Zombies vs. Unicorns by Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black

Title: Zombies vs. Unicorns
Author(s): Justine Larbalestier and Holly Black
ISBN: 9781416989530
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Page #: 415
Source: From my public library

Summary:
"Which is better, the zombie or the unicorn?
Justine Larbalestier says that zombies are our own walking deaths. Funny, grim, and terrifying, they cannot be escaped. Unicorns are sparkly and pastel and fart rainbows.

Holly Black says that unicorns are healers, arbiters of justice, and, occasionally, majestic man-killers. Zombies drool and shed and probably carry diseases.

Some of today's finest writers have chosen their side, creating dazzling stories about both creatures. So read on, and decide for yourself:
Are you Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?
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First Lines:

"Since the dawn of time one question has dominated all others: Zombies or Unicorns?
Well, okay, maybe not since the dawn of time, but definitely since February 2007. That was the day Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier began a heated exchange about the creatures' relative merits on Justine's blog."
From the Introduction
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Review:

I'm just gonna say this... I dunno which team I'm on. I'm on team zombie for books and being freaked out by them. I'm on team unicorn for real life excursions. I'd much rather meet a unicorn than something that wants to eat my brains. blech.

This book took me ages. It's over 400 pages, but I think it was more because they were all separate stories. Makes it easy to put the book down and forget about it because your not mid-story. But I'm glad I read all of them because it was a lot of fun.

I think my favorite part about this book was the banter between Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier. Before every story, they had a little back and forth talking about how much they hate/love the story coming up. It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed reading this collection of stories.

Unfortunately, there are tons of stories so I can't really go through each story like I generally do with short story books. But I'll just tell you that I really liked all of them. There weren't any that stuck out as not up to par - that's for sure. I think one of my favorites was the story "Purity Test" by Naomi Novik. All about a girl who helps a unicorn rescue some baby unicorns that had been captured by a wizard by pretending to be a virgin. Gold. Really. Not to mention snarky and fun.

I also was a huge fan of Carrie Ryan's "Bougainvillea." I think the reason I really fell for this one was because it was based in the world that Ryan has created with The Forest of Hands and Teeth. I honestly love those books and to see a different part of that world was wonderful.

Another of the stories I loved was Meg Cabot's "Princess Prettypants." Another unicorn story - set in real life... just wonderful. A girl uses her new pet unicorn to get back at the people in school. A lot of fun, really. I was also a fan of "Cold Hands" by Cassandra Clare. It's a not-so-hopeless-zombie-love-story. :). It really wonder how life would be if zombies existed and were accepted into everyday life. Very cool.

I plan on definitely recommending this book to people looking for great short stories. All of these authors are complete rock stars and I always look for more from each of them. I hope you all give this one a shot - or just read the team you're interested in. They're all easily marked for convenience. Zombie or Unicorn. Team Unicorn, I think? :)
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Other Blog Reviews:

The Book Smugglers
Stiletto Storytime
Dreaming in Books
Eve's Fan Garden
Reading Angel