Prom Nights from Hell

When I first heard about this book, I was highly interested in seeing how the stories would make prom evil. In this collection, only one story was actually set at the prom. As a personal perference, I really loved only three out of the five short stories. After reading the stories, I think I understand how the young adult genre works a little more.I kind of liked Meg Cabot's short story The Extreminator's Daughter. I thought it was really funny and cute in places. It may have taken place in a club for part of the story, but I liked how she made the characters stand out. It felt a little corny, but my main pet peeve was the fact that the story abruptly switches POV twice. This was the first time I've ever read anything by Meg Cabot, but I was interested enough into trying out some of her other books.My favorite story was The Corsage by Lauren Myracle. I'm always a fan of dark stories, and this hit the spot. It's one of the creepiest stories in the entire collection. It starts out slow, but it gradually builds up the suspense until the end. It's the only story that I felt satisfied after reading it.I've been a long time reader of Kim Harrison, which was the reason why I bought the Prom Nights from Hell book. Her story Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper is actually a prequel to her novel Once Dead Twice Shy. It was definitely one of my favorite stories, and I'm going to get the novel Once Dead Twice Shy because it sounded very interesting. I found the concept of this story to be very interesting.I've also been a long time reader of Michele Jaffe, which was another reason on why I bought the book. Kiss and Tell was very cute, but it was not as good as her Bad Kitty novel. However I enjoyed reading it, and will continue reading her other work.The only story I did not like was Hell on Earth by Stephenie Meyer, but I liked it better than her Twilight Saga and the Host. There were too many characters to keep track of and POV shifts; the story could have easily been a novella with that many characters to keep track of would have worked better in my opinion. The story felt dragged out in the beginning since it lacked action until the middle. I give her props for having the only story taking place at a prom and for slightly improving her writing ability. I still think she needs to edit better because the phrase "fully half angel" caused me to pause and laugh myself silly.

I bought this book because I'm a huge Kim Harrison fan so wanted to read her story in it. I rarely ever read young adult fiction, so hadn't even realized this book existed until a few days ago, even though I have read the other "Hell" anthologies like Dates From Hell. I'm glad I finally discovered it!I don't hand out five stars frivolously, but this anthology surely deserves it. I thought all five stories were solid and I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of them, even though it's been a few decades since I was a young adult myself. All of the authors were new to me except for Kim Harrison, which makes it a treat to discover others I may enjoy reading more of in the future.The Exterminator's Daughter by Meg Cabot was a fun story that immediately drew me in. The character Mary is a typical teen outsider due to being new at the school she's attending and being different than other kids. Her differences are both mundane and unusual, such as being the daughter of an exterminator who is now a vampire herself. The story doesn't have much depth and is quite formulaic, but that isn't always a bad thing. After all, those formulas are successful for a reason! The story was a fun read that I enjoyed.The Corsage by Lauren Myracle is one of those stories where you know where it's going but you have to keep reading anyway. The story is based on The Monkey's Paw and is a classic tale of the dangers of magical wishing, mostly because the wisher generally isn't smart enough to forsee consequences or believe there will be a cost exacted. The ending, while predictable, is suitably creepy in a Stephen Kingesque way. This was another fun read.While I mentioned that the two above stories were fairly predictable, that should probably be put in perspective. After all, I'm 47 and have been an avid reader since I was 8. That's a lot of years of reading and experiencing a lot of the common types of tales. They may not seem that way at all to a younger reader.Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper was the reason I purchased the book and Ms. Harrison did not let me down. The story was unique and entertaining. The main character, Madison, is not really a very sympathetic character to start with. Her date at the prom accused her of being a bitch and I have to say I rather agreed. But that's okay because it allows plenty of room for character change and growth. One weak point in the story was where the whole reaper thing was revealed. It seemed a bit contrived and Madison seemed a bit too quick on the uptake. But otherwise it was a well-crafted and interesting story. Though it does leave you hanging at the end.Kiss and Tell by Michele Jaffe is a great story with humor, sadness, and mystery. The story had me chuckling outloud several times, and then would suddenly switch tone and add a bit of heartache. I think this was my favorite story of the bunch because I really enjoyed the humor, but it's a really close call between the last three. Here's a quote from the story that I loved, mainly because I can totally relate: "Thinking, not for the first time, that life should come with a trapdoor. Just a little exit hatch you could disappear through when you'd utterly and completely mortified yourself."The final story, Hell on Earth by Stephenie Meyer, was also very unique and entertaining. It's also the only story in the anthology that begins with a male protagonist. It started off with a fairly slow pace, but built up a bit of speed as more evidence appeared indicating that things weren't quite right. My absolute favorite part of the story was the conversation between Sheba and Jezebel, which revealed a lot about demon culture, which is rather backwards to our way of thinking, and it was quite amusing because of that. Here's a quote: "Virtue corrupts." This story not only leaves things hanging, like the Harrison story, but I felt it ended too abruptly. Though it was a good enough story to forgive that.A common theme throughout all these stories is teenagers dealing with being outsiders, which is something many young adults can identify with. Maybe especially those who tend to be drawn to this genre. None of the stories are written in a patronizing manner, making teens look sillier and dumber than they are. These stories are intended for an intelligent audience, which is probably why I ended up enjoying them so much even if I am well past the target age. I highly recommend this anthology for lovers of this genre both young and old.

I didn't think some of the stories even had much to do with Prom. Hard to say just which stories I liked best, no Twilight here, not even from Stephenie Meyer. I thought some of the stories "felt"like they were meant to be chapters in a book.I don't expect to re read it very often.

I bought this anthology solely for the Stephenie Meyer story, andsadly, it was the worst of the bunch. I had to check the name twicewhile reading it just to make sure I was reading the right story. Ithad none of the depth that the Twilight Saga or The Host had. It wasthoroughly generic and juvenile. She must have written it when shewas just learning how to write.The other stories are fine, but nothing special. They all seem likepart one of the first book in a new series because none of them(excepting The Corsage) finish their stories. They just run out ofpages. And I don't think any of these stories went on to develop intoseries except for MADISON AVERY AND THE DIM REAPER by Kim Harrison.

Fun short stories

I got this book because of the authors I know and curious to read. I was very pleased with this anthology. Stephene Meyer and Kim Harrison did a great job, the other authors I didn't know but enjoy also. I diffidently liked Meg Cabot and will read more from her.Stories about Prom gone wrong, Angels fighting demons, and of course the vampire at prom. For people that went to Prom or are planning of going this book is great.

Well, first of all, I must admit that I got curious with these selection of stories and, really, if you're into weird and supernatural events or situations, you're going to enjoy the book very much. I read it this summer, and my evenings were definitely busy reading those amazing stories.I have to admit that I bought it because I was looking forward to read Stephenie Meyer's point of view into a "different" prom night and, I gotta say,I wasn't disappointed - her story was very very good (and no vampires included). Meg Cabot's story was also very good, specially for those who like vampires, however my favorite infernal prom episode goes to Lauren Myracle - The corsage. My God, it is REALLY disturbing, honestly... or, it means that it is a very good story.It's not an essential book, but it's fun and all the stories catch your interest, which, in my opinion, is the key point when it comes to buy a book.I recommend it. It's cool.

If you want a fun read you can put and pick up easily, this is good value. One story, the Corsage, is a reasonable rehash of an OLD theme, but there is enough meat on the rest to make it fun, although readers from the U.S will probably see stuff a Brit like misses.If only the tax on this went back to the UK - love Amazon; a seriously excellent service - if they only applied the same approach to their tax policies!

This book is extremely clever and a great read. I got it simply becasue one of the five stories inside is by Stephenie Meyer, but i read all of them and came to realise that they are very original and fun!

5 good short stories. Not too predictable but light reading! Would read again after a few months and hopefully still find the stories enoyable.

this book is full of exciting stroies and the kind that get you inspired to write your own.The stroies are full of romance and lust and love while some are filled with hate and death which all put together a FANTASTIC BOOK....WOW...READ IN JUST 1 DAY COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!!!!!!