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Synopsis
Kelly Link has lit up adult literary publishing—and Viking is honored to publish her first YA story collection. Through the lens of Link’s vivid imagination, nothing is what it seems, and everything deserves a second look. From the multiple award-winning “The Faery Handbag,” in which a teenager’s grandmother carries an entire village (or is it a man-eating dog?) in her handbag, to the near-future of “The Surfer,” whose narrator (a soccer-playing skeptic) waits with a planeload of refugees for the aliens to arrive, Link’s stories are funny and full of unexpected insights and skewed perspectives on the world. Her fans range from Michael Chabon to Peter Buck of R.E.M. to Holly Black of Spiderwick Chronicles fame. Now teens can have their world rocked, too!
Is Pretty Monsters appropriate for my child?
Suitable for most readers 13 and up.
This literary fantasy short story collection features surreal, thought-provoking tales with mild violence, unsettling imagery, and themes of grief and transformation. The sophisticated storytelling rewards attentive readers comfortable with ambiguity.
What to know going in
This book has moderate violence, mild sexual content, and mild language. Content notes include death, grief, and anxiety.
Who'll love this
Teens who love weird, whimsical stories that make you think will enjoy these strange tales about magical handbags, aliens, and things that aren't what they seem.