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Title: Vacations from Hell
Score:
Author: Libba Bray
Rating: Not available
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Review of Vacations from Hell

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Comments for Vacations from Hell

• Posted on 2009-09-15
  Brilliant.
  
  Initially, the reason I looked into reading this book was becaus I am a fan of the Mortal Instruments series - I loved Cassandra Clare's book series and I couldn't resist reading something she worked on.
  
  What was interesting was also that I was aware of a one of the other authors from reading her previous works - such as Libba Bray (I adored her trilogy, beginning with A Great and Terrible Beauty).
  
  In reading this collection of short stories, I've developed an interest in the other authors involved, as each story was pure brilliance.
  
  I really recommend it for anyone who is a fan of ANY of the authors who worked on this novel - Libba Bray, Cassandra Clare, Claudia Gray, Maureen Johnson, and Sarah Mlynowski - as each author brings a new and interesting twist to a vacation that goes wrong when the supernatural intervene. It's a great way for anyone who is a fan of any of the aforementioned authors to get a chance to see the work of some authors who write in a similiar genre to the one you enjoy.
  
  The book is rather short compared to most fantasy novels out these days - it's just a collection of short stories after all - and I was able to read the entire thing in one sitting, but it's a great collaboration and I recommend it strongly.
  
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• Posted on 2009-09-11
  Courtesy of Teens Read Too
  
  Did you ever think you had the worst possible vacation ever? Well, pick up VACATIONS FROM HELL and realize that what you think was horrible is just icing on the cake.
  
  Five of today's most popular paranormal young adult authors combine their talents in this collection of short stories. This is a compilation that is sure to appeal to everyone. I will admit at the beginning that I've only read works by Sarah Mlynowski and Maureen Johnson in the past, but will definitely be looking forward to reading works by the other three authors now.
  
  This collection has something for everyone. For fans of The Blair Witch Project, check out Nowhere is Safe by Libba Bray. Four thrill-seeking teenagers on a trip around Europe stumble across scary things in a dark and dangerous forest. For anyone that hated that other girl for one reason or another and wanted to get even, check out I Don't Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray. If you like those twisted ghost stories that are handed down from person to person, then The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson is for you. Got a hankering for a bit of dark witchcraft? The Mirror House will make you think twice about looking in mirrors again. And my personal favorite was Cruisin' by Sarah Mlynowski. It was one of those stories where I totally didn't expect the ending. You have to love when a story can do that!
  
  The stories are all well-written and blend together perfectly. Each story is the perfect length to sit down and read in a sitting. After reading VACATIONS FROM HELL you will never again complain of a bad holiday!
  
  Reviewed by: Jaglvr
  
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• Posted on 2009-07-28
  Funny, creepy, and entertaining!
  
  In HarperTeen's latest "Hell" anthology, bestselling authors have created five smart, mysterious, and downright creepy stories. Vampires stalk a cruise ship in Sarah Mlyowski's Cruisin', and two young witches get tangled in a powerful spell in I Don't Like Your Girlfriend by Claudia Gray. The Law of Suspects by Maureen Johnson is an intense story about a powerful myth, and Cassandra Clare will make you think twice about island hospitality in The Mirror House. Finally, Libba Bray wraps up the anthology with Nowhere is Safe, a freaky story about a secluded village in Europe with some frightening old traditions.
  
  Vacations from Hell is an absorbing and quick read, and the stories within are surprising, scary, and don't always end very happily. Only one seems to feel as if it would have benefitted from being turned into a novel, but it isn't very bothersome. This is a great read for those reluctant readers who find it challenging to get into a good book; the short stories are every bit as entertaining at 50 pages as a full length novel. The stories are as diverse as their authors, and they're all the perfect length for a travel read...or if you are easily scared, perhaps not...
  
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• Posted on 2009-07-22
  The Fantastical Stories Will Appeal to Fans with their Suspense and Surprises
  
  VACATIONS FROM HELL is a win-win. Popular authors with dark and twisting fantasy stories have produced a collection that benefits College Summit, a nonprofit organization that helps students, especially from low-income areas, go to college. This is the latest in a series of anthologies, which include PROM NIGHTS FROM HELL and LOVE IS HELL, to support that cause.
  
  Sarah Mlynowski, author of the Magic in Manhattan series, opens the book with "Crusin,'" the story of Liz and Kristin on a cruise. Kristin is determined to lose her virginity and envies the ease with which her friend and roomie picks up dates so quickly. Liz is always disappearing with hot guys or off for meetings. They meet fun girl Hailey and enjoy food, sun and dancing on the ship while Kristin keeps choosing the wrong guys. Rumors abound about people who have recently gone missing on cruises and the supernatural creatures that may have caused those disappearances. By the end of the cruise, readers will find multiple layers in the quests of the girls in this mysterious and very surprising story.
  
  EVERNIGHT author Claudia Gray takes readers to the Outer Banks for a gathering of witches. Cecily Harper's mother has been training her for her powers for years in a coven at home, but each summer their family gets together with her mother's college friends. The fathers and brothers are told nothing, and sent to sporting events and activities. All the men think it's just a vacation where the female friends gather. But Cecily is no friend of Kathleen Pruitt. Kathleen is about her age and each year finds some way to torture Cecily. This year Kathleen brings a boyfriend who is gorgeous, interested in being a chef like Cecily, and seems to be the only male she's ever met who really gets her. What does he see in a brat like Kathleen? Kathleen avoids the women's witch trainings, and spends her time hanging on the ever-doting Scott. Cecily begins to think it is all too good to be true. Humor and powers mix here to let both girls know that they need to be careful what they wish for. Clare taps into the dreaded family friend many parents of teens want them to like and the claustrophobic family vacation, and mixes it with powers and imagination. Fantasy readers will enjoy this tale and its justice.
  
  Maureen Johnson, author of 13 LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES and other well-known young adult dramatic novels, sends Charlotte and Marylou to rural France for their vacation gone wrong in "The Law of Suspects." Charlie, as Charlotte is known, is trying to stop her lifelong habit of telling whoppers. So what if she likes to exaggerate? Her sister is now driving her crazy with her intro Psychology book, trying to diagnose all of Charlie's supposed neuroses. Through a series of odd occurrences, the girls find themselves in a cabin with no neighbors in sight and only a man who comes occasionally with food for company. Charlie breaks her cabin fever with a walk, only to find a strange man in a cabin who tells her horrific tales of the Revolution. Then she meets handsome Gerard, who warns her about Henri, the man in the cabin, telling her that people who heard the story will be unable to stop performing violent acts. He even shows her a severed hand found in Henri's garden. Things happen very quickly after that as Marylou and Charlie try to sort out who is telling the truth here while running for their lives. This one combines history, horror and suspense for a chilling page turner.
  
  Cassandra Clare, author of CITY OF BONES and other notable young adult fantasies, brings evil to Jamaica in "The Mirror House." Violet's mother just married Phillip, and Violet feels anything but brotherly about her new stepbrother Evan. It doesn't help that she has to watch her mother be mistreated by Phillip and hurt every day in increasingly bad injuries. Evan escapes his confusing feelings for Violet and his father's temper by helping neighbor Anne Palmer around her house. Some native people warn Violet that Anne is evil and does things to young men in her clutches, but Evan won't listen. So while her mother is beaten, Evan becomes ghostlike and weaker every day. Violet finds some magic to help both of the people she loves.
  
  Finally, A GREAT AND TERRIBLE BEAUTY author Libba Bray reminds readers that "Nowhere is Safe" in this deliciously haunting story of four bored friends going through Europe after high school graduation. Poe Yamamoto doesn't know why in particular he and his friends decided to stop in the European town of Necuratul, but their rumored history of evil rituals and upcoming village festival on August 13th seemed too weird to ignore. They meet other young people there who grew up in the town, and they all have fun drinking and swapping stories. Poe does wonder about the children he observes peeking from the forest, and why other people don't seem to see them. Necuratul is going to be erased by a power plant soon, and Poe and his friends learn just how desperate some natives are to keep it.
  
  While set with varied creatures and in different time periods, these fantastical stories will appeal to fans with their suspense and surprises.
  
  --- Reviewed by Amy Alessio
  
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• Posted on 2009-07-07
  Great YA fantasy/horror! 4.5 stars
  
  Vacations from Hell is the third in a series of YA fantasy and horror anthologies. With stories by such YA bestsellers as Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, and Libba Bray, this most recent installment of the Hell series does not disappoint. All of the stories are interesting and well written, though Libba Bray's is by far the best of the group. They range from heart-warming and inspired to incredibly chilling and horrific. Of the three anthologies, this one falls most squarely into the horror category, with less romance than the others had led me to expect. So if you're looking for paranormal romance, I'd check out the Love is Hell anthology first. Whatever Vacations from Hell lacks in steamy make-outs though, it more than makes up for in grade-A horror and general creepiness. There is some real top-notch YA fantasy happening here, with vampires, and witches, and Satan (oh my!). My advice? Definitely check it out.
  
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