Review: Slasher Girls & Monster Boys by April Genevieve Tucholke

Title: Slasher Girls & Monster Boys

Authors: April Genevieve Tucholke, Stefan Bachmann, Leigh Bardugo, Kendare Blake, A. G. Howard, Jay Kristoff, Marie Lu, Jonathan Maberry, Danielle Paige, Carrie Ryan, Megan Shepherd, Nova Ren Suma, McCormick Templeman, April Genevieve Tucholke, Cat Winters

Genre: YA, horror

Publication date: August 2015

Published by: Dial Books

Source: Purchased hardcover

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Synopsis: For fans of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Lois Duncan, and Daphne Du Maurier comes a powerhouse anthology featuring some of the best writers of YA thrillers and horror.

A host of the smartest young adult authors come together in this collection of scary stories and psychological thrillers curated by Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’s April Genevieve Tucholke.

Each story draws from a classic tale or two—sometimes of the horror genre, sometimes not—to inspire something new and fresh and terrifying. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat. From bloody horror to supernatural creatures to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, this collection has something for any reader looking for a thrill.

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Even a monster wants to be loved.

I was excited to read this because I love horror stories and this anthology included some authors that I knew! For these types of books I usually like to touch on every story and say a little about them, but honestly, that seems like a lot of effort for a book I didn’t love.

But I will tell you about a couple that I really liked! Out of all of them, I think Hide-and-Seek by Megan Shepherd was my absolute favorite!

In the last twenty minutes, a gun had been aimed at her, she'd nearly been impaled, and she'd ducked an electric fence--all after she'd already died. This was going to be the longest twenty-four hours of her life.

Yeahhh, this one was wild! This story was inspired by Final Destination, which is a movie franchise I adore! The protagonist basically challenges death and she is given 24 hours to hide and survive. She wins, she lives. I really loved the lore in this one, the legend of Crow Collum, and I loved how this was her just running from death, tricking him, in order for her to survive. This one was SO good!

Sleepless by Jay Kristoff was inspired by Psycho and it wasn’t bad. I actually really liked the plot twist in this one. A poor girl who can’t sleep and seeks justice for those who can't do it themselves.

Stitches by A.G. Howard was inspired by Frankenstein. This is another one I liked and found very intriguing. It was messed up (though all of them were in one way or another, to be honest), but it was good.

On the I-5 by Kendare Blake was another good one. This one was about murdered girls and retribution. It’s hard to say much without spoilers because these are short stories after all, but I really liked the idea of this one! It was good, but it was sad.

Overall though, it was just an okay read for me. I wasn’t terribly impressed by a lot of them, which is hard to do in a short story. And the stories were DARK. I would probably recommend looking into trigger warnings because I was not mentally prepared for how freaking dark these stories were. But if you like dark, then you might like this.

Have you read this book? If so, what did you think about it? If not, what do you think? Does it sound like something you might want to read? Leave me a link to your review or comment below! 😊