Vacations from Hell

Paranormal YA stories, mostly with a romance component and even more predominantly with a twist that ranges from easy to see coming (Mlynowski) to pretty darn creepy (Clare, at least in one line at the end of the otherwise conventional “girl rescues boy from monster” story that threatens to upend the story altogether). Quick and quirky enough to deserve a read, if this is the kind of thing you like. ( )

I love these anthologies. I can see which authors I'll read.

This was the first book I read in the hell anthology series, and I enjoyed it so much that I ended up reading the rest of the series. None of them were able to top this one. All five stories were interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. I brought this book on vacation with me and it was a great choice because I would read one story, then put it down and pick it up to read another story when I had some more free time. You're able to get a small taste of each author in these stories, and its a great way to discover new authors.

Sarah Mlynowski's story is about two girls on a cruise ship enjoying the boys all around them, but then rumors start to surface about people going missing on cruise ships and you start to wonder if more is going on than meets the eye. Great surprise ending that I didn't suspect at all. I started reading Sarah's books because I liked this story so much. Glad I found a new favorite author!

Claudia Gray's story is about a girl named Cecily who joins her family for an annual gathering of witches, which are her mom's friends from college and their families. Of course the men know nothing and think it's just a usual get together, but the women spend their time learning spells and teaching magic to their daughters. Unfortunately, Cecily has to put up with Kathleen who goes out of her way to torture Cecily. This year Kathleen brings her boyfriend, who Cecily starts to fall for and wonders how he could ever be interested in someone like Kathleen. Great twist ending and everything makes sense in the end. My favorite story in the anthology!

Maureen Johnson's story freaked me out. That's all i really need to say about that.

In Cassandra Clare's story, Violet is on vacation with her mom, and her new stepdad and stepbrother. She doesn't get along with her stepdad and she gets along too well with her stepbrother. Her stepbrother tries to get away from it all by helping Anne, a nearby neighbor, but some natives claim the lady is evil, will Violet be able to save her brother in time? Ended up reading the mortal instruments series after this and I'm hooked now!

Libba Bray's story is about friends vacationing in Europe. On a whim, they decide to head to a small town called Necuratul for a festival. They don't realize what they are getting into until its too late. Really didn't want this story to end. I hope she writes something similar to this in the future.

A good collection of short stories from some great YA authors. A great way to find some new reading material. The good thing is not one of these stories is 'set' in the world created by these authors in their Series writing. ( )

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Did you ever think you had the worst possible vacation ever? Well, pick up VACATIONS FROM HELL and realize that what you think was horrible is just icing on the cake.

Five of today's most popular paranormal young adult authors combine their talents in this collection of short stories. This is a compilation that is sure to appeal to everyone. I will admit at the beginning that I've only read works by Sarah Mlynowski and Maureen Johnson in the past, but will definitely be looking forward to reading works by the other three authors now.

This collection has something for everyone. For fans of The Blair Witch Project, check out Nowhere is Safe by Libba Bray. Four thrill-seeking teenagers on a trip around Europe stumble across scary things in a dark and dangerous forest. For anyone that hated that other girl for one reason or another and wanted to get even, check out I Don't Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray. If you like those twisted ghost stories that are handed down from person to person, then The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson is for you. Got a hankering for a bit of dark witchcraft? The Mirror House will make you think twice about looking in mirrors again. And my personal favorite was Cruisin' by Sarah Mlynowski. It was one of those stories where I totally didn't expect the ending. You have to love when a story can do that!

The stories are all well-written and blend together perfectly. Each story is the perfect length to sit down and read in a sitting. After reading VACATIONS FROM HELL you will never again complain of a bad holiday! ( )