Title: Zombies vs. Unicorns

Edited by: Holly Black (Team Unicorn) and Justine Larbalestier (Team Zombie)

Publisher: McElderry Books 2010

Genre: YA Short Stories; Zombie; Paranormal

Pages: 415

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Support Your Local Library; 2011 - It Wasn't Me

It’s a question as old as time itself: Which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? This all-original, tongue-in-cheek anthology edited by Holly Black (Team Unicorn) and Justine Larbalestier (Team Zombie), makes strong arguments for both sides in the form ofspectacular short stories. Contributors include bestselling authors Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan.

Discover how unicorns use their powers for evil, why zombies aren’t always the enemy, and much more in this creative, laugh-out-loud collection that will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

This is definitely the best anthology of the year.  I love every single story included here.  Half were zombie stories (of course I would like them) and half were unicorn stories (kinda surprised I liked them).  It was really hard to narrow it down, but here are my four favorite stories:

1. "Bougeinvillea" by Carrie Ryan -- Set in the same world as The Forest of Hands and Teeth, this story was a classic post zombie apocalypse story.  Our heroine (can't think of another word, so I'm going with that) lives on an island in the Caribbean visited by pirates and traders.  Her father controls everything, but of course that never works right?  I loved how the story switched back and forth from the present and bits of her past.  We get a lot of character information in just a few pages.  And it's action packed and filled with zombie dread.  Perfect!

2. "The Children of the Revolution" by Maureen Johnson -- You ever read about one of those crazy cult religions and think "what's really going on there?"  Here's your story.  It has a crazy religion, an unsuspecting participant, a famous actress, a big house in the country, five little kids and a secret.  Can you guess what the secret is?  I guess before I even started reading, but that didn't make this story any else creepy.  Just how I like them.

3. "Princess Prettypants" by Meg Cabot -- Just what I would expect from the author of The Princess Diaries.  It was a fun little story with a pretty interesting unicorn.  And I'm not even a huge fan of unicorns.  It had the right blend of action, despair, and fantasy.

4. "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn" by Diana Peterfreund -- Uber fun story.  I had absolutely not clue where the author was taking us, and that's the fun part.  Definitely check this one out.

Overall, amazing collection of stories.  Although I'm still squarely in Team Zombie, I have a new found respect for Team Unicorn.  They can really pull in the creep factor when they want to.  Kudos to you!