*I received a free copy of this book, with thanks to the author, Brigids Gate Press and Zoé of Zooloo's Book Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
Blurb: "Clever and pithy children's classics turned upside-down, WINK is a true delight."—Evelyn Skye, New York Times bestselling author of Damsel
Fifteen young adult contemporary fantasy and science fiction tales that wink at classic works of children's literature.
Featuring stories by: James Aquilone, Kendare Blake, Leah Cypess, Stacia Deutsch, David Gerrold, Tara Gilboy, Henry Herz, Nancy Holder, Alethea Kontis, Jonathan Maberry, Seanan McGuire, Wulf Moon, Henry Neff, Alex Shvartsman, Maggie Stiefvater.
This anthology has an absolutely brilliant hook! Fifteen young adult stories that are inspired by and/or pay homage to works of classic children's literature, ranging from Black Beauty and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland to The Velveteen Rabbit and The Rainbow Fish.
There is a mixture of sci-fi, fantasy and even a little horror and romance, as each story has its own unique style and voice. Not a single one simply replicates the source material, instead each shaping something new with just a wink to the familiar.
My personal favourite story was Special by Seanan McGuire which is a gruesome exploration of the mental gymnastics someone can achieve when they need to justify their desired actions and a reminder of why the 'share everything' ethos as presented in The Rainbow Fish has something of a fatal flaw. And I also particularly enjoyed State of Mind by Maggie Stiefvater and Interloper by Henry Herz - two different perspectives on the tale of a pushy 'House Sitter' who gets a hard lesson in boundaries.
Honestly, though, there isn't a single story in this collection that I didn't enjoy reading. Some are creepy, some are sweet or surreal, but all of them are clever and compelling. And while they are definitely too dark in tone and content to be children's stories any more, they form a Treasury of Fairytales for Young and Not-So-Young Adults that I could read over and over again!
Follow the Shattered-Brick Road.
That's what the tree told me.
Or tree fairy thingie. No idea what I'm supposed to call it. Growing up in Florida has its own weird stuff, sure. There are anacondas in the Everglades now. That's scary. But fairy ladies talking to you about destiny and all of that kind of thing is new.
- Jonathan Maberry in 'Follow the Shattered-Brick Road' from Wink
About the editor
Henry Herz's short stories will/have appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Weird Tales, Pseudopod, Metastellar, Highlights for Children, Ladybug Magazine, and anthologies from Albert Whitman & Co., Blackstone Publishing, Brigid's Gate Press, Air and Nothingness Press, Baen Books, Titan Books, Monstrous Books, and elsewhere. He's written twelve picture books, including the acclaimed I Am Smoke.
In addition to WINK, Henry edited/co-edited the following anthologies: Beyond the Pale (2014) from Birch Tree Publishing, Coming of Age (2022) from Albert Whitman & Co., The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie (2023) from Blackstone Publishing, The Festival of Lights (2024) from Albert Whitman & Co., and Combat Monsters: Untold Tales of World War II (2025) from Blackstone Publishing. Henry can be found at: www.henryherz.com
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Don't forget to check out the other blog stops on the tour for more great reviews and content (see the poster below for details)!
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