The Poison Eaters: And Other Stories by Holly Black
My rating: 4,5 of 5 stars
Poisonous girls whose kisses will kill. A fateful eating contest with the devil. Faeries who return to Ironside, searching for love. A junior prom turned bacchanalia. In twelve short stories, eerie and brimming with suspense and unexpected humor, Holly Black twists the fantastical creatures you thought you knew in ways you’ll never expect.
Warnings: injured pet, body horror, non-consensual sex, child abuse
This book is a collection of short stories from Holly Black’s other books like The Coldest Girl in Coldtown and Tithe, and has quite a lot of faerie-themed stories, but also some others with a werewolf theme or just plain fairy tale like. The tone of most tends towards creepy, and have the main characters battling with some supernatural force, like the protagonist of Reversal of Fortune having an eating contest with the Devil to save her dog, or the main character of The Coat of Stars trying to save his first love from faery enchantment. I love the premises and twists these stories had – they were interesting, in some cases unique, and were overall quite satisfying to read. Thematically, there is not much connecting them aside from most being urban fantasy, and having encounters with the supernatural. My favorites were The Coat of Stars, Paper Cuts Scissors, and A Reversal of Fortune! This anthology is also narrated by the author herself, and it is pretty good narration.
Is it diverse? gay main character in The Coat of Stars, queer main character in In Vodka Veritas, secondary queer characters in some stories
Also by Holly Black
Buy links
YA on my Mind 