markwillnevercry's review against another edition
1.5
It is always upsetting to understand, that you are just dissapointed with the book, when you are finished with it, but that is exactly what happened. I expected something really good from this highly experimental anthology, but in the end it was just boring. Many of the authors wrote out just an idea of the story, some didn't care about the half minute limit at all, other's just did not write anything interesting. There were, of course, some interesting stories, but there were just a couple of them and they were not able to really save this anthology.
Story by story (without deadpan, there is no page number nor author):
Story by story (without deadpan, there is no page number nor author):
- “Something You Ought to Know” by Lemony Snicket - Okay, this was a pretty strong beginning. These are truly horror stories for kids, because, I mean, a dude who is in your room while you sleep. This is very well done tho, but I did not get scared. 4/5
- “The Chicken or the Egg” by Jerry Spinelli - Why would the Egg bleed yellow? Not scared. 2/5
- “In Hiding” by Kenneth Oppel - Yo, it is like the story from the perspective of the monster under the bed. Still not scared. 4.75/5
- “The Old Man in the Picture” by Richard Sala - Pretty cool idea. 3.75/5
- “The Babysitter” by Erin Hunter - Creepy. *like in creepy paper* 4/5
- “Grand Entrance” by James Patterson - ??? Birth as something terrifying? Hell yeah. 4.5/5
- “Halloween Mask” by Sonya Sones - The masks are always evil. 4/5
- “Tenton” by Tom Genrich & Michele Perry - This one was just great. 5/5
- “Nanny” by Angela Johnson - The vibe of "The Nesting Place” by E Carroll. 4.5/5
- “The Legend of Alexandra & Rose” by Jon Klassen - This one was also great. 5/5
- “What’s Coming” by Arthur Slade - Bad impression of teenage speech, but that ain't a punishable sin. 3/5
- “An Easy Gig” by M. T. Anderson - Do not do child abuse without knowing who to blame for it. 4/5
- “Mr. Black” by Yvonne Prinz - Neighbours just be like that. 3.75/5
- “The Foot Dagger” by M. E. Kerr - Bro, just be nicer to your kids. 3.5/5
- “Trick” by Adam Rex - Do crimes, be nice. 3/5
- “Hank” by Dean Lorey - I think this author just does not like dogs. 3.5/5
- “One of a Kind” by Sarah Weeks - Bro, that is just a good deal on a ring, go propose to Gloria. 4/5
- “A Walk Too Far” by Gloria Whelan - Girly, never go into someone’s house, when you do not know them and are alone. 3.75/5
- “A Very Short Story” by Holly Black - That is a very good way to avoid being hurt by a ghost. 3.75/5
- “Deep Six” by Faye Kellerman - Ah yes, that is the way every argument between girls unfolds. 3.5/5
- “The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, A Novel as Told by Lisa Brown in Fewer than 30 seconds” - The Turn of the Screw speedrun. Altho you can probably explain quite a couple of books this way. Loved the art style. 4/5
- “The Attack of the Flying Mustaches” by Pseudonymous Bosch - That just be body hair. 3.75/5
- “Takowanda” by Nadia Aguiar - So this is devil island? Honestly, “something in the woods is killing the children” happens so often, it is kinda neat to see something familiar. 4.25/5
- “Heart Stopper” by Sienna Mercer - Kinda wish they just processed grief. 2.5/5
- “Up to My Elbow” by Jack Gantos - And this is why we don't make rashed choices when it's about our body. 3/5
- “Four Gleams in the Moonlight” by Stephen Marche - This is the second story that tells us not to get into people's houses, when they seem okay and we need help. 3.25/5
- “The Goblin Book” by Brad Meltzer - This one is kinda interactive, which makes it stand out, but it is just trying to scare the reader without any further thought. And how will the book work for you? 2.75/5
- “Worms” by Lane Smith - We are the worms, maybe that could have been a more creepy continuation. 3/5
- “The Dare” by Carol Gorman - Bro was probably hiding. 3/5
- “The Ballad of John Grepsy” by David Rich - Is this how landowners get you out of their land? 2.75/5
- “Soup” by Jenny Nimmo - Me when there's lamb in soup. 2.5/5
- “The Creeping Hand” by Margaret Atwood - Sometimes, Margaret Atwood just gives up on writing a story and is like "Something could be done about this". 2.5/5
- “Wet Sand, Little Teeth” by Mariko Tamaki - Truly a mystery hole. 3/5
- “A Thousand Faces” by Brian Selznick - This is just a drawing? 2/5
- “Chocolate Cake” by Francine Prose - We got the classic "my parents are not my parents". 2/5
- “At the Water’s Edge” by Ayelet Waldman - Creepy children are creepy. 2.5/5
- “My Worst Nightmare” by R. L. Stine - This one was actually surprising? 4.5/5
- “The Beast Outside” by Adele Griffin - Be nice to your toys, the creepy edition. 2.75/5
- “Unannounced” by Aliza Kellerman - Girly just had a fever, probably. 4/5
- “Krüger’s Sausage Haus” by Mark Crilley - It's never the meat that it says on the package. Very well drawn. 4/5
- “There’s Something Under the Bed” by Allan Stratton - Now we have one more thing that dads do that makes them disappear . 3.5/5
- “Cat’s Paw” by Sarah L. Thomson - Killer cat. 3.75/5
- “Horrorku” by Katherine Applegate - This is when the title is better than the story. 1/5
- “The Itch” by Avi - Werewolf story! 2.5/5
- “The New Me: A Pantoum” by Gail Carson Levine - Okay? 0.5/5
- “Always Eleven” by David Stahler Jr. - I dunno, it was okay? Not really that scary, sounds like just beginning of the story. 1/5
- “Aloft” by Carson Ellis - Just a dude flying. 0.5/5
- “Skittering” by Tui T. Sutherland - If only her father walked in. 3/5
- “Stuck in the Middle” by Abi Slone - Basement. 2.5/5
- “All Fingers and Thumbs!” by Joseph Delaney - Yooo, a survival story, but just the beginning of it. 2.75/5
- “Don’t Wet the Bed” by Alan Gratz - Why didn't he go to toilet, when his father had the light on? 2/5
- “The Final Word” illustrated by Brett Helquist, story by Josh Greenhut - I thought it said that from the start? 1.75/5
- “The Shadow” by Neil Gaiman - Okay? 0.75/5
- “A Day at the Lake” by Lesley Livingston - Don't go water skiing at night? 1/5
- “Whispered” by Jon Scieszka - This was just boring? 1/5
- “A Disturbing Limerick” found & envisioned by Vladimir Radunsky - This is not horror, not even close. 0.5/5
- “Through the Veil” by Alison McGhee - Interesting idea, okay execution. 2.5/5
- “The Rash” by Daniel Ehrenhaft - And no one during the class tell anything? Cool story tho. 3/5
- “Where Nightmares Walk” by Melissa Marr - Welcome to disabilities being a living nightmare when you first hear about it. 2.25/5
- “On a Tuesday During That Time of Year” by Chris Rashka - The spook came a bit too late, hope he finds his socks tho. 2.25/5
- “Death Rides a Pink Bicycle” by Stacey Godenir - Just a dude being annoyed with his sister until he loses her and suddenly becomes a good brother, but fails. 2/5
- “I’m Not Afraid” by Dan Gutman - Stop walking into empty houses. 2/5
- “The Doll” by Alice Kuipers - Ah yes, the evil stepmother. 3.5/5
- “Easy Over” by Frank Viva -? Okay? 0.5/5“Them” by Libba Bray - This was a good one. 4.75/5
- "Them" by Libba Bray - This was a good one. 4.75/5
- “Tiger Kitty” by Joyce Carol Oates - It's just a different cat, bro. 2/5
- “Inventory” by Jonathan Lethem - Yeah, it's just inventory. 1/5
- “Shortcut” by Michael Connelly - I thought that I never heard of white-washed bricks. 4/5
- “Strawberry Bubbles” by Lauren Myracle - One more really good one. 5/5
- “We Think You Do” by Barry Yourgrau - Cool idea and they didn't fumble the execution too. 4.5/5
- “The Prisoner of Eternia” by Aaron Renier - Why would you only have one brick wall in the house? 3/5
- “In Conclusion” by Gregory Maguire - This would have worked better, if the pages were not basically see through. 4/5
litabrarian's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
deepfreezebatman's review against another edition
4.0
A really fun collection of horror flash fiction by a wide variety of authors such as Lemony Snicket, Richard Sala, James Patterson, Faye Kellerman, Margret Atwood, R.L. Stine, Avi, Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates, and more!
some of my favorites are:
"Something You Ought to Know" by Lemony Snicket
"The Legend of Alexander & Rose" by Jon Klassen
"Deep Six" by Faye Kellerman
"Four Gleams in the Moonlight" by Stephen Marche
"At the Water's Edge" by Ayelet Waldman
some of my favorites are:
"Something You Ought to Know" by Lemony Snicket
"The Legend of Alexander & Rose" by Jon Klassen
"Deep Six" by Faye Kellerman
"Four Gleams in the Moonlight" by Stephen Marche
"At the Water's Edge" by Ayelet Waldman
sir_presh's review against another edition
4.0
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Aptly named I enjoyed scaring myself with [b:Half-Minute Horrors|6491459|Half-Minute Horrors|Susan Rich|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1348056654s/6491459.jpg|6682867]. Although I didn't get all the stories I had fun. Scary fun. So far this is one of my favorite collection of short stories.
vampirehelpdesk's review against another edition
2.0
Even as a tween or grade-student, I wouldn't have been too impressed by this book. There were a few select stories or illustrations that I thoroughly enjoyed, but overall, it was more cheesy than spooky. I did find myself seeing the author's name and judging their skill as a writer based on their very small segments. In that respect, this book is an interesting (and speedy) read.
eol's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
kluwes's review against another edition
4.0
I've always thought the best horror writing was short and ended abruptly. Every story in this anthology is only a paragraph or two. It's aimed at kids but there are some spine tingling stories to be read for all ages.