Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales

Reviewed by: Karen Sandlin Silverman - Scarborough High School, Scarborough, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 22, 2015

Review

As the subtitle says, this is a book of short stories about beasts and monsters, and also teens and love. All the usual monsters are here, e.g., vampires, devils, mean girls, and abusive stepfathers. The more unusual beasts include a hill (yes, a hill) and "mercurials." This is a wonderful collection with contributions from some of today's best YA authors (Paolo Bacigalupi, Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, M. T. Anderson, Nathan Ballingrud, Patrick Ness, Sarah Rees Brennan, Nalo Hopkinson, G. Carl Purcell, Dylan Horrocks, Nik Houser, Kathleen Jennings, Kelly Link, Joshua Lewis, and Alice Sola Kim). A book to savor.

Overall Book Score: very good