Review: Tales From the Hinterland by Melissa Albert

Publisher: Penguin
Published: 14th January 2021

Synopsis: 
In this brutal and beautiful world a young woman spends a night with Death, brides are wed to a mysterious house in the trees, and an enchantress is killed twice - and still lives.

But it's not safe inside these pages, and once you enter, you may never want to leave . . .

The highly anticipated collection of stories set in the creepy, haunting fairytale world first introduced in Melissa Albert's internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed Hazel Wood series.

Review: 

As the January evenings are dark and cold, this was the perfect read for the start of the year. Deliciously dark and fiendish, 'Tales from the Hinterland' by Melissa Albert is a collection of short stories set in the fairy tale world, first introduced in the Hazel Wood series. I haven't read the latter but I don't think it mattered at all, as you don't particularly need to have any prior knowledge to enjoy this book. 

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always a huge fan of short story collections (although I have read some really good ones lately) so I was a little bit apprehensive when I started reading this. I need not have worried though as the stories are so inventive, original and mesmerising that I was drawn in by the varied range of tales told. There were some that I definitely enjoyed more than others but I think that's always the way with short stories. My favourites were 'Hansa the Traveller', 'Alice -Three-Times' and 'The Skinned Maiden'. These were the ones that really gripped me and which I found especially creepy and devious. 

This is a fairy tale world where happy ever after does not exist and where the characters' fates hang in the balance. Melissa Albert's imagination is allowed to run wild in this spine-chilling collection which I advise not reading when you're in the house alone! 

Review: Wonderland: An Anthology edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane

Publisher: Titan Books
Published: 17th September 2019

Synopsis:
Join Alice as she is thrown into the whirlwind of Wonderland, in an anthology that bends the traditional notions of Lewis Carroll's classic novel.

So, it's time now to go down the rabbit hole, or through the looking-glass or... But no, wait. By picking up this book and starting to read it you're already there, can't you see?

Review:
'Wonderland' is an anthology of short stories inspired by 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. I didn't need to know anything else about this book to know that I desperately wanted to read it. Although I'm not always a huge fan of short stories and I will always prefer to read a full-length novel, they were fun to dip in and out of and interesting to see the authors' takes on the original Alice.

The anthology blends together stories which fit into a myriad collection of genres, from horror to fantasy to historical. Some were much better than others but I always find with short stories that although you don't always connect with every single one, there's usually something for everyone.

There are some really great writers included in 'Wonderland' such as M.R. Carey, Mark Chadbourn, Genevieve Cogman, Jane Yolen, Juliet Marillier, Lilith Saintcrow, James Lovegrove and Catriona Ward. Each have given their own unique take on a different aspect of the classic novel.

My favourites were:

1. Wonders Never Cease by Robert Sherman
An intriguing take on how the Alice story never really ends. There's always a different Alice with a different ending, some happy, some sad.

2. Good Dog, Alice! by Juliet Marillier
I really loved this story. A blue door reveals a magical world that may provide a solution to Dorothea's problem. This one crept up on my slowly because initially you think it's going to be a sweet story about childhood with birthdays and puppies but then it morphs into something much darker and twisted.

3. About Time by George Mann
Lucy thinks that she is past childish pursuits, such as her adventures in Wonderland but when she visits to say goodbye, she finds an unexpected visitor. I thought this story was a brilliant twist on the age old terror of the monster hiding under the bed. The ending really made me smile.

4. The White Queen's Pawn by Genevieve Cogman
This is probably one of the shortest stories in the anthology but there is such a creepy feeling to it that it really got under my skin and I couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards. 

Review: Girl Meets Boy - edited by Kelly Milner Halls

Girl Meets Boy edited by Kelly Milner Halls, published by Chronicle on 1st March 2012
Goodreads synopsis:
What do guys and girls really think? Twelve of the most dynamic and engaging YA authors writing today team up for this one-of-a-kind collection of "he said/she said" stories-he tells it from the guy's point of view, she tells it from the girl's. These are stories of love and heartbreak. There's the good-looking jock who falls for a dangerous girl, and the flipside, the toxic girl who never learned to be loved; the basketball star and the artistic (and shorter) boy she never knew she wanted; the gay boy looking for love online and the girl who could help make it happen. Each story in this unforgettable collection teaches us that relationships are complicated-because there are two sides to every story.

Review:
‘Girl Meets Boy’ has an eye-catching cover and is packaged as a perfect romantic read for Spring. It’s a collection of short stories by twelve of the hottest young adult authors around about love and romance. I’m not always a massive fan of the short story format but I was excited to read this particular collection. The editor’s introduction says that the stories are about bridging the gap of gender-based misunderstandings and I think that’s a pretty accurate assessment of this title.

What I really liked was the format which is based on the idea of he said / she said, presenting both the male and female view of a relationship. Often the characters in the stories interpret events completely differently which puts an interesting spin on the stories. The authors who were teamed together included James Howe and Ellen Wittlinger, Chris Cutcher and Kelly Milner Halls, Terry Davis and Rebecca Fjelland Davis, Rita Williams-Garcia and Terry Trueman, Joseph Bruchac and Cynthia Leitich Smith and Sara Ryan and Randy Powell. Some of these authors I’d heard of before and some were completely new to me but I’m now looking forward to reading their other books.

I enjoyed certain stories more than others but then I think that’s always the case with short story collections. My favourites were probably the first in the book ‘Love or Something Like It’ by Chris Cutcher and the reply ‘Some Things Never Change’ by Kelly Milner Halls. I also felt quite touched by ‘Want to Meet’ and ‘Meeting for Real’. These were almost too short for me, as I would have liked to have seen the stories and characters developed further. That’s why I usually prefer full-length books, because the author will always have more time to explore all the issues raised.

I actually would have liked to have seen more romance in a lot of the stories too. There was much less than I’d originally anticipated and many of the stories were about the characters delving into and dealing with their own personal issues rather than romantic love in the conventional sense. These issues ranged from a girl who’d had a sex change, to a gay boy seeking love online, to a relationship between a Muslim boy and a Christian girl. 

Although my heart didn't flutter as much as I thought it would, I still really enjoyed this unique and interesting book which certainly looks very pretty on my shelves!