Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales

Fifteen top voices in speculative fiction explore the intersection of fear and love in a haunting, at times hilarious, darkly imaginative volume.Predatory kraken that sing with — and for — their kin; band members and betrayed friends who happen to be demonic; harpies as likely to attract as repel. Welcome to a world where humans live side by side with monsters, from vampires both nostalgic and bumbling to an eight-legged alien who makes tea. Here you’ll find mercurial forms that burrow into warm fat, spectral boy toys, a Maori force of nature, a landform that claims lives, and an architect of hell on earth. Through these and a few monsters that defy categorization, some of today’s top young-adult authors explore ambition and sacrifice, loneliness and rage, love requited and avenged, and the boundless potential for connection, even across extreme borders.With monstrous stories byM. T. AndersonPaolo BacigalupiNathan BallingrudHolly BlackSarah Rees BrennanCassandra ClareNalo HopkinsonDylan HorrocksNik HouserAlice Sola KimKathleen JenningsJoshua LewisKelly LinkPatrick NessG. Carl Purcell

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Find a dark corner, light a candle, and wrap yourself in a blanket—these are stories that beg to be read in the dark. Between these pages readers will find entries by literary greats as well as new authors. Some of these tales are moving, others terrifying, but they all have one thing in common: monsters. In Paolo Bacigalupi's "Moriabe's Children," a girl hears the kraken that drowned her father calling her to come to them. A disobedient teen discovers that interstellar space pirates are more monstrous than the creatures she's been taught to fear in the amusing "Ten Rules for Being an Intergalactic Smuggler (The Successful Kind)" by Holly Black. In "This Whole Demoning Thing" by Patrick Ness, a young demon discovers how to be true to herself through music. And "Left Foot, Right" by Nalo Hopkinson is an eerily touching story about one girl's crippling grief and the monsters that guide her through to the other side. From vampires to ghosts and from strange creatures made of mercury to half-harpies, these beasts will broaden readers' perspectives. Teens will never think about monsters in the same way again. Long after the last page is turned, these tales will linger in readers' brains, in their closets, under their beds, and in the shadows.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

New York Times Book Review From vampires to ghosts and from strange creatures made of mercury to half-harpies, these beasts will broaden readers’ perspectives. Teens will never think about monsters in the same way again. Long after the last page is turned, these tales will linger in readers’ brains, in their closets, under their beds, and in the shadows.

“Quick Hill” is a tour de force of contemporary short fiction. It does, as well as anything I’ve read recently, what scary stories are supposed to do: It says what we feel, but cannot say.

About the Author

Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant edited the acclaimed anthology Steampunk! They also started a zine, founded an independent publishing house, own two letterpresses, and edited the fantasy half of The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror for five years. Kelly Link is the author of three acclaimed short story collections, and her award-winning stories have appeared in many anthologies. Gavin J. Grant has published numerous articles and short stories. They live in Northampton, Massachusetts, with their daughter, Ursula.

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