Chris Krovatin

The Best Ghost Stories Ever is a great little primer of vintage ghost stories aimed at kids, who might not otherwise be exposed to fiction of this type. Even adults whose acquaintance with horror extends no further than Stephen King and Dean Koontz would benefit from reading this book cover to cover. From Poe ("The Masque of the Red Death") to Henry James ("The Romance of Certain Old Clothes"), from Charlotte Perkins Gilman ("The Yellow Wallpaper") to W.W. Jacobs ("The Monkey's Paw"), many show more of the acknowledged masters of the form are represented here. My only quibble is that there is not now, nor has there ever been, a ghost story author named Algernon Blackwell. "The Empty House"--a classic tale of ghostly phenomena witnessed by two astonished human observers--was, of course, written by Algernon Blackwood. An error of this magnitude (Blackwood wrote what is generally considered the single greatest horror story in the English language, "The Willows") ought to have been corrected by now. show less

METAL HEAD, NOT GOTH and Sam likes his life LOUD until a very different straightedge girl starts whispering to him. Melissa tempts Sammy away from drugs, alcohol, and tobacco but can she turn down the VOLUME?

The form of this book, with its pause, rewind, forward, fast-forward, and stop button icons screams loudly right along with the metal music language. The book explores the timeless dilemma of the balance between love, sex, and friendships in an entirely unique way. Especially important show more is the way this book grants permission to boys, even head-bangin’, mosh pittin’, metal-pierced boys, to feel good about sharing feelings with each other. Teens familiar with Slayer and other metal bands will enjoy feeling like guides. Heavy Metal and You should be required reading material for school personnel that have teen fans of this sort of music. Fortunately the book is written well enough to be purchased for sheer pleasure by any school that enjoys carefully crafted books and fine writing. This book is one of my top ten (of the more than 150 books read to date). show less

Summary: Sam has one thing in his life that he loves, and that is music specifically, heavy metal music. Then he meets and works up the balls to ask out this gorgeous girl named Melissa. Now he has two things in the world he loves. As the relationship progresses, Sam is in denial about any problems they have until Melissa meets his friends and she hates them. Sam hates Melissa’s friends, and Melissa hates going to metal shows. The two of them fight and have to decide what to do next. show more
Evaluation: This book is exciting because it shows what can happen when a relationship starts to define two people; who and what are compromised, and all the while these ideas are coming from an intelligent, masculine, teen perspective! show less

Definitely an upper high school book. A lot of swearing, underage drinking, sexual situations. Still, many of the interactions between characters are laugh out loud funny. The author does a good job of putting you inside Locke's head, showing you up close what sets off his violent episodes and how he deals with their aftermath.