Horror Books

This is such a cute lil book. It perfect to read to my nephews and my neice. Illustrations are awesome!

i idolize the movie so i bought the book and was very happy, it has a different story then the movie so fans will enjoy it...

This is a fun book I enjoy reading to my children. It is much shorter than the movie but its a great quick read before bedtime. Another great book I recommend is The Url King, by Beau Beaudoin. He has that same macabre yet silly style as Tim Burton, also written in rhyme and the illustrations are incredible.

This book is Tim Burton's original version of this story. It is different from the film of the same title. It is basically a long poem, not unlike "The Night Before Christmas" as teh title suggests. The drawings are superb, the story excellently witty, and it is a must have for all 'Nightmare Before Christmas' movie fans, and Tim Burton fans alike. As I say it does differ from the movie, I can't say it is better because it is much more brief and less detailed, but it is by no means worse- just different. A cute, fun story all around! I recommend it highly.

My four year old daughter was introduced to "The Nightmare Before Christmas" the movie version by my brother last year and she loved it. The book,(which I believe came out before the movie) is a less scary version of the story (Santa does not get tortured)...she thinks it is hilarious and wants me to read it to her every night since receiving it as a Christmas gift. The rhyming prose is great for her age group and really keeps her attention. Plus, the illustrations by Tim Burton are really wonderful. If your child is fascinated by "spooky things" like mine, try some other "funny along the same lines books but not really scary" such as "Skelly the Skeleton Girl," by Jimmy Pickering and "Santa Claws", by Laura Lueck.

In its Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954, the Supreme Court ruled that separate schools for black and white students were unconstitutional. The schools for whites were often superior to their counterparts for black students and consequently the separate schools offered very different educational opportunities. This ruling was key to the civil rights movement and efforts to end segregation.

On September 3, 1957, nine black students were barred from entry into Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas. By September 23, after another court decision ruled that Arkansas' governor could not keep them out, the Little Rock Nine were able to begin their school year in the white high school. President Eisenhower also sent the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock to help protect the black students from harassment that ranged from insults to acid being thrown into one student's face.

Eight of the Little Rock Nine finished the school year at the Central High. In May of 1958 Ernest Green graduated from the school, the only minority in his graduating class of 602 students.
Fifty years later, Daniel Waters' debut novel Generation Dead offers a new take on integration and the fight for civil rights. In Oakvale, Connecticut parents and students alike are worried about the new students transferring to Oakvale High to benefit from the school's program of integration. Some of the new students are minorities, some of them are not. The reason all of the new students prove worrisome to some locals is more fundamental: The new students are dead.

All over the country, dead teenagers are waking up and rejoining the living--more or less. Called "living impaired" or "differently biotic" by a politically correct society, many of the undead kids prefer the term "zombie." No one knows why some teenagers come back and some don't. The only certainty is that everything changed the moment these zombies began trying to reconnect with the world of the living.

Unfortunately, some (living) people would prefer to have the zombies stay dead. Permanently. Everyone child knows that names can never hurt them, but for undead teens that don't heal sticks and stones suddenly seem much more dangerous, especially when the government has no laws to protect differently biotic citizens. After all, citizenship is supposed to expire when the citizen does, isn't it?

In Generation Dead integration doesn't start with a court decision detailing undead rights. Instead it starts with Tommy Williams trying out for the football team. Dead for about a year, no one expects Tommy to survive tryouts, let alone make the team. Except that he does.

Suddenly, the zombies don't seem quite so different. Phoebe Kendall, a traditionally biotic (albeit pale) student, realizes that better than anyone as she begins to observe Tommy and the other living impaired students at her school including Tommy and Karen (the girl featured on the novel's cover and possibly this reviewer's favorite character). The more Phoebe sees of zombies like Tommy and Karen, the more they seem like any normal teenager, well mostly.

No one questions Phoebe's motivations for befriending Tommy until it begins to look like the two of them are more than friends. Margi, Phoebe's best friend and fellow Goth, can't understand what Phoebe could see in a dead boy. Every time her neighbor Adam sees Phoebe with Tommy, he can't help but wonder why she doesn't feel the same way about him when he's actually alive.

Eventually Margi and Adam come around, forming their own tentative bonds with the zombies in their midst. Meanwhile, other students at Oakvale remain hostile. Determined to make sure that the dead students invading their school stay dead for good this time, they set a vicious plan into motion that will irrevocably change everything for Phoebe and her friends--dead and alive.

Written in the third person, Waters alternates viewpoints throughout the novel. Each of the main characters mentioned here, specifically Phoebe and Adam, have sections of the novel related from their perspective. The novel even features narration from one of the students strongly opposed to the zombie presence in Oakvale. This technique, aside from demonstrating Waters' masterful writing skills, offers a fully informed perspective on the events of the novel with its variety of viewpoints.

Upon first glance, this book looks like a quirky but not necessarily serious book. A cover with a dead cheerleader wearing biker books can have that effect on readers. And yet, even though the story is about zombies, it isn't just another fun book. Filled with smart writing and an utterly original story, Generation Dead also adds to the ongoing conversation about tolerance and equality suggesting that people often have more in common than not. Even with zombies.

Although a lot of people seemed to think this book was well written and went into depth about how life would almost BE like if living (sort of) zombie adolescents romed our streets, I just didn't get into it.

It seemed to me almost a bad imitation of Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" which I am a big fan of. The impecable white skin, eyes a different colour and the obvious none beating heart were just some indications of how it was related not, on the other hand, including the forbidden love.

I still haven't finished my book, and I just feel like putting it down and reading "Twilight" again.

I enjoyed this book quit a lot! its just something i wouldn't read vampire, werewolf yes zombies heck no! but Daniel waters takes you to a different perspective on zombies! Its great i hope theirs more to come. And if you want to read something different get this book!!! Oh and btw the characters are great!

Everyone else who's reviewed this so far has mentioned plenty of the good things about this book, and the other reviewers have also done a great job explaining what it's about. I agree with most of them that it was a fun read, but there were too many things about this book that bothered me for me to say I liked it. I give this book a middle-of-the-road rating, and I'll explain what my fundamental problems with the book are, though I should say for the record that such things will not ruin the book for everyone--just did for me. But first. . . .

I'm the first person to rate this book at less than a perfect five stars, so I realize I am just asking to get kicked in the face by fans who like to abuse ratings buttons. This review is CONSTRUCTIVE. Reviews are supposed to be honest and well-constructed, and this review contains my reasons for not liking the book very much. It's not hateful or full of bashing, so I respectfully ask readers to withhold THEIR hate and bashing and remember that your votes are supposed to be for "helpful" and "not helpful," not for whether you agree with my assessment. I venture to say I am writing helpful things here. Now, on with my comments.

My biggest problem with this book is that the concept is a neat idea but wasn't all that well carried out. It seemed almost like the author wanted to write about the social aspects of how dead people returning to life would affect society, but skipped the gritty details of what WOULD actually happen in between, moving right on to the fun part where dead kids are in your school. Consider this:

Less than three years had passed since the phenomenon began and yet there was already this push to fight for zombies' equality as citizens. Before scientists knew what made this happen. Before they could tell if zombies were in fact unstable, dangerous, diseased, whatever. The way this book is structured, it seemed like the author thought it really was feasible that the scientific community would collectively shrug and let these kids go about their afterlives.

I'm not saying I can't suspend disbelief about zombies in the first place, because that's the fun of it--it's just that since the book was written in a non-humorous, otherwise *realistic* fashion, it seems to be trying to frame how society really would react to dead people joining "our" ranks, and yet it misses some of the basic fibers of human nature.

For an example, let's look at America's embarrassing history when it came to equal rights for blacks. When black and white schools were getting integrated, so many white people were furious that their kids had to go to school with blacks that they withdrew their children, and the black kids had to be escorted to school and protected by policemen, frequently holding back crowds of whites who yelled and threw things. And this is how they acted when the kids were actually protected by the law! Zombies, in this book, have no rights. They would fare far worse. Even in this supposedly enlightened era. Dead coming back to life is a LOT more of a fundamental change than learning next to someone with a different skin color. There would be upheavals on scales that are nearly inconceivable. But here are these kids facing some prejudice and physical danger but going largely unmolested to school shortly after waking up dead.

And . . . how are they in school, exactly? They're not citizens. It's said they can't get driver's licenses or vote. But I suppose somehow they're able to be enrolled in school? No law can be requiring them to go (so one wonders why some of them are even there if they don't "have" to go), but even if they wanted to . . . would they really be allowed? I know visitors who aren't students sure had to jump through hoops to even be allowed inside the schools I worked at in college. Laws don't acknowledge these poor dead kids, so I find it hard to figure out why for no reason whatsoever some laws do seem to apply to them and some don't, depending on if it's convenient for the story's situation.

It's stuff like this that made the world "feel" wrong to me. I did like the slice of life the author chose to portray. Phoebe and Adam's relationship was VERY well-done--their adolescent confusion was believable, and most of the character interaction was convincing; I think character-building is this author's strong point. Another good example was that prejudice existed on both sides; there were some zombies who didn't trust the "traditionally biotic" and treated them badly, so it was refreshing to see zombies were not just a bunch of sad, maligned, defenseless creatures who never did any hating of their own. But I was pretty disappointed in the worldbuilding.

It would be obnoxious of me to demand that every question be answered, but it wasn't so much that the questions weren't answered that bothered me; what bothered me most is that there were several aspects of the story that made it seem impossible or improbable (even while suspending disbelief for kids coming back to life, of course), and no attempts were made to address these. Sorta like the author wanted to skip over some of the realistic ramifications of undead teens and skip right to the part where dead kids are an oppressed minority whose rights are only recognized by PC progressive types (three years after they started existing in the first place), complete with cheesy slogans on tee shirts.

Stuff I'm not sure the author thought of:

Zombies are repeatedly said not to breathe. How are they talking? I'm cool with it if there is a good explanation--like that they *can* breathe but don't need to to "live," or they're talking some different way. But nobody ever tells you.

Why would their eyes and skin lose pigment within a few minutes or hours of being dead? That doesn't happen to people who actually die. They don't suddenly become pale and lose their eye color. So why does it happen to zombies? I'm not saying it can't happen in the story, just that I would like some understanding of why besides "it just does, because that's what zombies look like."

Why do their hair and nails grow? They don't actually grow after death. That's a myth.

I guess my bottom line here is to say that I would see the events in Generation Dead happening more realistically in *micro* if some of the *macro* issues had been thought through a little better. They wouldn't have had to be focused on--just either addressed peripherally or insinuated to have been. The author pointed out several times that the scientists don't have any clue what allows zombies to "live" and why zombiism only occurs in American (or Canadian!) teens--but saying no one knows how it works doesn't do it for me. The ramifications of the laws of physics and biology being violated in an otherwise rational world is not examined at all. Scientists would freak. Society would freak. And not calm down for a very long time. If they don't find the answer, you've got to show what happens when they don't find the answer.

And if, somehow, the zombie phenomenon did NOT cause a widespread panic, and eventually things settled down to the point that they could begin to pursue their rights and enroll at your school, I think it would only be after there were a lot more answers. Look at how schools and society handled the concept of living with students who had AIDS when it was first showing up. The reaction was something like "OMG what are the rules, can I get it from touching him, what if he bleeds on me, isn't AIDS a GAY DISEASE, hey wait you want MY KID to go to school with THAT?" Now try multiplying the height of THAT by fifteen or so and you'll have the attitudes and reactions that'd be caused by walking, talking dead people. I don't demand that the zombie thing make scientific sense or anything; I just ask that the world depicted in a book is internally consistent, and I ultimately could not reconcile the concept with the reaction in this book.

Just one more note: The book had a higher than average language glitch score (which isn't good). Editors and fact-checkers, please put on your glasses for the next edition. I caught "peoples'" instead of "people's," a possessive used incorrectly with respect to someone's house, "Badger's" instead of "Badgers," "fifteen minute" instead of "fifteen minutes," and "sight" instead of "site," and the first time I saw the word "retina" used when the author meant "iris" it startled me. Then he did it again later, which means I guess he thinks the colored part of the eye is called the retina. Retinas are on the inside of eyeballs. Really weirded me out when I thought we were seeing a zombie's retina, until I realized it was just a mistake.

Most people who don't overthink everything and aren't as picky as I am will probably still enjoy this story, so read the other reviews and decide for yourself. Like I said, it's entertaining in micro and the characters are well-written while the concept is entertaining. I just think it could have been thought through a little better, and I have a sneaking suspicion that part of the reason an unrealistically short amount of time was allowed to go by was so we could still get these zombies into the schools when they weren't too much older than when they died. Since reality is skewed to make the premise work, I lost respect for it early on and that upset my ability to enjoy the book.

I picked up the book due to the cover alone, without previously knowing of its existence. Once started, I couldn't put it down, and it's not the sort of book I'd normally read. It provoked some interesting ideas and the ending was startlingly bittersweet. The blog that you can actually visit online is a great touch as well.
I look forward to more from this author.

I love the whole series and I recommend it for anyone ages 11 and up. Meg Cabot is my favorite author and this book WOW'd me more than any other book I've read by her! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

I read these books a few years ago from the library, When a friend picked them up at a bookstore recently, I decided to flip through them again. It wasn't long before I had to buy my own set and re-read them.

Darkest Hour is my favorite in the series as it introduces some interesting new characters and serves as a pivotal turning point in Susannah's relationship with Jesse. The storyline is very intriguing, and humorous, as always. There is plenty to keep the pages turning.

I recommend this series for any girl who likes her love stories a little more unconventional and less Disney. =D

THIS WAS THE BEST OF THE FIRST 4 BOOKS!! Seriously, my favorite!! From the beginning to the end is amazing and very surprising. I didn't want to stop reading. Im a girl of 13 years old and I seriously recomend the series to grade 7 to up.

My daughter got me hooked on this series and I was surprised at the great writing.

I love this book , and I love the character Jesse. This book is nothing but nonstop action and thrills , and some parts are so sad , and how Suze does to get Jesse back is certainly is unexpected. Although the new character Paul is very intriguing and I like his character , I can't wait to read the next book to find out about him.And I love the ending . Meg cabot really undone herself this time!

This is a top notch historical novel, among the best. I usually have some nits about the writing, plotting, emphasis, pacing and/or accuracy. But I have nothing negative to say about this fascinating, often lyrical, work.

The narrative is a flashback from the only Greek survivor of the battle, Xeones, a refugee adopted (as a semi-slave) by the Spartans while still a boy. He relates the story of his time with the Spartans to Xerxes, the Persian King who defeated the 300 at Thermopylae and was intensely interested in what made the Spartans tick. You learn about Spartan culture, values, discipline, sense of honor, weapons and war strategy. Pressfield weaves all of that into absorbing character studies marked by sparkling dialogue and surprising plot twists. His descriptions of the battles (there are several besides Thermopylae) are vivid and frightening.

I prefer nonfiction, mostly Western history, biography and current events. A few years ago, I was captivated by Patrick O'Brian's Royal Navy novels from the Napoleonic Era. Since then have been searching, mostly unsuccessfully, for an author of historical fiction approaching O'Brian. Pressfield is the closest I have found to date. I immediately purchased two of his other Greek novels to see whether he can replicate Gates of Fire. I doubt it.

I love this book, I've read it a dozen times or so and I enjoy it more every time I read it.

At first i thought it was going to be an average book but as i kept reading i found myself mesmerized. One of the best books i have ever read. I was captivated by the different characters and the relationships between them, not to mention the amazing war scenes!!! Grab a sandwich, a drink and a comfortable seat because you won't want to put this book down.

Any fan of ancient history will soak this exciting novel up.
Pressfield draws you in with intriguing well developed characters and a great blend of fiction woven into historical facts and events.
Heartily recommended!

This book is simply beautiful. Numerous times I had to remind myself that this book was fiction. The attention to detail Mr. Pressfield put into this story is simply amazing. The prose was as rich and wonderful as any author out there, living or dead. This book is why we readers read! A great, great retelling of a classic story.

I became interested in Sandra Lee's past after hearing others on the Food Network mentioning her hard life. Sandra made her own decisions growing-up to have a better life than her parents. Every time she was knocked-down, she got back up and moved forward. A riveting read.

With a childhood like Sandra had, you wonder how anyone could survive, let alone succeed. What an inspiration she is! I could not put this book down.

Reading about Sandra Lee's upbringing was very emotional and heartwrenching. Made From Scratch is a very apt title. Did not have any idea what a hardscrabble childhood she had. I was interested in learning that she lived in Sumner, just a town away from me. She worked so hard and kept a good head on her shoulders through horrors hopefully none of us have experienced. She truly deserves all the success she has enjoyed. I hope she continues to flourish. I did not know about her former Beverly Hills/jet-setting lifestyle either so it was interesting to get a peek inside that world. I recommend this book--you will have a better understanding of Sandra Lee and her semi-homemade empire.

This book was great! I read it ONE day and I'm not a fast reader, but I just couldn't put it down! Gratned, it's not the most well-written or gramatically correct piece of writing I've seen in a while, but who cares! The story is real and honest and so is the woman behind it! The way she tells her real-life story is engaging and inpsirational! k! While I agree that her tablescapes are not always "easy" or "inexpensive," and her food is often chemically ladden with all of the "starters," and artificial crap in it, it IS easy! I think Ms. Lee is a very savy, smart and intelligent business woman, who yes, happened to know the right people and be in the right places at the right times, but hey, she worked her butt off, literally, for years and years and obviously, still does! I can't help but admire a hard worker! I think Ms. Lee's heart is/was always in the right place and her charitable work is admirable! I also liked the fact that she so honest at the end with how this book came to be! She states she's not a writer and also shares some of the pain in re-visisiting these memories and writing this story. I also liked that she acknowledged her divorce and how painful that is, many people glide over that facet of their life, I appreicated her honesty! All and all, I have a WHOLE NEW RESPECT and admiration for Ms. Lee after having read this book; if you want a quick, fast, easy and highly inspirational, encouraging read, you've found it!

At our local library you can request new books online. As the library has funds, books are ordered. I waited in anticipation for several months; the reviews were wonderful. I will write a check to our library for the price of the book $24.95 ,what a waste to have such a book in our public library.

From her pathetic reverence to Danielle Steele & St. Tropez to her reaction to Princess Diana's death this poor woman is a star obsessed name dropper. "Sensing my discomfort Charlie Sheen walked up to where I was standing, put his arm around me, and told the drunken guy I was his girlfriend"


The book is rampant with grammatical errors, ie; a photo caption "Me and Richie shooting the close of ..." There are many pictures, of Sandra with "famous" people, it's like a "worship me, look at me" book. Counseling will be worth it Sandra, get some help.

As for the quotes throughout the book, I don't believe she would understand or know how to use any one of these. Perhaps the ghostwriter looked these up on the net and inserted them where plausible?

Here are a few quotes for poor Sandra: "You Might Move Out, but You Can't Move On" and "You can take the trash out of the trailer but you can't take the trailer out of the trash".

To be fair, I quit reading halfway through as I could not stomach any more, she is too into herself. I wish there was an option for a ZERO star rating.

This is one of the best ways of learning SAT vocab, or simply vocab for your own personal gain. Read the classic work on the right, SAT words are in bold and defined on the left. The real kicker is that words are repeated throughout the book. After seeing words over and over you learn them extremely well. Great Concept, Great Study Aid, Great Book!

These Books are better than other SAT Score raising books. Most of these books are written for the sole purpose of raising your score. Their stories tend to be boring, the writing style is usually adequate. Instead Kaplan, defines SAT words inside great literary works. They are perfect for any student. You can now read a classic book, and Study for the SAT at the same time!

This book is great for those that need to review vocabulary for the SAT's. On the left side is the vocabulary and the definition, on the right is the story using the vocabulary in bold.

We purchased this book to use in our accelerated curriculum since we have a substantial vocabulary unit connected to Frankenstein. However, a few days into the book, we are noticing major departures from Mary Shelley's novel. Kaplan has irresponsibly marketed this book as if it is the original version.

I ordered this book to use with my AP Literature class. I was already teaching Frankenstein, and thought that my students would really benefit from the extra SAT study as well. However, as we are going through the book, I find that the story in this book is very different from the old copies I had always taught from. Key parts of the story are changed, and many of the parts are rearranged. If you are looking for an accurate version of Mary Shelley's story, this may not be the one for you.

I initially decided to read this book for three reasons: 1) I thought it seemed like an interesting story, 2) it appeared on my school's required-reading list, and 3) I was able to find this SAT-prep version of it! 629 essential SAT words appear in bold throughout the main text and are defined along with synonyms on the lefthand opposite page. Other useful vocabulary words that aren't part of the SAT-vocab are underlined as they appear and are included in a glossary at the back of the book. For me, reading vocabulary in context is much more helpful than studying hundreds of words separately through flash cards.

Other reviewers have mentioned that this version is different from other editions of "Frankenstein" that they have seen before. This could be because the 1831 edition of the book is one of the most widely read versions; this SAT-prep version appears to be derived from the original 1818 edition. There are a some key plot differences between the two, but I don't think that Kaplan's use of a lesser-read (and earlier) version of "Frankenstein" detracts from the main purposes of the book: to entertain and to educate.

(Miniture Plot Synopsis): The story opens with a series of letters from a ship's captain, Walton, to his sister Margaret. He is sailing north of the Arctic Circle and his ship becomes surrounded by ice. He notices a man travelling across the ice pursuing a bizarre creature. The man, Victor Frankenstein, ends up coming onboard the ship and relating the strange tale of his life. Walton records Frankenstein's dialogue, which then becomes the narrative of the story.

Frankenstein was a bright and intelligent youth and deeply interested in alchemy. He left his family in Switzerland to study modern science in other countries of Europe. Through much research and effort, he discovered the method of constructing a human being. As to what he created the human out of, Frankenstein keeps these details vague (only mentioning various bones and parts). He specifically intends his creature to be handsome, but once his work is complete and the "creature" wakes up, he is horrified by its disfigured appearance and Frankenstein flees his laboratory. After this, the monster wanders off and later teaches himself how to speak and understand human conversation through observing a group of villagers.

When Frankenstein is hiking in the mountains, he is confronted by the monster. The monster tells him of all of his suffering and confusion and begs him to create a female counterpart that would be just as disfigured as he his, so they could live happily together in seclusion and not bother with humanity any longer. Frankenstein refuses this request, and then the monster plagues his life and the lives of his dear friends and family.

Shelley's style is incredibly descriptive, making it an obvious candidate for Kaplan's series of SAT-prep books. In fact, it's a good thing that I read this version, because I would've been fumbling around with a dictionary the whole time if I read an edition without a vocabulary guide!

I have seen omnibus one, but not omnibus two. This volume is certainly a lot more like it than the first, with the Sunnydale High School setting, and madcap vampire and demon slaying.

Demon slumber parties, ice elementals in ice-cream type shops, trashy demon freckly redheads, and more of that sort of thing, and plenty of bad puns to be had, too.

Escaped weredoggies, supernatural movie traps, ensorcelled collectables, all the sort of zany things you want to see.


3.5 out of 5

I'll start you would-be-buyers off with a little snippet from my review of the first and second BUFFY omnibus volumes. Don't fear, it's as relevant here as it is there:

"Unless you're a completist with oodles and oodles of cash, this is the way to go if you want to collect the older Buffy comics. Before this, they have been collected (for the most part) into smaller trade paperbacks, each of which cost almost as much as this volume. Now, before I get into my review, let me explain the omnibus series, as I've seen a lot of people misunderstanding when talking about it on message boards: This is not the only omnibus. There are to be seven of them all together(...)"

Those of you who enjoyed the first two Buffy omnibus volumes will find this one to be a bit different. While these comics take place chronologically after those from Volume 1 and Volume 2, these are the first Buffy comics that Dark Horse has ever published... and it shows. For the first 3/4 of this volume, the art is pretty bad, to the point where the characters hardly look like their television counterparts at all. Later in the volume, we get a break from Hector Gomez and Joe Bennett's horrible pencils when the far superior Christian Zanier and the popular Cliff Richards come along.

Another difference you'll notice is that while the first two volumes were largely composed of story arcs with the occasional one-shot, this book is dominated by one-shots. Other than one two-part issue, there are no story arcs to be spoken of in this book. Perhaps that's a blessing, because Andi Watson--the author whose work makes up the vast majority of this book--is only tolerable in small doses.

That is the biggest problem with this book. Andi Watson. He doesn't 'get' the character, or the pacing or the humor of the show. He does improve--quite vastly--in the comic The Final Cut but it doesn't excuse his first six comics, most of which give me the distinct feeling that he has never even watched the series. (A more comprehensive review of his comics Wu-Tang Fang, Halloween, Cold Turkey and White Christmas, Happy New Year, and New Kid on the Block can be found at those links).

The omnibus ends with a solid one-shot comic, "The Latest Craze," by Christopher Golden. Golden has a much better understanding of the characters and pacing of the show than Andi Watson, and the few stories he has written in this omnibus--Food Chain Part 1&2, Play With Fire, and The Latest Craze--make this book worth the price. The art in the last few pages is also some of the best the early Buffy comics has to offer. Penciller Christian Zanier, who worked on "Food Chain," captures the essence of Buffy's character splendidly in his art, and he also excels at drawing Willow. He seems to be less talented at drawing males, though. Cliff Richards, whose style you'll recognize from the first two omnibus volumes, is always a pleasure.

By and large, this volume pales in comparison to the first two. While it may disappoint, I recommend that fans of BtVS buy this book. This is the only way to chronologically collect the old Buffy comic series. As this book collects the first Buffy comics ever to be published, it has the distinct feel of a comic series that hasn't found its footing yet. I trust that, by Volume Four, things will have vastly improved.

6/10

Flowers in the Attic is the story of four siblings locked up in an attic room by their selfish mother after the death of their father. They must remain a secret from their grandfather who never forgave their parents for marrying each other. It's the only way he will consider ever rewriting his daughter back into his will. Over the years, they are neglected, abused and starved by their bigoted grandmother. It's a story about love and hate. It's a story about greed, lust and betrayal. And it's a story, primarily, about survival. It is popular with young girls, but it is very mature, so be warned about that. The way sexuality is handled will be offensive to many.

I really think that V.C. Andrews came up with some brilliant stories. I think she was attuned to a deeper part of the human psyche that allowed her to write about the darker aspects of life, and in ways that, like an onion, you could keep pulling back layers, picking up on things you never really noticed before. Her stories often get dismissed as trash, at worst, and even many who like her regard her stories as trivial guilty pleasures. I think that if you go into them with that frame of mind, you will only get out of them what you put in. But trust me, there's more there. That is my opinion, of course. I find myself picking up on nuances ten years later that I never could have appreciated as a teen (maybe not even as recent as a year ago). I'm not trying to encourage anyone to become obsessed or anything. Certainly there's better ways to spend your time than trying to analyze a book such as this. There are better books out there to read. But I have to give credit where I honestly feel credit is due.
That being said, she was, technically, a very flawed writer. Her prose is so purple you fear for its life. The characters---while a little more complex than mere cut out dolls---are described in near perfect terms as far as beauty goes. They're all gorgeous specimens of male and female perfection. Then there's V.C. Andrews' approach to sexuality which is, at times intriguing, but more often than not, completely juvenile. I kid you not, there's a passage in the book that actually goes like this: "There was something about a man's strong, well-shaped thighs that excited me (263)." And that's not even the worst of it. She uses words like "maleness" and "male part" combined with adjectives such as "rigid" and "swollen" and "swell". She probably could have benefited from Elizabeth Benedict's book "The Joys of Writing Sex," had that book been released at the time she was writing all these poorly written sex scenes. And trust me, the sex scenes only get worse as the series goes on.
As for the rest of the writing, it is not very good. The characters repeatedly say stuff that make me cringe in horror. It's just such appallingly bad dialogue. They do stuff, at times, that I find extraordinarily unrealistic. It almost seems as if she forced stuff in there to make the book seem more shocking (and trust me, she didn't need to make it shocking, the concept alone already is!) Not to say that it's all badly written. I did find parts of it amusing in a good way. And there were parts of it that were written in a way that I found emotionally affecting.
She's a very gifted storyteller, but no matter how strong your story is, it can't compensate for poor writing. I hear she wrote this novel really fast. Maybe if she'd taken more time with it, she could have done a lot of much needed editing. Maybe it would have been better. Maybe not. I don't know.
I will say, though, that this is an enjoyable read if you go into it expecting nothing more than a shocking, heartbreaking, compelling story about the tragedy of child abuse in all of its horror. The humanity is there, buried deep, if you look for it beneath all the frills of silly, childish language. The story is certainly relevant. Child abuse like this does happen. Just look at the fairly recent incest case in Austria where the father turned his daughter into his sex slave. This story can't even compete with that in terms of sheer horror.

Now when I say this was a "masterful disaster," I want to make it clear what I mean by that. It was a big bestseller, of course. But a novel needs to be more than that to be respected. Like I said before, it was a good story that misses the mark by a mile. It's the exact opposite of all those beautifully-written snoozefests. I don't know if it's the most masterful disaster ever, but you have to give her credit for the fact that her first book managed to receive over 400 reviews, more than 300 of them five star reviews, gaining the book an average of a 4 1/2. And this is thirty years after it was released (it was released long before the internet came about).

One more thing.


SPOILERS IF YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE CONTROVERSY SURROUNDING THE BOOK


This book is notorious for the incest, but I will say this---the incest is not the most sickening part of the story. I think it may well be the most troublesome aspect of the book because it's pretty much the only part of the story that is not conveyed in comfortable black and white terms. There's no mistaking that incest is wrong, but let's not forget that this story is told from the protagonist's point of view, as she lived it. In this book, at least, we are not asked to judge or to condone, only to listen and make up our own minds. I will say that I believe the story is too much for young readers, though they seem to make up a large portion of its audience. I think it's more appropriate for older teens and up. Many people will probably be disturbed that the rape seems to be portrayed as something consensual, and indeed, many come away with the impression that it was consensual, so I think that is one of the biggest problems the book encounters involving content. But I didn't get the impression that the incest was unrealistic in this book. These things happen. Cathy very well might feel that she is to blame. V.C.A. does seem to push the incest a little too far in the rest of the series, but in this book, the idea of it is realistic, at the very least.

END SPOILERS



I'd give it 3 to 3 1/2 stars

This book has no redeeming value whatsoever. But worth reading for a laugh at the pure over-the-top bad camp of it.

Yes its true, this book is extremely dark and twisted, depressing, gross at certain parts (incest seems to be a common theme V.C.'s books), and just downright disturbing and creepy. But as horrified as you may be while reading it, you also can't but be fascinated at the same time. To even think that such a family could be so screwed up is enough to keep you thinking about their stories for days, which is exactly what has made me re-read this novel and the following ones time and time again.

I first read this book several years ago, due in large part to my mom, since this had been her favorite book growing up. I read it and immediately devoured the rest of the series, and ill admit, I have read them more times than I can count.

The book is about a mother who brings her four children (chris and cathy, the two older children; and carrie and corrie the two youngest who are twins) to live at their grandparents house after their father is killed in a car accident. The mother brings them to that house to live, In hopes of winning back her parents love and affection, and ultimately hoping to once again be written into her fathers will, and at the demands of the cruel grandmother, the children are forced to stay in one room, having only the attic as their escape from her watchful eye. Because the mother had married her half-uncle, she tells the children that her father won't approve of them and claims that they must only stay in the room for one night at the most, until she can get back into his good graces. But one night turns into days, which turns into weeks, which turns into months, and ultimately they end up locked in that room for years. It probably would have turned into even longer if the two older children hadn't finally brought it upon themselves to escape.
During their time of being locked away, isolated from the world, they are neglected, and they are treated horribly by their grandmother, who at one point starves the children for weeks in order to teach them a lesson.
You cant help but feel heartbroken for the kids, not only because of being locked away, but because their mother goes from a kind, loving mother, to a cruel, heartless woman who cares more about money than her own children, even going so far as to poison them as you get further into the book. And you can't help but feel angry at Chris, who continually defends his mother, despite all her wrong doings. The most heartbreaking part is reading about the twins, who suffer the most. You see them go from bright, happy, healthy children, to sickly children who eventually stop growing due to lack of sunlight, lack of nutrients, and lack of love. Their bodies become thin and weak, their skin pale, and their eyes forever haunted. They feel that they are devils spawn, due to the sins of their parents, which is nailed into their heads again and again by the grandmother.

And yes ill warn you once again: this book does include incest. For some reason, V.C. Seems to have a fixation with incest, although it is unknown why. Maybe it has something to do with her own personal experiences? But who knows.

Anyways, I give this book 5 stars because despite what others say, its a damn good book, and there's no other book out there like it. I strongly urge you to atleast pick it up and give it a chance!

*Hangs head in shame*

This is one of my favorite books. It's light and fluff reading. Yes, you want to smack Cathy, or Cath-er-ine, and whack some sense into Chris's brain, but you gotta love this one. It never gets old!

The four Dollanganger children have perfect suburban lives--until their father is killed in a car accident and, unable to support her children alone, their mother returns to her abusive parents. Their grandmother orders the children kept secret, locked away in a single abandoned room with access to the attic. As their seclusion builds from day into years, the older children must become parents for their younger siblings even while they go through their own turbulent, unaided adolescence. This contrived isolation also leads the older siblings into incest, and for both the isolation and incest Flowers in the Attic is something of a guilty pleasure: a fairy-tale world of children without parents, fending for themselves and falling innocently into society's sins. However, the writing style, concept, and plot are so painfully unskilled, predictable, and clichéd that they suck even the guiltiest pleasure out of the book and, instead, render it just plain bad. The concept is intriguing, but the book itself is a waste of time, and I don't recommend it.

So many of the concepts of this book are secretly intriguing: the sequestered isolation of the children, haunted by the presence of their forbidding grandmother, creates a fairy-tale world where children take the place of adults, play house, and build their own private society; the slowly developing romance between the older siblings Chris and Cathy, who have no one else to turn to for support or for love, is forbidden and at the same time genuinely sympathetic. As such there is the barest bit of pleasure in the concepts of the book and in reading to the next page, the next chapter, to see how the story unfolds and how the characters come together. For these reasons, a number of reviews call Flowers in the Attic a guilty pleasure.

I would take no issue with the book if it were a titillating novel with no redeemable value, just as long as the book were still fun to read. However, Flowers in the Attic is far from an enjoyable read--instead, Andrews's writing style and storytelling verge on painfully bad. Cathy, second child and oldest sister, is the narrator; although intended to be the voice of an adult reflecting back on her early adolescence, the narrator sounds like she is still a child. She approaches her story with wide-eyed exclamation points and italics, redundant obvious statements, and exclamations like "golly gee!", and this immature narration becomes quite annoying--and strips the character of the premature aging that she is supposed to undergo. Preceded by blatant foreshadowing, most pieces of the plot are visible from a long way off. Rather than creating a tense journey to their revelation, the style renders the book's "dark secrets" laughably predictable. Combined with simplistic clichés such as an entire family with great beauty, flaxen blond hair, and names beginning with C, the novel's construction and writing style strip it of any joy. Guilty pleasure or no, redeeming value or no, the book is horribly written. It's not impossible to read, but it is an unenjoyable waste of time.

Novels about incest intrigue me, sometimes for the thought and sympathy they provoke, sometimes for the sympathy and guilty pleasure. But even as an interested reader I still have standards--although not always high, I at least prefer a book whose writing does not make me grimace or inadvertently laugh. Flowers in the Attic has intriguing premise, and the plot twists are interesting if not skillful, but I can't get past the horrible writing. Some readers may not dislike Andrews's style quite as much as I did, but I still don't recommend this book. There are better novels out there--even frivolous ones--that don't bog down their potential by skilless writing.

If you haven't read the first two, stop. The author does not provide enough backstory for you to care about any of these characters to start with this book.

This series is in the larger "trade" format, prices start at $10.49. Personally, it's not worth it. I won't be continuing the series at that price. If it ever goes to the mass-market size and price I might consider it.

I love the way the author paired her characters. It makes for clean, fun, light storytelling. The romance is thoughtful, the sexual innuendo and lovemaking is gloriously detailed. Looking forward to the next!

It was cute..not much else to say..a little campy, but some vampire lore, love and a special baby on the way :)

I looooove Brittany and Corbin. He's the only vampire out of the whole series to be very alluring... to have that mysterious aura about him. He's quiet, but smart. Polite and very opinionated. And his world is turned upside down when Brittany enters it with a big surprise.

The story between these two revolve around pre-parenthood, and their growth into responsible adults. Corbin is already an adult, of course, but he's taking it up a notch by becoming a father. You get to see his attitude change, and it's all for the good.

The downside to this book? Donatelli. Like Seamus in book 2, Donatelli has a big change of heart. He was ruthless, rude, and yucky, but in this book he loses some of it which was a major letdown. Ms. McCarthy needs to stand by her characters and give them the gradual change, not the big leap that leaves you confused and wondering what the heck is going on.

Getting pregnant after a one night stand with a vampire was not part of Brittany Baldizzi's plan. Brittany hasn't seen the soon-to-be father, Corbin Jean Michel Atelier, since then but she is determined to find him and let him know that he is to be a father. Corbin is shocked by the news and wants to do the right thing... but will it destroy them both in the process?

Erin McCarthy's books are always perfect for when you are in the mood for some fun, lighthearted reading. BLED DRY is no exception, and I think it is actually the funniest one in the series. I love the way Ms. McCarthy addressed the whole issue of a vampire dealing with the idea of childbirth. Some of these moments between Brittany and Corbin were absolutely hysterical!

Most of the ongoing threads between the characters seen throughout HIGH STAKES and BIT THE JACKPOT are resolved, although there are still some tantalizing tidbits left to ponder. BLED DRY can easily be read as a stand alone, however, as all of the necessary back history is provided for the reader. I would suggest that the reading of these books be spaced out a bit and not read back to back as Erin McCarthy has a definite style that would be muted a bit if the books are read consecutively.

BLED DRY is an enjoyable and amusing tale that finally ends the drama between Corbin and Brittany. The issues between Ringo and Kelsey only get more complicated, and I look forward to seeing more of a resolution between them. Erin McCarthy puts her own stamp on vampire politics with BLED DRY and the Vegas Vampires series.

COURTESY OF CK2S KWIPS AND KRITIQUES