser! Visit merryfates.com to see what I mean.


Overall Rating

Amazing, really loved this. This is a wonderful collection of artfully crafted stories but, through the author’s comments, also serves as a window into the creative process which makes it unique.