My favorite of the new books is
Zombies vs. Unicorns.
Nearly as strange as it sounds,
ZvU tackles one of life's most troubling questions: Which is better, zombies or unicorns?
The debate first sprang up on
Justine Larbalestier's blog, then spread to
Holly Black's blog, eventually overtaking both. Larbalestier proclaimed zombies were superior; Black insisted unicorns were WAY better. The two decided to ask other YA authors to contribute short stories about either zombies or unicorns that were then gathered up into this anthology.
Both creepy and utterly hilarious,
ZvU is made of awesome. Don't believe me? Check out the authors! Team Unicorn, led by Holly Black, is: Kathleen Duey, Meg Cabot, Garth Nix, Margo Lanagan, Naomi Novik, and Diana Peterfreund! Team Zombie, headed up by Justine Larbalestier, is Libba Bray, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld, and Carrie Ryan!
So which are you...Team Zombie, or Team Unicorn? Show your pride with
downloads from Simon & Schuster!
Other by Karen Kincy is here!
Gwen Williams has a big secret. She's an "Other," a shapeshifter, and although her talents are acceptable in most areas, her tiny Washington hometown isn't too keen on vampires, centaurs, pretty much anything
different.
Now a werewolf pack has moved into town, and Others are showing up dead. What follows is a paranormal murder mystery. Police are struggling to find a murderer they're sure is, well, paranormal in origin, ignoring the possibility of a serial killer. while Gwen and her friends are hunting the murderer themselves. This one's great for mystery fans and fantasy fans alike.
We now have
The Fallen 1, which includes both
The Fallen and
Leviathan by Thomas E. Sniegoski and
The Fallen 2, which is made up of the third and fourth books:
Aerie and
Reckoning.
Aaron's eighteenth birthday arrives, along with the unsettling discovery that he is now hearing voices. In his head. Like he's crazy. Aaron spent his childhood moving from foster home to foster home and isn't sure who to trust with his fears.
Aaron wants to talk with one of the girls he knows from school, but Aaron doesn't really have an easy time trusting people, especially the strange man who follows him around, insisting that Aaron is the son of a mortal and an angel. According to the Mystery Man, Aaron has been chosen to redeem the Fallen. Aaron tries to ignore the news. He also tries to pretend he doesn't have all the supernatural abilities he's discovered. But he can't deny it all for long. Dark powers are rising, and mostly they're just out to kill him.
The second
Fallen* novel has arrived! Here is
Torment by Lauren Kate:
Luce has been separated from her fallen angel boyfriend Daniel, and she's devastated. He must go fight the Outcasts before they succeed in killing him. While he's gone, he arranges for Luce to be hidden at Shoreline, a special school for Nephilim where she learns about Shadows and how to regain memories of her previous lives.
But as she learns more about her past, Luce begins to wonder if Daniel has told her the whole truth. She knows he's hiding something from her. What if the past he told her they shared wasn't true--what if she's really destined to love someone else?
13 to Life by Shannon Delany has arrived!
Jessie Gillmansen's entire life was torn apart when her mother died. Now all she wants is for her life to stay exactly as it is. When she gives the new guy, Pietr Rusakova, around her high school, she has no idea how much change he's brought to her hometown. Pietr has a very dangerous secret, and he's brought a whole lot of trouble to town with him.
From Iron-Age Ireland, we have
Shapeshifter by Holly Bennett!
A shapeshifter, Sive is now trapped in the form of a deer, running for her life as a sorcerer chases her across Ireland. Throw in the child left on the side of a mountain, and you have
Shapeshifter!
Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri
Instead of following the original Faust and his deal with the devil for wealth, power, and the like**; this take on the Faust legend five children vanish from around Europe, only to show up after years at a party in New York. They are, of course, accompanied by their beautiful governess, Madame Vileroy. When they begin attending the Marlowe School in Manhattan, they are instantly popular and successful. Of course, their governess's "gifts" help. But as the fun of their situation begins to wear off, the five realize their obsessions are taking control. Something must be done to escape the dark path they're on, before there's no going back.
*The irony of having two books from two different series named Fallen has not escaped me.
**As always with retellings, I urge you to read through the original story of Dr. Faust FIRST.
