Melissa Marr is the New York Times bestselling author of the Wicked
Lovely series as well as the adult fantasy novels Graveminder and
The Arrivals. When not traveling, Melissa can be found in Phoenix
or online at www.melissamarrbooks.com.
When librarians finally granted Kelley Armstrong an adult card, she
made straight for the epic fantasy and horror shelves. She spent
the rest of her childhood and teen years happily roaming
fantastical and terrible worlds, and vowed that someday she'd write
a story combining swords, sorcery, and the ravenous undead. That
story began with the New York Times bestselling Sea of Shadows and
continues with Empire of Night.
Armstrong's first works for teens were the New York Times
bestselling Darkest Powers and Darkness Rising trilogies. She lives
in rural Ontario with her husband, three children, and far too many
pets.
Veronica Roth is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of
Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant, Four: A Divergent Collection, and
Carve the Mark. Ms. Roth and her husband live in Chicago. You can
visit her online at www.veronicarothbooks.com.
Margaret Stohl is the bestselling author of twelve books for
children and teens, including coauthor of the #1 New York Times
bestselling Beautiful Creatures series. She also cowrites Mighty
Captain Marvel for Marvel Comics. You can learn more about her at
mstohl.com.
Rachel Caine is the coauthor of the Honors series and has written
more than fifty novels in multiple genres, including young adult,
thriller, science fiction/fantasy, horror, and paranormal romance.
She is best known for the #1 internationally bestselling
fifteen-book Morganville Vampires series and her Weather Warden
series in urban fantasy. She lives and works in Fort Worth, Texas,
with her husband, artist, actor, and comic historian R. Cat Conrad.
www.rachelcaine.com
Nancy Holder is an award-winning, New York Times bestselling author
of over 80 novels and 200 short stories. She has received 5 Bram
Stoker Awards from the horror writers Horror Writers Association,
and a Scribe Award from the International Association of Media
Tie-in Writers. She is the former Vice President of the Horror
Writers Association and currently serves on the board of trustees.
Her Buffy novel, The Angel Chronicles, hit number 2 on the amazon
bestseller list. She has written or co-written over 4 dozen Buffy
and Angel projects. She divides her time between Washington state
and Italy.
Marr and Armstrong, fresh off their 2011 compilation, Enthralled: Paranormal Diversions, edit and headline this collection of dystopian fantasy and science fiction, featuring an all-female lineup of nine YA authors. While some offerings have romantic elements, there's no guarantee of happy endings. Instead, readers are treated to stories like Rachel Caine's powerful tale of revenge amid corporate warfare, "Dogsbody," and Beth Revis's "Love Is a Choice," where the seeds of rebellion aboard a spaceship demand a heavy price. "Hearken" by Veronica Roth is poignant and powerful, proving that not all dystopias need corrupt governments or tyrannical leaders. The strength of these stories is their conjuring entire worlds; their weakness is that most of them end too soon, leaving readers wondering "what next?" Several stories feel like testing grounds for novels yet to come (or, as with the offerings from Revis or Carrie Ryan, teasers for existing books). However, with solid offerings all around, it's a collection worth checking out. Ages 13-up. Agent: (for Armstrong) Sarah Heller, Helen Heller Agency; (for Marr) Merrilee Heifetz, Writers House. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Gr 8 Up-This collection of dystopian short stories features some of the genre's greatest voices along with the work of popular paranormal romance authors. The nine original tales all center on themes of revolution, class wars, and romance. Standouts include Veronica Roth's "Hearken," in which musical prodigies are schooled to hear the life songs-or death songs-of individuals with the help of an implant, Margaret Stohl's "Necklace of Raindrops," a lyrical piece about the value of truly living; and Rachel Caine's "Dogsbody," a tale of corporate control gone wrong. Along with selections by Beth Revis and Carrie Ryan, these pieces move quickly, make good use of the limited word count, and are likely to stick with readers. However, other offerings-Kelley Armstrong's "Branded," Nancy Holder's "Pale Rider," Melissa Marr's "Corpse Eaters," and Kami Garcia's "Burn 3"-are forgettable due to predictability, far-reaching plots, and unbelievable circumstances. All in all, the action is fast paced and the variety of storytelling tones appealing, making this an ideal addition to libraries in which dystopian and paranormal romance books are popular.-Jennifer Furuyama, Pendleton Public Library, OR (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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