Prom Nights from Hell

ok well this book had interesting stories! I like the last two better than all of them. Meg Cabot starts off the collection with THE EXTERMINATOR'S DAUGHTER. When Mary shows up at Swig, an exclusive VIP club in Manhattan, it's not to socialize. She's on a mission to take out Sebastian Drake -- and by take out, I mean kill him with a crossbow. But when Adam, a fellow student at Saint Eligius, takes his own potshots at the dreaded Sebastian, things get a lot more interesting. this one was meeeh. not so interesting but not so boring. Lauren Myracle, the author of THE CORSAGE, has written what is probably the saddest, and creepiest, story of the bunch. All Frankie want is for her best guy friend, Will, to ask her to prom. To accomplish that goal, she drags Will and her other best friend, Yun Sun, to visit Madame Zanzibar, a fortune-teller. She's sure that Madame Z will proclaim that Will is her one true love, and that will be that. But the psychic is short on information, but does end up grudgingly handing over to Frankie a dried up old corsage, which she says will grant her three wishes. Over the next couple of days, however, Frankie will come to realize that she'll have to make some requests that she never in her wildest dreams would have thought of making. Now this book, reminded me about the Monkey's paw. MADISON AVERY AND THE DIM REAPER by Kim Harrison is the longest story in the group, and the most involved. When Madison ends up at the costume prom with a dud date, she's surprised to find one guy who can pick up the slack. Seth isn't like anyone she's ever met before. Unfortunately, before too long she'll find out why that is, and the picture it paints isn't pretty. There are deaths, white reapers, black reapers, grim reapers, and odd amulets. Michele Jaffe's story, KISS AND TELL, was by far my favorite. Miranda has a secret. Not only is she a student and a part-time driver/chaeffeur, but she also fights crime in her spare time. It turns out Miranda has special abilities that allow her to do things most regular teens can't do -- like, say, knock over a lamppost just by leaning on it. This particular day turns out to be stranger than the norm, though, when she picks up young Sibby Cumean, a strange girl who has an even stranger habit of kissing every boy she can find. When weird things start happening, Miranda's day turns into an action-adventure movie beyond anything she could have expected. I LOVED this story, and I HAVE to read more about Miranda and Sibby in the future! They are an awesome couple! Last but not least is HELL ON EARTH by Stephenie Meyer. This is the story of Sheba, a demon on earth who loves bringing misery to others. Her plan is working pretty well, too, because nearly everyone at the prom is having a downright horrible time. Everyone, that is, except for Gabe, who seems not just happy but serene. By the time Sheba can figure out what's happening, it's too late, and prom just might end up having a happy ending after all.  and obviousely all these stories happen in prom. PROM NIGHTS FROM HELL is a great paranormal anthology that teens and adults alike will enjoy.

The Exterminator's Daughter by Meg Cabot: —/5 stars The Corsage by Lauren Myracle: —/5 stars Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper by Kim Harrison: —/5 stars Kiss and tell by Michele Jaffe: —/5 stars Hell on Earth by Stephenie Meyer: —/5 stars

The one star was for Lauren Myracle. Her story was freaky.

Oh god, okay. So this book had a bit of everything, I guess. Let's start with an individual review and then give it a global appreciation. We start with Meg Cabot's "The Exterminator's Daughter". I give this one 2 stars. It was a mess. The romance was rushed. One minute they don't even care that they're in the same room, the next they're all "oh, I always found them cute/interesting/whatever" and sparks fly. I didn't really enjoy this one. Lauren Myracle's "The Corsage" had an interesting plot forming, getting the right amount of creepy atmosphere in there, but then the main character makes such a stupid decision in the end, the whole thing flat-lined for me. I was so put off by that ending... I give it 2.5 stars. "Maddison Avery and the Dim Reaper" by Kim Harrison was such a compelling story. I was really enjoying the whole "more Grim Reapers than just your average Grim Reaper" idea and was sad to see it end. Reading this felt a lot like reading the first five chapters of a book for free and then having to buy the whole thing to continue. Except in this case, there's nothing to continue. At least not that I know of, which is sad, because I really wanted to see where this was going. For that feeling of incompleteness, I'm giving this one 3.5 stars. Michele Jaffe's "Kiss and Tell" was my favorite of the bunch. I felt like it was the only story with a clear beginning, middle and end structure. I also liked the little "prologue" to wet your appetite. I really enjoyed this one. I think it was wrapped up really nicely and on a positive note. 4 stars for this one. As for the last one, "Hell on Earth" by Stephenie Meyer, I have to admit I was a bit confused by some of the things happening and all the POV changes without any indication of it. It wasn't as forced and rushed as the first one, I guess, so I'm giving it 3 stars. So I guess, overall, this gets 3 stars.