Title: Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales
Authors: Multiple
Publisher: Little, Brown BYR
Publish Date: October 22, 2013
Genre: YA
Pages: 356
Source: Publisher

The best writers of our generation retell the classics.

Literature is filled with sexy, deadly, and downright twisted tales. In this collection, award-winning and bestselling authors reimagine their favorite classic stories, ones that have inspired, awed, and enraged them; ones that have become ingrained in modern culture; and ones that have been too long overlooked. They take these stories and boil them down to their bones, and then reassemble them for a new generation of readers.

Today's most acclaimed authors use their own unique styles to rebuild these twelve timeless stories.

Anthologies are often what what I like to think of as a mixed blessing. They give readers a little bit of everything they could ever want and, sometimes, a little more than they might have wanted. They give us a lot of amazing authors, but they don't always give us enough of our favourites. Nevertheless, anthologies are priceless, as I'm always amazed just how many authors there are with different mindsets, different voices, different narratives and, truly, different perspectives on storytelling. Rags & Bones was certainly no exception, offering readers retellings of stories such as "Sleeping Beauty," "Rumplestiltskin" and many more. 

It is difficult to review an anthology as a whole because often the anthology as a whole doesn't quite measure up to the sum of its parts. However, if you take each story as its own entity within this grand master package, you're certain to be mesmerized. Rags & Bones gives us 12 dazzling tales that are reimagined through some of the most incredible minds of our generation. Neil Gaiman, Kami Garcia, Holly Black and a host of other authors lend us their literary prowess and send us into a whirlwind of adventure as we leap from one story to the next with excitement.

A true standout for me would have to be Neil Gaiman's take on Sleeping Beauty or, re-named, "The Sleeper and the Spindle." This rich story blurs the lines between fairy tales, letting other known princesses like Snow White come to the aid of the damsel in distress. It's rich, it's vivid, it's oddly empowering and it offers us a glimpse into this world that is so different than we might have imagined, but so very plausible, too, if you think about it. Rick Yancey offers us "When First We Were Gods," a new take on Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic "The Birth-Mark." This disconcerting dystopian tale is unsettling and eerie in a world where the rich can download their souls and place it into a new body.

Carrie Ryan's version of "The Machine Stops" is equally disconcerting, playing largely upon man's dependence upon technology. Her unique and accessible voice brings the world alive though, inviting you in with tantalizing detail and luring us into a wonderful, technological trap. The list goes on. Each story is vivid with detail, and it was delightful to gain a new sort of insight into the authors' worlds and how they see such classics being told.

While anthologies usually don't work for me, Rags & Bones was really very enjoyable. Though, at times, I found the pace a bit frantic and the stories almost a bit too short for my liking, they whetted my literary appetite and kept me intrigued throughout. If you're looking for an anthology that will come alive for you, I highly recommend this. I give it a 4 out of 5, and this is suitable for both YA and NA audiences.

I received this book free of charge from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.

Title: The Forest of Hands and Teeth
Author: Carrie Ryan
Publisher: Delacorte
Published: March 10, 2009
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Pages: 308
Source: Personal Copy

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her.

She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Mary lives in a world that's sheltered and hidden, governed by the laws of the Sisterhood for her own protection. The Forest of Hands and Teeth lies beyond the walls of her village, and it's for her own safety that she lives in the world in which she lives. But when her Mother is lost to the Forest, Mary finds the desire to learn what is beyond the walls and in the depths of the Forest. Her life takes an unexpected turn, leading her to the ultimate decision of with whom she stands in the end.

I'm late to the party reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth, but I hate reading books when the hype is high and everyone seems to love them. I'm almost always disappointed. That said, I was sold on the fact that it's a zombie book, and I loved the fact that it stayed true to that. Rather than romanticizing the concept of zombies, author Carrie Ryan spun a haunting tale that drew from the sadistic nature of zombies and fueled the heartfelt tale of Mary's life. The prose was powerful and real, lending an element of truth to an otherwise paranormal tale.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth has this rich sort of darkness coursing through it, and the environment in which Mary lives is extremely tangible. I loved how deep and haunting the portrayal of the Unconsecrated was because it put me in Mary's shoes and let me feel the extent of her fear. All that aside though, I will say that (at times) Mary annoyed me. I felt that her voice was grating, and while I felt her story and shared in her pain, joy and turmoil, her emotions were almost too overdone for my taste at times. However, that one gripe was tempered by the overall power of The Forest of Hands and Teeth.

When all is said and done, I'm a big fan of The Forest of Hands and Teeth. Rich and powerful, creepy but exhilarating, it was a page-turner until the very end. I give it a strong 4 out of 5, and I'd recommend it to all fans of the YA genre, especially those who enjoy paranormal and fantasy tales, as well as those who enjoy zombies.