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
of spectacular 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?
I have to admit that when I stumbled upon this audiobook in my local
library, I laughed at how incredibly cheesy it would be. I was picturing in my mind a story much like
Freddy vs. Jason or Alien vs. Predator, two urban legend beings fighting it out
in horrible movie plot fashion. Before choosing it as my next audiobook, I
researched it and found that it was developed as an anthology or short story
collection.
The two authors, Black and Larbalestier, have had this argument for
years about which creature is better. Through this anthology their goal is to
persuade the audience to choose which creature is dominant in literature. To do
this, they have brought on board several prominent YA authors to write stories
for each favorite creature.
After considering a collection of short stories as an audiobook, I
decided to borrow it (ah what the hell, let’s do it). After listening to the 10
discs and 11 stories, I have to say I rather enjoyed the stories. There were
stories of strange unicorn powers and stories of the ultimate post zombie-apocalypse. Even
each narrator performed excellently to the written story. My one complaint is that there was not a story where we had a battle of brain-eating zombies and magical unicorns.
I do think that this anthology should be considered with caution. There
were definite language (not something I particularly notice or care, even for
teens) and sexual situations. The sexual situations are what could be a concern
to most libraries. There was bestiality, sexual overture, and multiple
homosexual situations and though this would not bother adults, I know a lot of
parents who would not want their young teen reading or listening to these
situations. This one is clearly for high
schoolers.
To finish up this audiobook awesomeness, I think a great idea would be
to compare my favorites in a list here. Am I Team Zombie or Team Unicorn? I can't answer that just yet.
Unicorn Stories
- My favorite out of the unicorn stories was The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn by Diana Peterfreund. This story kept me engaged throughout my 40 minute car ride. A young teen adopts a baby unicorn, which in this universe eats humans (hmmm zombie-unicorn mix). Even though a unicorn killed her cousins, she begins to love her unicorn like a pet. It was cheesy, loveable, and all sorts of fun. I even appreciated Peterfreund’s explanation of the return of the unicorn through DNA cloning, otherwise known as the Jurassic Park method.
- The next favorite was Meg Cabot’s Princess Prettypants. I don’t even know why, in theory, this story is way too silly that I could have thought it interesting. Yet, I enjoyed it. The main character receives a gift unicorn on her birthday which leads to a night full of shenanigans (main character’s name is escaping me, crap!). She was relatable and I found her connection with her pet unicorn to be hilarious.
Zombie Stories
- Out of the zombie stories, I enjoyed Alaya Dawn Johnson’s Love Will Tear Us Apart the most. Love through the eyes of a zombie, which is practically Warm Bodies. I know parents would be afraid of the boy-boy relationship, but I thought it was endearing and beautifully written. Also, I want to know what happens to the couple after the escape from Jack’s dad.
- The other zombie story I enjoyed was The Children of the Revolution by Maureen Johnson. A young college girl works abroad in England on a farm that turns out to be a major slave labor operation. She is desperate to leave so she takes a nanny job for an actress with “odd” children. I for some reason could not help but laugh at this story. The actress’ “religion” clearly references Scientology and the writing at the end done in a zombie voice made me laugh.
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