VVMBookBlog

M is for Magic by Neil Gaiman

I think books of short stories are wondeful for reluctant readers because if they don’t like a story, they can skip and go onto the next story. This is a book of short stories by Neil Gaiman the author of Coraline. Gaimon is known for his eerie story telling, and this book is no different. The first story, with favorites from fairy tales as the characters, is a bit of a mystery. Stories range from stories about a jack-in-a-box to stories from the grave yard. Readers will learn how to sell a bridge and how to talk to girls although neither story will leave the reader with good or usable advice. Each story is unique with a sense of strangeness. Many readers will find these stories weird and want to read more which may take them to Gaiman’s other books.

The Boy Who Couldn’t Die by William Sleator

Although this book isn’t super scary, it’s definately creepy! It’s creepy in the sense that you want to keep reading to find out what is going to happen. Ken is sixteen years old and dealing with the reality of death since he just lost his friend in a car accident. For $50 Ken has the opportunity to make sure he never dies. The problem is that he basically needs to sell his soul. He soon realizes he also feels no pain. One example is when Ken is pummeled by a much larger boy, he doesn’t feel it. More problems arise (the first of many) when he also doesn’t feel extreme joy. Many of his dreams also become problematic (people die) which he realizes when he meets Sabine and learns more about his life, Zombies, and other evils.

Another book from Shusterman’s Dark Fusion series, this one combines a little from the Goldilocks story and a lot from the Greek myth about Medusa. Do you know about Medusa? Do you know what she looked like and what happened to people when she gazed upon them? Well, I don’t want to tell you all of that here because that gives away too much of the story.

But, the story starts with Parker Baer being really interested in his new nextdoor neighbor, Tara. Tara is very exotic with long spirals of blond hair that sometimes seem to be living! She lives by herself in a huge mansion, she always wears sunglasses, and she seems really intent on watching and analyzing people in kind of a creepy way to see who to get to know. Eventually Parker gets so caught up in her presence that even when he realizes that she is really dangerous, it’s out of his power to do anything about it.

Other books in the Dark Fusion series include Red Rider’s Hood and Duckling Ugly–more fairy tales with a definite twist!

Red Rider’s Hood by Neal Shusterman

Do you remember the story of Little Red Riding Hood? Red Rider’s Hood is Little Red Riding Hood meets gangs, werewolves, and vampires. This action packed story starts with Red taking a bag of money in his red Mustang to his grandma. His car gets stolen, his grandma gets robbed, and a gang wants him to join. Red learns how dangerous this gang, the Wolves, can be instantly, but he still contemplates joining. His Grandma, of course, is against this idea. She actually knows quite a bit about the Wolves and wants Red to have no part in this gang. As the story unfolds, Red has to choose between the gang and his grandma. It shouldn’t be a difficult decision, but… Did I mention there is also a girl involved? Red Rider’s Hood is a great book for those wanting action and a little horror. Remember there are also werewolves and vampires.

This is the second book in Neal Shusterman’s Darkfusion Series. The first book is Dread Locks. Although I haven’t read it yet, I look forward to the same creepy fairy tale twist!

As book 3 in his Dark Fusion series, Shusterman uses this distortion of the Ugly Duckling fairy tale to ask the question, “How do you judge beauty?” Cara DeFido was in high school, but so ugly in appearance that she literally caused mirrors and camera lenses to shatter. As you might expect, her appearance impacted her relationships with other kids at school, and even her own family, in a very negative way. But, with the help of Miss Leticia, the strange old “crazy owman of Vista View” cemetary, she realized that even she had a destiny to fulfill, and she began to follow the clues to find that destiny or purpose in life.

Leaving behind a Homecoming dance with unfortunate outcomes, Cara escaped by following her first clue: FIND THE ANSWERS! But to what magical place will this lead her and how will it help her find her destiny? Lots to think about in this book knowing our culture is often more interested in physical perfection than depth of character when judging another person.

Other books in the Dark Fusion series:

• Red Rider’s Hood – Little Red Riding Hood with werewolves!
• Dread Locks – Goldilocks? Medusa? Read it and find out!