Thursday, November 29, 2007

GOTHIC! edited by Deborah Noyes


The ten dark tales that make up the short story collection Gothic! are sure to send chills down your spine. Fantasy, humor, and pure horror are some of the genres included in this collection. In Have No Fear Crumpot Is Here! by Barry Yourgrau a whiny toddler vampire terrorizes a small rural town. A teenage girl reluctantly impersonate a corpse on a hunted hayride with disastrous results in Morgan Roehmar’s Boys by Vivian Van Velde, and Melanie spends the weekend with her Aunt Beryl who is keeping a terrible secret in The Prank by Gregory Maguire

Joan Aiken, Garth Nix, Neil Gaiman and other popular authors contribute to this ghastly, gory, giggly collection of short stories. They provide the perfect opportunity for teens grade nine and up to scare themselves silly.

Book review excerpt from School Library Journal: “These varied tales take place in the distant past and in the high-tech present. Some are humorous while others have surprising twists or are reminiscent of classic fairy tales full of malevolent characters, but all share a love of the surreal or supernatural. Noyes's insightful introduction defines what a gothic tale is and includes information about the authors and the origins of their stories. A sophisticated, thought-provoking, and gripping read.”
Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Aiken, Joan, Vivian Van Velde, M.T. Anderson, Neil Gaiman, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Barry Yourgrau, Janni Lee Simner, Gregory Maguire, Celia Rees, and Garth Nix. Gothic!. edited by Deborah Noyes. Cambridge: Candlewick Press, 2004.

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