Zombies vs. Unicorns (anthology)

Release Date: September 21, 2010
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Pages: 415
Review Source: Library

Synopsis: (from Goodreads)
It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths—for good and evil—of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

My Thoughts:
This is a book that I think a lot of people will enjoy. The stories within it are interesting, thoughtful, and humourous. The one thing I think it could have benefited from is a conclusion, to wrap up the two arguments with some more humourous banter. At the end I kind of thought “oh, that’s it?” … I realize the “winner” of the debate is really just whichever team each reader prefers, but a little more closure would have been nice. Of course I didn’t enjoy every story, but I did read them all, and a few stick out for me. Meg Cabot’s “Princess Prettypants” was completely awesome (as if it would be anything else!) and I swear I want to read a whole novel based on its premise and those characters. The same for Diana Peterfreund’s “The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn.” I mean, come on! That title? So cool, and the story was really amazing as well. I also thought the volume started off strong with “The Highest Justice” by Garth Nix.

I guess if you’ve read this anthology already (or even by reading those titles) you can tell that I’m Team Unicorn. However, I did enjoy most of the zombie stories, too. “The Children of the Revolution” by Maureen Johnson features her typical quirkiness, and it was really funny and horrifying at the same time. I also enjoyed “Bougainvillea” by Carrie Ryan. The remote setting and the horror of being overrun in that one were creepy but enjoyable. It’s also no surprise that Scott Westerfeld is on Team Zombie, and his “Inoculata” was really interesting. There were a couple stories from each Team that I didn’t really get, or I didn’t enjoy, but that’s bound to happen in an anthology. Overall I would totally recommend this book, especially to hardcore zombie or unicorn fans, or fans of these authors. A great read!

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Find Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black & Justine Larbalestier on Goodreads, Book Depository, & Amazon.ca