Monday, May 18, 2009

All Hallow's Eve

All Hallow's Eve: 13 Stories for Halloween by Vivian Vande Velde

Hardcover: 240 pages
Publisher: Harcourt
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0152055762
ISBN-13: 978-0152055769
"Witches are dancing
The Dead are walking
Vampires are feeding
For tonight is All Hallow's Eve!"

I am a big fan of young adult books, but I had not read any of Velde's work until her most recent release, Stolen. Stolen was such a riveting book, I've been on a quest to read more of Velde's books.

I won't give a synopsis of all 13 stories - although they were all good - but I will highlight my favorites.

"Cemetery Field Trip" - in this creepy story, a class field trip to a 1800s cemetery leads to mortal danger and a ghostly rescue for one 9th grade girl. Just when I thought ghosts were the thing to worry about, Velde switches gears to the unexpected.

"Best Friends" - this story has an unusual twist told in the narrative of 2 young girls. Nikki is a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who befriends a classmate and claims they are "best friends forever." Aimee Ann is a spoiled little rich girl, forced by her parents to be friends with Nikki. Great ending for a scary story.

"Pretending" - when the Halloween trick of an entire family portraying vampires goes awry, an unlucky boy meets another fate. I thought I knew who this one would end, but I was wrong.

"Marian" - when a young man hits a speed bump after dropping off his girlfriend, he is surprised to learn his old car has a GPS. "Marian" or Mobile And Regional Interactive Assisted Navigation, is not your average GPS - she is a spector looking for revenge.

If you are a hardcore horror fan, then this book will be too tame for reading. But if you have children or young adults who love reading scary stories, then All Hallow's Eve should fit the bill.

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