Zombies vs. Unicorns

Zombies vs. Unicorns edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

published by Margaret K. McElderry, 2010

432 pages

approximate age range: 13+

Ah, the age old question -- which does the esteemed reader prefer: staggering, brain devouring zombies, or magical, majestic unicorns? Been there, done that? Okay, what about pitiful, pining zombies longing for love or ferocious, man-eating unicorns menacing society? In this collection of short stories gathered by well-known YA authors Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier, readers may find that it's hard to choose sides in the zombie vs. unicorn debate as stereotypes of each are shattered and both are reinvented in very innovative and, at times, rather humorous ways. Garth Nix, Libba Bray, Scott Westefeld, Carrie Ryan, Meg Cabot, and many more popular teen authors toss their hats into the ring, forming teams that dream up tall tales about their favorite creature and face off for the reader's affection. Each story is thoughtfully labeled with a picture of either a zombie or a unicorn so any readers that are adamant about not reading stories from the competition can easily avoid them. In addition, excerpts of an ongoing snippy, tongue-in-cheek conversation between Black (team unicorn) and Larbalestier (team zombie) on the positives and negatives of each prefaces every story and sets the quirky, off-the-wall tone of the collection.

Zombies vs. Unicorns is an easy sell to teens as it's a short story collection with a little bit of everything that will appeal to a wide range of readers and fans of different genres and authors. There are hilarious stories, gory stories, thoughtful stories, romantic stories, post-apocalyptic stories, and so on -- all of which give a fresh, worthwhile look at what one may feel like are two over-examined genres. Every writer is on top of his or her game and it's clear that they had fun with these short fictions that are some of the most creative and clever readers will come across. Narrative voices vary wildly from a runway girl living on the streets, to a princess, to a teenage cop, to a zombie himself. In addition, a couple of stories have gay and lesbian protagonists whose sexual orientation is portrayed in a positive way and deftly interwoven with the supernatural plots. Even so, though Zombies vs. Unicorns is a fun collection with a lot to love, beware when recommending it to younger or more sensitive readers as many of the stories contain mature content such as profanity, teenage sexuality, violent imagery, and, in one instance, alluded-to bestiality.

The official book trailer is appropriately hilarious:

Read-alike suggestions:

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

The Gates by John Connolly

White Cat by Holly Black

Liar by Justine Larbalestier

Going Bovine by Libba Bray

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maburry

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle