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MindWorks: An Uncanny Compendium of Short Fiction
From the incomparable mind of award winner Neal Shusterman, New York Times bestselling author of the Arc of a Scythe, comes a collection of uncanny and unforgettable short stories.
This collection of unforgettable and uncanny stories could only come from the mind of award winner Neal Shusterman. Compiled for the first time in one epic volume, these stories both classic and brand-new will stretch your imagination from terror to the sublime and back again. Explore a world where bats block out the sun, where soup is a trap for your soul, or where the life-force of a glacier can bring back the dead. Journey to a place where the wind can be captured, time can be crafted into infinite attic space, or a hot tub can house an ancient monster. And revisit the Arc of the Scythe universe for two all-new tales of gleaning.
In this collection, the only thing that is truly certain is nothing is certain.
This collection of unforgettable and uncanny stories could only come from the mind of award winner Neal Shusterman. Compiled for the first time in one epic volume, these stories both classic and brand-new will stretch your imagination from terror to the sublime and back again. Explore a world where bats block out the sun, where soup is a trap for your soul, or where the life-force of a glacier can bring back the dead. Journey to a place where the wind can be captured, time can be crafted into infinite attic space, or a hot tub can house an ancient monster. And revisit the Arc of the Scythe universe for two all-new tales of gleaning.
In this collection, the only thing that is truly certain is nothing is certain.
592 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 18, 2025
About the author
Neal Shusterman
91 books30.9k followersAward-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movie script.
In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country. Neal's talents range from film directing (two short films he directed won him the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Awards) to writing music and stage plays – including book and lyrical contributions to “American Twistory,” which is currently playing in Boston. He has even tried his hand at creating Games, having developed three successful "How to Host a Mystery" game for teens, as well as seven "How to Host a Murder" games.
As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the "Goosebumps" and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is adapting his novel Everlost as a feature film for Universal Studios.
Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers -- such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal's novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.
Of Everlost, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman has reimagined what happens after death and questions power and the meaning of charity. While all this is going on, he has also managed to write a rip-roaring adventure…”
Of What Daddy Did, Voice of Youth Advocates wrote; "This is a compelling, spell-binding story... A stunning novel, impossible to put down once begun.
Of The Schwa Was Here, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman's characters–reminiscent of those crafted by E. L. Konigsburg and Jerry Spinelli–are infused with the kind of controlled, precocious improbability that magically vivifies the finest children's classics.
Of Scorpion Shards, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Shusterman takes an outlandish comic-book concept, and, through the sheer audacity and breadth of his imagination makes it stunningly believable. A spellbinder."
And of The Eyes of Kid Midas, The Midwest Book Review wrote "This wins our vote as one of the best young-adult titles of the year" and was called "Inspired and hypnotically readable" by School Library Journal.
Neal Shusterman lives in Southern California with his children Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who are a constant source of inspiration!
In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country. Neal's talents range from film directing (two short films he directed won him the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Awards) to writing music and stage plays – including book and lyrical contributions to “American Twistory,” which is currently playing in Boston. He has even tried his hand at creating Games, having developed three successful "How to Host a Mystery" game for teens, as well as seven "How to Host a Murder" games.
As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the "Goosebumps" and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is adapting his novel Everlost as a feature film for Universal Studios.
Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers -- such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal's novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.
Of Everlost, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman has reimagined what happens after death and questions power and the meaning of charity. While all this is going on, he has also managed to write a rip-roaring adventure…”
Of What Daddy Did, Voice of Youth Advocates wrote; "This is a compelling, spell-binding story... A stunning novel, impossible to put down once begun.
Of The Schwa Was Here, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman's characters–reminiscent of those crafted by E. L. Konigsburg and Jerry Spinelli–are infused with the kind of controlled, precocious improbability that magically vivifies the finest children's classics.
Of Scorpion Shards, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Shusterman takes an outlandish comic-book concept, and, through the sheer audacity and breadth of his imagination makes it stunningly believable. A spellbinder."
And of The Eyes of Kid Midas, The Midwest Book Review wrote "This wins our vote as one of the best young-adult titles of the year" and was called "Inspired and hypnotically readable" by School Library Journal.
Neal Shusterman lives in Southern California with his children Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who are a constant source of inspiration!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
July 20, 2026
MindWorks: An Uncanny Compendium of Short Fiction is a collection of 43 short stories by Neal Shusterman, bringing together most of the short fiction he has published throughout his career. The collection also includes four previously unpublished or newly available tales, two of which are set in the Arc of a Scythe universe.
The two completely new stories are "A Unity of [Purpose]" and "Butterball." The two new Arc of a Scythe stories are a little different: "None More Beautiful Than I" was previously published in the German edition of Gleanings in 2023, making this its first publication in English, while "The Scythe Interviews" was originally published in F(r)iction Magazine in 2025. So, while they are not entirely new stories, this collection marks the first time they have been widely available to English-speaking readers.
One of the most impressive things about the collection is the sheer variety of ideas it explores: bats blocking out the sun, a soup that traps souls, a glacier that can bring back the dead, a hot tub hiding an ancient monster, and even a story about capturing the wind. Neal Shusterman's imagination is on full display, with every story exploring a completely different concept.
Shusterman shared that short stories have long been part of his creative journey, beginning back in high school: “I found short stories were a great way to experiment with new voices, and with new styles of writing… They can be a palate-cleanser between larger projects.” He also explained that some stories were extensively rewritten for this collection, with updates to reflect cultural changes, technology, and his own evolving writing style, with some revised “to the point of barely being recognizable.”
Designer and art director Chloe Foglia took a unique approach to the cover, using the concept of a cabinet of curiosities to reflect the eclectic nature of the stories. I love that the objects and details on the cover are little references to stories from the collection, making it even more fun to look at. Personally, I love the cover. It’s striking, memorable, and just so interesting. The moment I saw it, I was like, wow.
This collection was a hit and miss with me. Some stories I really loved, while others missed the mark. I would still recommend it, though. I think I might not be the ideal target reader since some stories felt more juvenile, and I also don't usually enjoy standalone short stories. Still, I wanted to read it because Neal Shusterman is one of my favorite authors.
I found that I enjoyed the longer stories more because they had more time to develop their ideas and characters. Some of the shorter stories left me with a feeling that something was missing, almost like they ended before they had fully developed, which made them not work as well for me.
Here are all the stories and my ratings. The book is organized in a fun way, with the stories grouped by themes:
Forces of Nature
1. A Unity of [Purpose] (2 stars)
2. I, of the Storm (3 stars)
3. Smells like Kafta (1 star)
4. Obsidian Sky (1 star)
5. Ralphy Sherman's Bag of Wind (1 star)
6. The In Crowd (3 stars)
7. The Living Place (2 stars)
Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree
8. Non-Player Character (with Brendan Shusterman) (1 star)
9. Midnight Michelangelo (with Terry Black) (3 stars)
10. Boy on a Stoop (2 stars)
11. Butterball (1 star)
12. The Bob Squad (1 star)
13. Special Deliverance (2 stars)
14. Ralphy Sherman's Jacuzzi of Wonders (4 stars)
15. Terrible Tannenbaum (3 stars)
The Wheel of Destiny
16. Dawn Terminator (2 stars)
17. The 💩 in Our Shoes (5 stars)
18. Number Two (1 star)
19. Fear-for-All (1 star)
20. Bad Fortune at Richard Yee's (1 star)
21. Pea Soup (2 stars)
22. Majority Rules (1 star)
23. Opabinia (2 stars)
24. Presumed Destroyed (with Brendan Shusterman) (2 stars)
Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls
25. Caleb's Colors (1 star)
26. Retaining Walls (1 star)
27. Open House (1 star)
28. Mr. Vandermeer's Attic of Shame (1 star)
29. Dark Alley (2 stars)
The Living, The Dead, and the Undecided
30. Dead Letter (1 star)
31. Resurrection Bay (2 stars)
32. Perpetual Pest (with Terry Black) (2 stars)
33. Yardwork (3 stars)
34. Deadliner (with Brendan Shusterman) (2 stars)
35. Loveless (3 stars)
I'm Not Myself Today
36. The Body Electric (4 stars)
37. Mail Merge (3 stars)
38. The Elsewhere Boutique (3 stars)
39. Ralphy Sherman's Inside Story (2 stars)
40. The Soul Exchange (2 stars)
41. Clothes Make the Man (1 star)
You Reap What You Sow (The World of Scythe)
42. None More Beautiful than I (5 stars)
43. The Scythe Interviews (5 stars)
Overall rating: 2 stars
"Dawn Terminator" is currently in early development at Netflix as a film titled Dawn. The story is about the sun going supernova and destroying the daylight side of Earth, forcing those on the dark side to find a way to survive. It follows a family trying to reach the North Pole, where the sun will not rise for three months, giving them time to come up with a survival plan. Originally a short story, it will be interesting to see how it is expanded into a film, especially since Shusterman is not heavily involved in the development.
Short stories that were left out of this collection. They are listed chronologically by the first edition they appeared in. Some were later included in other anthologies, but not all of them, so I wanted to include this list in case anyone wants to explore more of Neal Shusterman's short fiction:
Darkness Creeping: Tales to Trouble Your Sleep (1993)
1. Monkeys Tonight
2. Black Box
3. An Ear For Music
4. Screaming at the Wall
5. Alexander's Skull
6. Same Time Next Year
7. Not It
8. Car Four
9. Resting Deep
10. Shadows of Doubt
Darkness Creeping II: More Tales to Trouble Your Sleep (1995)
11. Riding the Raptor
12. Trash Day
13. Soul Survivor
14. Security Blanket
15. Growing Pains
16. Connecting Flight
17. Crystalloid
Mindquakes: Stories to Shatter Your Brain (1996)
18. Damien's Shadow
Mindstorms: Stories to Blow Your Mind (1996)
19. Pacific Rim
20. He Opens a Window
From One Experience to Another (1999)
21. Blue Diamond (reprinted in Big City Cool (2002)
Mindbenders: Stories to Warp Your Brain (2000)
22. Ralphy Sherman's Patty Melt on Rye
23. The Peter Pan Solution
Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales (2007)
24. Catching Cold
25. Who Do We Appreciate?
26. The River Tour
27. Flushie
28. Ralphy Sherman's Root Canal
Future Hopes (2024)
29. Dump Devil (with Brendan Shusterman)
Known reasons why some stories were not included in MindWorks:
● "Pacific Rim" — Shusterman left it out because he did not want to inadvertently lend credibility to flat-earth ideas.
● "Damien's Shadow" — Shusterman had planned to revise and retitle it as "Strange Fruit" but was not able to finish it in time. He explained that while the original concept of a boy whose shadow attacks others was still compelling, elements like a shadow hanging from a tree and shadow-on-shadow violence could be misinterpreted. He still hopes to complete and release the revised version in the future.
● "Ralphy Sherman's Patty Melt on Rye" — Shusterman explained that, in retrospect, he felt the story was too disrespectful toward Hawaiian culture. Although Ralphy's stories are meant to be disrespectful toward everything, this one made him uncomfortable enough to leave it out. Since it was about a volcano goddess, it also would have fit into the "Forces of Nature" section, where another Ralphy story was already included.
● "The Peter Pan Solution" — Shusterman left it out because the main reason it was originally included was to show something he had written in high school.
● "Not It" and "Car Four" — These two Darkness Creeping stories were pulled from the PRH edition because they felt too middle-grade.
● "He Opens a Window" — This story became the basis for one of the pieces in Courage to Dream, so Shusterman felt it had already found a new life there.
The two completely new stories are "A Unity of [Purpose]" and "Butterball." The two new Arc of a Scythe stories are a little different: "None More Beautiful Than I" was previously published in the German edition of Gleanings in 2023, making this its first publication in English, while "The Scythe Interviews" was originally published in F(r)iction Magazine in 2025. So, while they are not entirely new stories, this collection marks the first time they have been widely available to English-speaking readers.
One of the most impressive things about the collection is the sheer variety of ideas it explores: bats blocking out the sun, a soup that traps souls, a glacier that can bring back the dead, a hot tub hiding an ancient monster, and even a story about capturing the wind. Neal Shusterman's imagination is on full display, with every story exploring a completely different concept.
Shusterman shared that short stories have long been part of his creative journey, beginning back in high school: “I found short stories were a great way to experiment with new voices, and with new styles of writing… They can be a palate-cleanser between larger projects.” He also explained that some stories were extensively rewritten for this collection, with updates to reflect cultural changes, technology, and his own evolving writing style, with some revised “to the point of barely being recognizable.”
Designer and art director Chloe Foglia took a unique approach to the cover, using the concept of a cabinet of curiosities to reflect the eclectic nature of the stories. I love that the objects and details on the cover are little references to stories from the collection, making it even more fun to look at. Personally, I love the cover. It’s striking, memorable, and just so interesting. The moment I saw it, I was like, wow.
This collection was a hit and miss with me. Some stories I really loved, while others missed the mark. I would still recommend it, though. I think I might not be the ideal target reader since some stories felt more juvenile, and I also don't usually enjoy standalone short stories. Still, I wanted to read it because Neal Shusterman is one of my favorite authors.
I found that I enjoyed the longer stories more because they had more time to develop their ideas and characters. Some of the shorter stories left me with a feeling that something was missing, almost like they ended before they had fully developed, which made them not work as well for me.
"That which was discarded becomes priceless. Those who were abandoned will someday be loved—If you can hold on till that day."
— Loveless by Neal Shusterman
Here are all the stories and my ratings. The book is organized in a fun way, with the stories grouped by themes:
Forces of Nature
1. A Unity of [Purpose] (2 stars)
2. I, of the Storm (3 stars)
3. Smells like Kafta (1 star)
4. Obsidian Sky (1 star)
5. Ralphy Sherman's Bag of Wind (1 star)
6. The In Crowd (3 stars)
7. The Living Place (2 stars)
Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree
8. Non-Player Character (with Brendan Shusterman) (1 star)
9. Midnight Michelangelo (with Terry Black) (3 stars)
10. Boy on a Stoop (2 stars)
11. Butterball (1 star)
12. The Bob Squad (1 star)
13. Special Deliverance (2 stars)
14. Ralphy Sherman's Jacuzzi of Wonders (4 stars)
15. Terrible Tannenbaum (3 stars)
The Wheel of Destiny
16. Dawn Terminator (2 stars)
17. The 💩 in Our Shoes (5 stars)
18. Number Two (1 star)
19. Fear-for-All (1 star)
20. Bad Fortune at Richard Yee's (1 star)
21. Pea Soup (2 stars)
22. Majority Rules (1 star)
23. Opabinia (2 stars)
24. Presumed Destroyed (with Brendan Shusterman) (2 stars)
Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls
25. Caleb's Colors (1 star)
26. Retaining Walls (1 star)
27. Open House (1 star)
28. Mr. Vandermeer's Attic of Shame (1 star)
29. Dark Alley (2 stars)
The Living, The Dead, and the Undecided
30. Dead Letter (1 star)
31. Resurrection Bay (2 stars)
32. Perpetual Pest (with Terry Black) (2 stars)
33. Yardwork (3 stars)
34. Deadliner (with Brendan Shusterman) (2 stars)
35. Loveless (3 stars)
I'm Not Myself Today
36. The Body Electric (4 stars)
37. Mail Merge (3 stars)
38. The Elsewhere Boutique (3 stars)
39. Ralphy Sherman's Inside Story (2 stars)
40. The Soul Exchange (2 stars)
41. Clothes Make the Man (1 star)
You Reap What You Sow (The World of Scythe)
42. None More Beautiful than I (5 stars)
43. The Scythe Interviews (5 stars)
Overall rating: 2 stars
"Dawn Terminator" is currently in early development at Netflix as a film titled Dawn. The story is about the sun going supernova and destroying the daylight side of Earth, forcing those on the dark side to find a way to survive. It follows a family trying to reach the North Pole, where the sun will not rise for three months, giving them time to come up with a survival plan. Originally a short story, it will be interesting to see how it is expanded into a film, especially since Shusterman is not heavily involved in the development.
Short stories that were left out of this collection. They are listed chronologically by the first edition they appeared in. Some were later included in other anthologies, but not all of them, so I wanted to include this list in case anyone wants to explore more of Neal Shusterman's short fiction:
Darkness Creeping: Tales to Trouble Your Sleep (1993)
1. Monkeys Tonight
2. Black Box
3. An Ear For Music
4. Screaming at the Wall
5. Alexander's Skull
6. Same Time Next Year
7. Not It
8. Car Four
9. Resting Deep
10. Shadows of Doubt
Darkness Creeping II: More Tales to Trouble Your Sleep (1995)
11. Riding the Raptor
12. Trash Day
13. Soul Survivor
14. Security Blanket
15. Growing Pains
16. Connecting Flight
17. Crystalloid
Mindquakes: Stories to Shatter Your Brain (1996)
18. Damien's Shadow
Mindstorms: Stories to Blow Your Mind (1996)
19. Pacific Rim
20. He Opens a Window
From One Experience to Another (1999)
21. Blue Diamond (reprinted in Big City Cool (2002)
Mindbenders: Stories to Warp Your Brain (2000)
22. Ralphy Sherman's Patty Melt on Rye
23. The Peter Pan Solution
Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales (2007)
24. Catching Cold
25. Who Do We Appreciate?
26. The River Tour
27. Flushie
28. Ralphy Sherman's Root Canal
Future Hopes (2024)
29. Dump Devil (with Brendan Shusterman)
Known reasons why some stories were not included in MindWorks:
● "Pacific Rim" — Shusterman left it out because he did not want to inadvertently lend credibility to flat-earth ideas.
● "Damien's Shadow" — Shusterman had planned to revise and retitle it as "Strange Fruit" but was not able to finish it in time. He explained that while the original concept of a boy whose shadow attacks others was still compelling, elements like a shadow hanging from a tree and shadow-on-shadow violence could be misinterpreted. He still hopes to complete and release the revised version in the future.
● "Ralphy Sherman's Patty Melt on Rye" — Shusterman explained that, in retrospect, he felt the story was too disrespectful toward Hawaiian culture. Although Ralphy's stories are meant to be disrespectful toward everything, this one made him uncomfortable enough to leave it out. Since it was about a volcano goddess, it also would have fit into the "Forces of Nature" section, where another Ralphy story was already included.
● "The Peter Pan Solution" — Shusterman left it out because the main reason it was originally included was to show something he had written in high school.
● "Not It" and "Car Four" — These two Darkness Creeping stories were pulled from the PRH edition because they felt too middle-grade.
● "He Opens a Window" — This story became the basis for one of the pieces in Courage to Dream, so Shusterman felt it had already found a new life there.
November 14, 2025
3.5⭐️
🖤Short Fiction Stories
I have to be honest, most of these stories were great, but they were just not for me. Some were full of whimsy and I did love those but I felt as if most of these were attempting to teach either literary or life lessons - very much YA English class vibes.
Thank you to @netgalley and to @simonteen for the gifted arc.
🖤Short Fiction Stories
I have to be honest, most of these stories were great, but they were just not for me. Some were full of whimsy and I did love those but I felt as if most of these were attempting to teach either literary or life lessons - very much YA English class vibes.
Thank you to @netgalley and to @simonteen for the gifted arc.
Did Not Finish
February 7, 2026dnf @ 50%
i received a digital review copy from the simon teen as part of their influencer program. i am leaving this review voluntarily.
i really tried to stick it out, but i was just beyond bored. none of the stories were memorable to me. i could not tell you about any of them. i didn’t even finish the story i was on before deciding to dnf. i’ll read more of neal shusterman’s books in the future, but this one in particular just wasn’t for me, unfortunately.
i received a digital review copy from the simon teen as part of their influencer program. i am leaving this review voluntarily.
i really tried to stick it out, but i was just beyond bored. none of the stories were memorable to me. i could not tell you about any of them. i didn’t even finish the story i was on before deciding to dnf. i’ll read more of neal shusterman’s books in the future, but this one in particular just wasn’t for me, unfortunately.
November 18, 2025
Prefacing this with the fact that the e-arc I received was not the entire book and did not include the Scythe story.
Mindworks really is uncanny, its a strange collection of sci-fi, spec fic, and horror. Neal Shusterman really has a way of writing extremely digestible stories and these all bring his quirky charm.
Mind you, these are all strictly YA so we do have some “English class” lessons at play here and nothing too disturbing but this is a solid collection of weird and funny tales.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Available November 18, 2025
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a free advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Mindworks really is uncanny, its a strange collection of sci-fi, spec fic, and horror. Neal Shusterman really has a way of writing extremely digestible stories and these all bring his quirky charm.
Mind you, these are all strictly YA so we do have some “English class” lessons at play here and nothing too disturbing but this is a solid collection of weird and funny tales.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Available November 18, 2025
Thank you to Simon and Schuster for a free advance review copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
November 18, 2025
This is really long as I have a quick sentence or two for each of the short stories in this anthology and there are a lot of them!
Since this was a collection of short stories, I am going to try to post quick reviews for each of the stories I can get through. And I did end up getting through all but the very last section, as it was stories from the Scythe series, which I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read yet, but really want to! Overall there were a LOT of really good stories in this. I feel like it started out with a a bunch of short stories that I read through quickly. And in the 2nd or 3rd section we started getting a few longer ones, and finally at the end we got more what I might call some novellas as opposed to just a short story. I’ve highlighted my favorites below, and if you want you can read through my quick reviews on each story where I tried not to be too spoilery.
Forces of Nature:
A Unity of [Purpose] – This was the first short story and it was about a dolphin running for President. So yeah, kind of weird, and pretty short.
I, Of the Storm – This story was about a bratty little brother that disappeared in a museum in Mexico and then when a hurricane comes to their home in Florida later, they find it has something to do with him.
Smells Like Kafka – This is a story about a giant teddy bear that comes to life when the main character, a young girl, needs it, and helps her to get her parents to take a more active part in her life.
Obsidian Sky – This one was about a girl who had a friend that no one seemed to really like or see, and it has to do with bats, all the bats that blanket the sky in Texas. So I liked that part!
Ralphy Sherman’s Bag of Wind – So I was not a fan of the behavior of the two characters at the beginning of the book, mis-shelving books on purpose in the library to make the librarian mad, lol. The characters had a bag laying on a table and they told the person who was trying to look at it without their permission that it had a tornado in it. He didn’t believe them at first, but then they convinced him and he bought it from them. Well they had been joking, but turns out, it really worked when he opened it.
The In Crowd – This was about an orphan who had a bit of an anger problem, and really was just as happy at the group home/orphanage. When she got back from another foster family disaster, there was a new boy everyone was talking about. At first she didn’t care. Then when a bunch of the other kids there disappeared, she started talking to him, and yes, he had something to do with it. So even though he tries to tell her to stay away, she won’t, and of course his powers get activated. But the results aren’t what was expected.
The Living Place – This one was pretty good. I like the way it had a little twist at the end where I almost thought she was going to have to give her life to bring it back, but then what it was made perfect sense!
Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree
Non-Player Character – This one was a collab between the author and his son. It was pretty good. While I kind of have an idea what might have been happening, it wasn’t completely spelled out if what happened with the main character had been happening everywhere, or if/what could maybe have a big plan.
Midnight Michelangelo – this was a collab with Terry Black. This was a cool story about graffiti art coming to life in a way, but I’m not sure I quite got exactly what was happening or how it ended? But still an interesting quick story.
Boy on a Stoop – This one will probably be one of my favorites in the book. It was about a girl who walked through a deserted neighborhood on her way to and from school, partly because she was overlooked or teased at school. One day there is a boy on a stoop. And one day she decides to go talk to him. Of course he’s not what he seems and soon she is in trouble. Her smart thinking in the end saves her, and then of course we see that maybe she’s a little cannier than we thought, or it is her curiosity about oddities in nature that drives her!
Butterball – This is a one page story, perfect timing to read with Thanksgiving next week. Here’s a short review for one page: It’s a story about a self-basting turkey.
The Bob Squad – This was an interesting story about guardian angels and how of course we normally don’t see them, but every once in a while, when someone has a very vivid dream, they then can see them. And each person has 7, and it is pretty annoying to be able to see and hear them all the time. So Bobby tries to figure out how to fix it. Only that is a short lived relief as the results become about 7 times worse.
Special Deliverance – This was a short and quick story about a delivery person who is delivering pizza seemingly to hell maybe? And when they don’t have cash or credit to pay him, his request instead saves a man’s life.
Ralphy Sherman’s Jacuzzi of Wonders – You might notice the similarity of this title to the one in the last section about the Bag of Wind. Well, yeah, it’s another time when Ralphy and his sister make up a crazy story to get someone, and it comes true! Only we see maybe it isn’t so unusual with how their dad reacts to it in the end.
Terrible Tannenbaum – An evil Christmas tree basically. Perfect time of the year for this story!
The Wheel of Destiny
Dawn Terminator – In this story our sun has gone Supernova and the only way to survive is to get somewhere the sun isn’t going to rise. So of course they go towards the North Pole area which will be dark all day for three months so they can figure out what to do next.
The S**t on Our Shoes – This is about a group of people on a spaceship traveling to colonize a new planet. Only the main character, Lowell, and his friend Maeve – plus her grandfather, have kind of figured out it isn’t really what they’re expecting to happen. The actual colonizers on this new planet may not be the humans on board.
Number Two – A very short story about what I guess is a No. 2 Pencil, lol.
Fear-for-All – This is about a boy who is afraid of nothing. Seth’s been sent to a school where it turns out everyone has some kind of fear. And the hope is that he will be able to help them. Only it will require some sacrifices on his part.
Bad Fortune at Richard Yee’s – A story about a family that always goes to have Chinese food at their favorite restaurant. One year Robin’s brothers put some prank fortune cookies out and their aunt opens one that says “You will be taken on Wednesday by freak accident.” The boys thought they would be funny not scary. Of course no one thinks anything of it and they laugh it off. Until that Wednesday it comes true. From then on Robin never will open her fortune cookie and read it, she just makes stuff up when she is asked to read hers. And as you can guess, something is going to happen because of all that made up stuff and cookies that don’t get opened.
Pea Soup – A creepy story about billboard signs for Pea Soup that make the people who see them so hungry they stop to get some. Then once they get it, they don’t want to stop eating it. And bad things happen from there. Not sure completely about it, but it was still creepy!
Majority Rules – This was a unique story about how the beliefs we hold change based on what a majority thinks. Like the flat earth theory. The Loch Ness monster. And the main character has to make a decision to flip the opinion/reality one way or another on whether alien life will be hostile or friendly. And it will be based on what he actually believes, not just what he wants it to be.
Opabinia – A cool story for a former Earth Science major/teacher about the Burgess Shale and the creatures found there and how they all went extinct. The story includes time travel and will time be changed by what he does even as they tell him it can’t be, because if it’s already happened then that’s what will happen?
Presumed Destroyed – This is a story told from a gun’s point of view. It doesn’t give us any horrible action that we see. Just leads us through what the gun sees. When it is made and is not perfect and then sold. It can feel the feelings that its owner feels and it can see what they want to do with it. Does it not have a purpose if not used to shoot something? And in the end, we get a bad feeling as we know what is probably going to happen next.
Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls
Caleb’s Colors – This story was about an autistic boy who seemed to be very artistic with just a crayon. A woman comes to the house who the family thinks is a doctor/therapist, and it turns out she is an art gallery owner who wants to pay them like a million dollars for the main character’s younger brother to create a work of art. Of course as you might expect, this work of art is going to be magical, and the ending is very interesting!
Retaining Walls – The main character has divorced parents and so he is going to spend Sunday with his dad like he does every week. His dad builds walls, and pretty much is always working every Sunday, so all he gets to do is go to work with his dad. But this time there is something weird about the wall being built. And then the next week Memo discovers something even weirder. At that point his father shows him something, and soon Memo will see that maybe it is going to be his life’s work as well, to carry on with what his father does, building walls.
Open House – So this is a story about two dolls who somehow are brought to life with a “magic tea” the little girl who owns them gives them one day. And of course this little girl can now talk to them as well, and to be honest, she’s kind of a brat, who doesn’t like them having opinions. So they try to run away. And it seems they do, only the place they’ve found to live might not be so safe after all.
Mr. Vandermeer’s Attic of Shame – This one had a lot of different people coming and going across the street from the main character’s house. People from a lot of different countries. To be fair, I was really tired when I was reading this one and might have fallen asleep a few times toward the end of the story so I can’t give a great review of it. It seemed to be about a sweatshop type of thing going on in the guy’s attic and I think the main character saves them?
Dark Alley – This is another one that was one of the last ones I read. It was about a bowling alley lane that supposedly wasn’t there, but the main character kept seeing it and wanting to play on it. I might need to go back and read this one again, but it had some kind of weird things going on when Marshall bowls on the lane. Back home his mom has a boyfriend who is not a great guy, and I think somehow the bowling lane does something to help them out? I’m not sure, again, I drifted off a bit as I was reading, but in the end that boyfriend is gone.
The Living, the Dead, and the Undecided
Dead Letter – The first story was a letter from a zombie or dead person, to a newspaper about the stories they’ve been writing. Trying to tell them that they are wrong and the dead are just people like the living, wanting to come home and be with their family.
Resurrection Bay – Now this was a cool story. It was set in Alaska where all of a sudden a glacier started moving much quicker than usual, 15 inches per minute. After a couple of tourists were killed when a piece of the glacier fell on top of them, all of a sudden the main character, Anika, thought she was that woman alive under a friend’s porch. And soon the glacier was cutting through a cemetery and there were more dead people.
Perpetual Pest – This story was about a boy and his brother who went to rob a grave of a rich woman. The boy, Mark, just wanted some money to buy the best basketball shoes out there. His brother, kind of a troublemaker, already doing time in juvie at other points, didn’t take into account any of the oddities of the corpse once the grave was opened. And it turns out the occupant of that grave was only dead because of the silver bullets in her chest. Rudy, the brother, thought to steal those too, which as you might guess, brought her back to life.
Yardwork – Ariel notices that the house next door which had sat vacant for a long time after people would move in and then out almost right away, now covered with graffiti and broken windows, has the original owner come home. Mr. Jackson is outside at all hours working on his garden that he once kept so beautiful. She decides to be nice and help him plant the flowers. And soon finds there is a reason he’s come back, and that it’s not a fountain he’s planning to put in the middle of the garden.
Deadliner – This is a story to go along with Night of the Living Dead, so it takes place back around 1968. It is a zombie circus story basically. They think they can control them, but as you might guess, it all goes wrong in the end, and we have an appearance by a zombified Elizabeth Taylor.
Loveless – Looking for a psychic who has moved away from her office, the main character goes to find out what is wrong with them, only to find the psychic is also dead and living in her mausoleum while still giving readings, and the main character may actually belong in the graveyard as well.
I’m Not Myself Today
The Body Electric – It starts with a lightning strike. The main character wakes up or comes to after being struck by lightning and turns out they have gone back in time and have woken up in another person’s body. He is called Al by his parents, but when he says that isn’t his name, they ask if he wants to be called Tom instead like he’s asked before. He asks questions in a way to figure out what he is supposed to do, ending up going to his job the next day selling newspapers on the railroad. On the train he meets another boy who has come from the future, his name is Aleck. And Aleck has been looking for Al, as he knows the two of them are going to become great adversaries. It’s 1860, can you guess who they are?
Mail Merge – This story is a chat room basically with messages from several different people. They seem to be discussing parallel universes and soon it seems two of the people keep saying the same things and they joke that it is the same person in different universes.
The Elsewhere Boutique – This might have been one of my favorite stories. A sister and her brother are looking for a gift for their father and see this strange store where no one seems to be. All it has inside though are little glass bottles. The man working there tells them what it is, but they don’t understand and ask for a sample. The sample takes them elsewhere you might say. I really liked the idea of this one, and how the story worked the changes in almost seamlessly that it was as if nothing had really changed even as you read and figured out what had changed.
Ralphy Sherman’s Inside Story – And we had one more trip into this character’s world. In this case his cousins came to visit, and it turns out they were sugar and spice and everything nice, as well as snips, snails, and puppy dog tails.
The Soul Exchange – Yet another good story. What would you do if you could get a better body? As a teenager when you wanted a “friend’s” boyfriend, but you had a pimple or your own boyfriend didn’t seem to find you that pretty. And what if you weren’t the first to do this?
Clothes Make the Man – This is a tale of grabbing the wrong luggage at the airport, but keeping it. And wearing the clothes, even though the shirts have an extra sleeve on the back of all of them. And there is a weird hole in the back of the pants like a fly, but it has no zipper. And soon the clothes begin to fit you a little too well. Of course at this point there must be an exchange with the original owner of the luggage, right?
You Reap What You Sow (The World of Scythe)
As I haven’t read this series yet, while I started the first story, I just was already tired and it was getting late, so I didn’t end up reading them. I’m guessing fans of that book series will look forward to these stories most of all!
Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.
Since this was a collection of short stories, I am going to try to post quick reviews for each of the stories I can get through. And I did end up getting through all but the very last section, as it was stories from the Scythe series, which I’m ashamed to say I haven’t read yet, but really want to! Overall there were a LOT of really good stories in this. I feel like it started out with a a bunch of short stories that I read through quickly. And in the 2nd or 3rd section we started getting a few longer ones, and finally at the end we got more what I might call some novellas as opposed to just a short story. I’ve highlighted my favorites below, and if you want you can read through my quick reviews on each story where I tried not to be too spoilery.
Forces of Nature:
A Unity of [Purpose] – This was the first short story and it was about a dolphin running for President. So yeah, kind of weird, and pretty short.
I, Of the Storm – This story was about a bratty little brother that disappeared in a museum in Mexico and then when a hurricane comes to their home in Florida later, they find it has something to do with him.
Smells Like Kafka – This is a story about a giant teddy bear that comes to life when the main character, a young girl, needs it, and helps her to get her parents to take a more active part in her life.
Obsidian Sky – This one was about a girl who had a friend that no one seemed to really like or see, and it has to do with bats, all the bats that blanket the sky in Texas. So I liked that part!
Ralphy Sherman’s Bag of Wind – So I was not a fan of the behavior of the two characters at the beginning of the book, mis-shelving books on purpose in the library to make the librarian mad, lol. The characters had a bag laying on a table and they told the person who was trying to look at it without their permission that it had a tornado in it. He didn’t believe them at first, but then they convinced him and he bought it from them. Well they had been joking, but turns out, it really worked when he opened it.
The In Crowd – This was about an orphan who had a bit of an anger problem, and really was just as happy at the group home/orphanage. When she got back from another foster family disaster, there was a new boy everyone was talking about. At first she didn’t care. Then when a bunch of the other kids there disappeared, she started talking to him, and yes, he had something to do with it. So even though he tries to tell her to stay away, she won’t, and of course his powers get activated. But the results aren’t what was expected.
The Living Place – This one was pretty good. I like the way it had a little twist at the end where I almost thought she was going to have to give her life to bring it back, but then what it was made perfect sense!
Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree
Non-Player Character – This one was a collab between the author and his son. It was pretty good. While I kind of have an idea what might have been happening, it wasn’t completely spelled out if what happened with the main character had been happening everywhere, or if/what could maybe have a big plan.
Midnight Michelangelo – this was a collab with Terry Black. This was a cool story about graffiti art coming to life in a way, but I’m not sure I quite got exactly what was happening or how it ended? But still an interesting quick story.
Boy on a Stoop – This one will probably be one of my favorites in the book. It was about a girl who walked through a deserted neighborhood on her way to and from school, partly because she was overlooked or teased at school. One day there is a boy on a stoop. And one day she decides to go talk to him. Of course he’s not what he seems and soon she is in trouble. Her smart thinking in the end saves her, and then of course we see that maybe she’s a little cannier than we thought, or it is her curiosity about oddities in nature that drives her!
Butterball – This is a one page story, perfect timing to read with Thanksgiving next week. Here’s a short review for one page: It’s a story about a self-basting turkey.
The Bob Squad – This was an interesting story about guardian angels and how of course we normally don’t see them, but every once in a while, when someone has a very vivid dream, they then can see them. And each person has 7, and it is pretty annoying to be able to see and hear them all the time. So Bobby tries to figure out how to fix it. Only that is a short lived relief as the results become about 7 times worse.
Special Deliverance – This was a short and quick story about a delivery person who is delivering pizza seemingly to hell maybe? And when they don’t have cash or credit to pay him, his request instead saves a man’s life.
Ralphy Sherman’s Jacuzzi of Wonders – You might notice the similarity of this title to the one in the last section about the Bag of Wind. Well, yeah, it’s another time when Ralphy and his sister make up a crazy story to get someone, and it comes true! Only we see maybe it isn’t so unusual with how their dad reacts to it in the end.
Terrible Tannenbaum – An evil Christmas tree basically. Perfect time of the year for this story!
The Wheel of Destiny
Dawn Terminator – In this story our sun has gone Supernova and the only way to survive is to get somewhere the sun isn’t going to rise. So of course they go towards the North Pole area which will be dark all day for three months so they can figure out what to do next.
The S**t on Our Shoes – This is about a group of people on a spaceship traveling to colonize a new planet. Only the main character, Lowell, and his friend Maeve – plus her grandfather, have kind of figured out it isn’t really what they’re expecting to happen. The actual colonizers on this new planet may not be the humans on board.
Number Two – A very short story about what I guess is a No. 2 Pencil, lol.
Fear-for-All – This is about a boy who is afraid of nothing. Seth’s been sent to a school where it turns out everyone has some kind of fear. And the hope is that he will be able to help them. Only it will require some sacrifices on his part.
Bad Fortune at Richard Yee’s – A story about a family that always goes to have Chinese food at their favorite restaurant. One year Robin’s brothers put some prank fortune cookies out and their aunt opens one that says “You will be taken on Wednesday by freak accident.” The boys thought they would be funny not scary. Of course no one thinks anything of it and they laugh it off. Until that Wednesday it comes true. From then on Robin never will open her fortune cookie and read it, she just makes stuff up when she is asked to read hers. And as you can guess, something is going to happen because of all that made up stuff and cookies that don’t get opened.
Pea Soup – A creepy story about billboard signs for Pea Soup that make the people who see them so hungry they stop to get some. Then once they get it, they don’t want to stop eating it. And bad things happen from there. Not sure completely about it, but it was still creepy!
Majority Rules – This was a unique story about how the beliefs we hold change based on what a majority thinks. Like the flat earth theory. The Loch Ness monster. And the main character has to make a decision to flip the opinion/reality one way or another on whether alien life will be hostile or friendly. And it will be based on what he actually believes, not just what he wants it to be.
Opabinia – A cool story for a former Earth Science major/teacher about the Burgess Shale and the creatures found there and how they all went extinct. The story includes time travel and will time be changed by what he does even as they tell him it can’t be, because if it’s already happened then that’s what will happen?
Presumed Destroyed – This is a story told from a gun’s point of view. It doesn’t give us any horrible action that we see. Just leads us through what the gun sees. When it is made and is not perfect and then sold. It can feel the feelings that its owner feels and it can see what they want to do with it. Does it not have a purpose if not used to shoot something? And in the end, we get a bad feeling as we know what is probably going to happen next.
Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls
Caleb’s Colors – This story was about an autistic boy who seemed to be very artistic with just a crayon. A woman comes to the house who the family thinks is a doctor/therapist, and it turns out she is an art gallery owner who wants to pay them like a million dollars for the main character’s younger brother to create a work of art. Of course as you might expect, this work of art is going to be magical, and the ending is very interesting!
Retaining Walls – The main character has divorced parents and so he is going to spend Sunday with his dad like he does every week. His dad builds walls, and pretty much is always working every Sunday, so all he gets to do is go to work with his dad. But this time there is something weird about the wall being built. And then the next week Memo discovers something even weirder. At that point his father shows him something, and soon Memo will see that maybe it is going to be his life’s work as well, to carry on with what his father does, building walls.
Open House – So this is a story about two dolls who somehow are brought to life with a “magic tea” the little girl who owns them gives them one day. And of course this little girl can now talk to them as well, and to be honest, she’s kind of a brat, who doesn’t like them having opinions. So they try to run away. And it seems they do, only the place they’ve found to live might not be so safe after all.
Mr. Vandermeer’s Attic of Shame – This one had a lot of different people coming and going across the street from the main character’s house. People from a lot of different countries. To be fair, I was really tired when I was reading this one and might have fallen asleep a few times toward the end of the story so I can’t give a great review of it. It seemed to be about a sweatshop type of thing going on in the guy’s attic and I think the main character saves them?
Dark Alley – This is another one that was one of the last ones I read. It was about a bowling alley lane that supposedly wasn’t there, but the main character kept seeing it and wanting to play on it. I might need to go back and read this one again, but it had some kind of weird things going on when Marshall bowls on the lane. Back home his mom has a boyfriend who is not a great guy, and I think somehow the bowling lane does something to help them out? I’m not sure, again, I drifted off a bit as I was reading, but in the end that boyfriend is gone.
The Living, the Dead, and the Undecided
Dead Letter – The first story was a letter from a zombie or dead person, to a newspaper about the stories they’ve been writing. Trying to tell them that they are wrong and the dead are just people like the living, wanting to come home and be with their family.
Resurrection Bay – Now this was a cool story. It was set in Alaska where all of a sudden a glacier started moving much quicker than usual, 15 inches per minute. After a couple of tourists were killed when a piece of the glacier fell on top of them, all of a sudden the main character, Anika, thought she was that woman alive under a friend’s porch. And soon the glacier was cutting through a cemetery and there were more dead people.
Perpetual Pest – This story was about a boy and his brother who went to rob a grave of a rich woman. The boy, Mark, just wanted some money to buy the best basketball shoes out there. His brother, kind of a troublemaker, already doing time in juvie at other points, didn’t take into account any of the oddities of the corpse once the grave was opened. And it turns out the occupant of that grave was only dead because of the silver bullets in her chest. Rudy, the brother, thought to steal those too, which as you might guess, brought her back to life.
Yardwork – Ariel notices that the house next door which had sat vacant for a long time after people would move in and then out almost right away, now covered with graffiti and broken windows, has the original owner come home. Mr. Jackson is outside at all hours working on his garden that he once kept so beautiful. She decides to be nice and help him plant the flowers. And soon finds there is a reason he’s come back, and that it’s not a fountain he’s planning to put in the middle of the garden.
Deadliner – This is a story to go along with Night of the Living Dead, so it takes place back around 1968. It is a zombie circus story basically. They think they can control them, but as you might guess, it all goes wrong in the end, and we have an appearance by a zombified Elizabeth Taylor.
Loveless – Looking for a psychic who has moved away from her office, the main character goes to find out what is wrong with them, only to find the psychic is also dead and living in her mausoleum while still giving readings, and the main character may actually belong in the graveyard as well.
I’m Not Myself Today
The Body Electric – It starts with a lightning strike. The main character wakes up or comes to after being struck by lightning and turns out they have gone back in time and have woken up in another person’s body. He is called Al by his parents, but when he says that isn’t his name, they ask if he wants to be called Tom instead like he’s asked before. He asks questions in a way to figure out what he is supposed to do, ending up going to his job the next day selling newspapers on the railroad. On the train he meets another boy who has come from the future, his name is Aleck. And Aleck has been looking for Al, as he knows the two of them are going to become great adversaries. It’s 1860, can you guess who they are?
Mail Merge – This story is a chat room basically with messages from several different people. They seem to be discussing parallel universes and soon it seems two of the people keep saying the same things and they joke that it is the same person in different universes.
The Elsewhere Boutique – This might have been one of my favorite stories. A sister and her brother are looking for a gift for their father and see this strange store where no one seems to be. All it has inside though are little glass bottles. The man working there tells them what it is, but they don’t understand and ask for a sample. The sample takes them elsewhere you might say. I really liked the idea of this one, and how the story worked the changes in almost seamlessly that it was as if nothing had really changed even as you read and figured out what had changed.
Ralphy Sherman’s Inside Story – And we had one more trip into this character’s world. In this case his cousins came to visit, and it turns out they were sugar and spice and everything nice, as well as snips, snails, and puppy dog tails.
The Soul Exchange – Yet another good story. What would you do if you could get a better body? As a teenager when you wanted a “friend’s” boyfriend, but you had a pimple or your own boyfriend didn’t seem to find you that pretty. And what if you weren’t the first to do this?
Clothes Make the Man – This is a tale of grabbing the wrong luggage at the airport, but keeping it. And wearing the clothes, even though the shirts have an extra sleeve on the back of all of them. And there is a weird hole in the back of the pants like a fly, but it has no zipper. And soon the clothes begin to fit you a little too well. Of course at this point there must be an exchange with the original owner of the luggage, right?
You Reap What You Sow (The World of Scythe)
As I haven’t read this series yet, while I started the first story, I just was already tired and it was getting late, so I didn’t end up reading them. I’m guessing fans of that book series will look forward to these stories most of all!
Review first posted on Lisa Loves Literature.
Read
February 9, 2026I only read the Scythe stories, but it was so worth it.
Also: ARE WE GETTING AN ARC OF THE SCYTHE PREQUEL?!?!?! I NEED IT NOW
Also: ARE WE GETTING AN ARC OF THE SCYTHE PREQUEL?!?!?! I NEED IT NOW
February 22, 2026
3.5 stars.
This is a great rating from me for a collection of short stories which I normally rate as high as 3 stars. I enjoyed how they were broken up into sections with themes which gave the stories a bit of additional purpose and not just random stories.
They were very easy to read and it didn’t take me long to finish them. Each section had at least a few I really enjoyed. Some had key messages to get across while others were just fun, strange stories.
The two Arc Of Scythe stories at the end make me so excited about the prequel trilogy coming soon!
This is a great rating from me for a collection of short stories which I normally rate as high as 3 stars. I enjoyed how they were broken up into sections with themes which gave the stories a bit of additional purpose and not just random stories.
They were very easy to read and it didn’t take me long to finish them. Each section had at least a few I really enjoyed. Some had key messages to get across while others were just fun, strange stories.
The two Arc Of Scythe stories at the end make me so excited about the prequel trilogy coming soon!
Did Not Finish
July 16, 2026I simply couldn’t care less…
This book would’ve been better if it wasn’t so many little short stories that end right when they get to the good part. Instead it should’ve had like 6-8 short stories that actually get more in depth about things.
This book would’ve been better if it wasn’t so many little short stories that end right when they get to the good part. Instead it should’ve had like 6-8 short stories that actually get more in depth about things.
August 23, 2025
I received an early copy from Net Galley and exchange for an honest review.
While I love Schusterman's writing, I'm not usually a short story collection fan. I did find several of these would be really teachable in a high school classroom. There is irony, point of view, theme, and setting lessons woven into these.
I particularly like the story that was told to the point of view of a gun. There was nothing graphic, but it made some great points that would make good class discussions. A couple of the stories dragged a bit to make their point, but they're all quite short and there are enough good stories on this collection to make it worth read.
While I love Schusterman's writing, I'm not usually a short story collection fan. I did find several of these would be really teachable in a high school classroom. There is irony, point of view, theme, and setting lessons woven into these.
I particularly like the story that was told to the point of view of a gun. There was nothing graphic, but it made some great points that would make good class discussions. A couple of the stories dragged a bit to make their point, but they're all quite short and there are enough good stories on this collection to make it worth read.
February 10, 2026
I really enjoy Neal Shusterman’s books, and this collection reminded me why I like so much. As with most short story collections, I connected with some stories more than others, but overall it was a good read. The concepts are classic Shusterman, and the stories have touches of sci-fi, dystopia, and horror. It’s a good variety.
What I always like about Shusterman’s stories is how thought-provoking they are. I also loved revisiting the Arc of the Scythe universe with the new gleaning stories, which felt like a nice bonus for longtime fans. Overall, it’s definitely worth picking up if you like speculative fiction that sticks with you after you turn the page.
What I always like about Shusterman’s stories is how thought-provoking they are. I also loved revisiting the Arc of the Scythe universe with the new gleaning stories, which felt like a nice bonus for longtime fans. Overall, it’s definitely worth picking up if you like speculative fiction that sticks with you after you turn the page.
April 13, 2026
It's a massive collection with over 40 short stories and my experience overall was good. I don't think there was a single story that I hated.
The first part of the collection, Forces of Nature, trod the line between fantasy and horror. It focused on children, their relations and their experiences of interacting with the supernatural. Every single story was easy to get into and was engaging (and this actually continued throughout the entire collection), but there wasn't any that I would call brilliant. The only one that was somewhat memorable was "A Unity of (Purpose)" which concerned a dolphin running for president.
The second group of stories, Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree leaned more towards horror. Between people addicted to an immersive game, alien possession, nosy guardian angels, elevator to hell and an evil Christmas tree, I was positively unsettled, and occasionally amused. It was a big step up from the first batch of stories.
The third group was The Wheel of Destiny and here the collection veered into the direction of science fiction, though not exclusively. Most stories were interesting from the perspective of plot, twists and ideas, but I doubt any actual scientist was consulted. For example, "Dawn Terminator" really triggered me and I'm not even a scientist, just a layperson with casual interest in astronomy. Our type of star absolutely cannot go supernova, and even if it was mysteriously replaced by another star, the radiation alone would kill everything on Earth very quickly. On another note, "Majority Rules" was a hidden pearl in the collection and probably one of my favourite pieces despite its brevity.
Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls part was a collection of really weird tales that were harder to classify. It was probably my favourite group, where not a single short story was below 4 stars. The very best for me were probably "Caleb's Colors" (sad!) and "Dark Calley" (creepy!).
The Living, the Dead, and the Undecided was exactly what the title implies and it was fine, but nothing to write home about.
I'm Not Myself Today veered back towards the weird in a good way, and each story was like a surprise egg. "The Body Electric" and "The Elsewhere Boutique" were one of my favourite stories in the whole collection.
Finally, the last two stories came from Arc of a Scythe series. While I loved the series, I don't think those stories were really the best that this unique utopia world had to offer and I was slightly disappointed.
There were several interconnected stories making an appearance throughout the entire collection (Ralphy Sherman series) and it was pretty much the only stories I didn't care about. Bully kids messing with people they don't like and getting away with it is not my cup of tea.
Overall, it was a really good collection and I had a great time. It was partially a mixed bag as expected from such a collection, but the positive definitely outweighed the meh. I wish maybe that less stories were on the YA side, with children as protagonists, as the collection wasn't explicitly labelled as such.
The first part of the collection, Forces of Nature, trod the line between fantasy and horror. It focused on children, their relations and their experiences of interacting with the supernatural. Every single story was easy to get into and was engaging (and this actually continued throughout the entire collection), but there wasn't any that I would call brilliant. The only one that was somewhat memorable was "A Unity of (Purpose)" which concerned a dolphin running for president.
The second group of stories, Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree leaned more towards horror. Between people addicted to an immersive game, alien possession, nosy guardian angels, elevator to hell and an evil Christmas tree, I was positively unsettled, and occasionally amused. It was a big step up from the first batch of stories.
The third group was The Wheel of Destiny and here the collection veered into the direction of science fiction, though not exclusively. Most stories were interesting from the perspective of plot, twists and ideas, but I doubt any actual scientist was consulted. For example, "Dawn Terminator" really triggered me and I'm not even a scientist, just a layperson with casual interest in astronomy. Our type of star absolutely cannot go supernova, and even if it was mysteriously replaced by another star, the radiation alone would kill everything on Earth very quickly. On another note, "Majority Rules" was a hidden pearl in the collection and probably one of my favourite pieces despite its brevity.
Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls part was a collection of really weird tales that were harder to classify. It was probably my favourite group, where not a single short story was below 4 stars. The very best for me were probably "Caleb's Colors" (sad!) and "Dark Calley" (creepy!).
The Living, the Dead, and the Undecided was exactly what the title implies and it was fine, but nothing to write home about.
I'm Not Myself Today veered back towards the weird in a good way, and each story was like a surprise egg. "The Body Electric" and "The Elsewhere Boutique" were one of my favourite stories in the whole collection.
Finally, the last two stories came from Arc of a Scythe series. While I loved the series, I don't think those stories were really the best that this unique utopia world had to offer and I was slightly disappointed.
There were several interconnected stories making an appearance throughout the entire collection (Ralphy Sherman series) and it was pretty much the only stories I didn't care about. Bully kids messing with people they don't like and getting away with it is not my cup of tea.
Overall, it was a really good collection and I had a great time. It was partially a mixed bag as expected from such a collection, but the positive definitely outweighed the meh. I wish maybe that less stories were on the YA side, with children as protagonists, as the collection wasn't explicitly labelled as such.
Read
December 1, 2025I received an early copy from Net Galley and exchange for an honest review.
Mindworks is a perfectly okay collection short stories, displaying Shusterman's wide palette of paints as a writer. None of the stories feel like they blur in with others - each inspiration/setting feels unique in each entry.
Some entries are provided with concepts/settings so interesting that the reader would wish for a full length novel to be extruded out from them, while others are needlessly elaborate setups for a dad-joke-bad-pun punchline (I'm looking at you, Butterball)
There were very few titles that I found to be completely disengaging/boring.
The only problem I have with MindWorks is that the intended audience is unclear (specifically the age ranges).
Sure, Shusterman is a Young Adult writer, so I would love to think of this title as the perfect text book for an English class. However, some language and concepts of a few of the stories may not be the best match for that age range.
Some youngers readers will be able to handle it (I myself was an adult horror reader in elementary school with no issues of more intense scenes) - but I just wanted to point out that your mileage may vary.
Mindworks is a perfectly okay collection short stories, displaying Shusterman's wide palette of paints as a writer. None of the stories feel like they blur in with others - each inspiration/setting feels unique in each entry.
Some entries are provided with concepts/settings so interesting that the reader would wish for a full length novel to be extruded out from them, while others are needlessly elaborate setups for a dad-joke-bad-pun punchline (I'm looking at you, Butterball)
There were very few titles that I found to be completely disengaging/boring.
The only problem I have with MindWorks is that the intended audience is unclear (specifically the age ranges).
Sure, Shusterman is a Young Adult writer, so I would love to think of this title as the perfect text book for an English class. However, some language and concepts of a few of the stories may not be the best match for that age range.
Some youngers readers will be able to handle it (I myself was an adult horror reader in elementary school with no issues of more intense scenes) - but I just wanted to point out that your mileage may vary.
March 3, 2026
I found this a wildly inventive grab-bag of 40+ stories, but a few really did genuinely shine.
The two entries set in the Arc of a Scythe universe are my standouts — sharp, philosophical, and darkly playful, especially the meta piece that blurs the line between creator and creation. It was classic Neal Shusterman: morally knotty, clever, and slightly unsettling.
Another of my highlights was the story about a dolphin running for president — absurd on the surface, but laced with biting political satire and an uncomfortable amount of plausibility. There was also a quietly eerie tale centred on transformation and identity that feels more horror-leaning and lingers longer than expected.
Not every story lands equally, but when Neal Shusterman hits, he really hits — high-concept ideas delivered with wit and an undercurrent of existential unease.
A chaotic, imaginative anthology best enjoyed in bites. Take your time with this.
The two entries set in the Arc of a Scythe universe are my standouts — sharp, philosophical, and darkly playful, especially the meta piece that blurs the line between creator and creation. It was classic Neal Shusterman: morally knotty, clever, and slightly unsettling.
Another of my highlights was the story about a dolphin running for president — absurd on the surface, but laced with biting political satire and an uncomfortable amount of plausibility. There was also a quietly eerie tale centred on transformation and identity that feels more horror-leaning and lingers longer than expected.
Not every story lands equally, but when Neal Shusterman hits, he really hits — high-concept ideas delivered with wit and an undercurrent of existential unease.
A chaotic, imaginative anthology best enjoyed in bites. Take your time with this.
Did Not Finish
December 18, 2025Unfortunately, this just wasn't for me.
I found a lot of the intricacies confusing, so would be going back to see if I could make anything of how my brain was becoming befuddled, which just ended up in me becoming more confused as the stories progressed into one another. I can definitely appreciate Neal's writing ability, though, because some of the stories are engrossing and the writing is tautly clever, but I just couldn't gel with the short story make-up and topic hopping, so I'd find myself putting it down and not giving it any attention, which it definitely deserves—I just think I'm not the target audience for it.
I do hope to give one of Neal's books a read someday soon and appreciate the publisher for thinking of me for this because it was definitely almost a match.
I found a lot of the intricacies confusing, so would be going back to see if I could make anything of how my brain was becoming befuddled, which just ended up in me becoming more confused as the stories progressed into one another. I can definitely appreciate Neal's writing ability, though, because some of the stories are engrossing and the writing is tautly clever, but I just couldn't gel with the short story make-up and topic hopping, so I'd find myself putting it down and not giving it any attention, which it definitely deserves—I just think I'm not the target audience for it.
I do hope to give one of Neal's books a read someday soon and appreciate the publisher for thinking of me for this because it was definitely almost a match.
May 20, 2025
I’m a big Neal Shusterman fan and I particularly love his Arc of a Scythe series so I was very very excited to read this compendium of short stories since some of the stories were from that world.
The stories themselves were very entertaining and thought provoking which is one of the reasons I love Neal Shusterman’s writing but my one issue with this book was that I really couldn’t tell which ones were from the Scythe world. None were about my favorite characters from that series or felt particularly connected so that was a disappointment for me.
Overall, this is a must read for Shusterman fans.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The stories themselves were very entertaining and thought provoking which is one of the reasons I love Neal Shusterman’s writing but my one issue with this book was that I really couldn’t tell which ones were from the Scythe world. None were about my favorite characters from that series or felt particularly connected so that was a disappointment for me.
Overall, this is a must read for Shusterman fans.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 24, 2025
My thoughts are based on 24/43 of the short stories (e-arc readers were only given a portion). Shusterman has a creative mind, and I was delighted by many of these stories. My favorites were: “I, of the Storm”, “Special Deliverance”, and “Bad Fortune at Richard Yee’s”. I rated the stories as I went, and my ratings ranged from 2-5 stars, with 3 and 4 stars being most prevalent. If you’re looking for something a little creepy and a lot of fun to read this season, definitely check these short stories out!
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an early e-arc copy in exchange for my honest review.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an early e-arc copy in exchange for my honest review.
May 30, 2025
Thank you to the publisher for the earc in exchange for my honest review.
Though I own quite a few of this authors work, this is my first experience with Neil and I enjoyed it. Short stories that make you want to know more are my favorite. Definitely worth the read.
Though I own quite a few of this authors work, this is my first experience with Neil and I enjoyed it. Short stories that make you want to know more are my favorite. Definitely worth the read.
Read
November 18, 2025MindWorks: An Uncanny Compendium of Short Fiction by Neal Shusterman is an anthology with clever and quirky stories. MindWorks is the title, and the anthology gives an insight into how Neal Shusterman's mind works. The stories mostly feature teenagers, with the narratives balancing between middle-grade and young adult genres. Some of the stories feature inanimate items becoming real. The stories' subjects include gun violence, abandonment, loneliness, isolation, fear, and the environment. Shusterman has a way of approaching topics in humorous and slightly off-kilter ways of viewing the world. Despite the humor and quirkiness of the approach, the stories do not talk down to the reader and deal with real subject matter in a fun way. Shusterman is the creative mind behind the Scythe series and has two new short stories in that world. Other stories include a talking dolphin running for president, a teddy bear turning into a real bear, a cooked turkey becoming real, a haunted Christmas tree, and two kids jokingly selling a bag of wind, which happened to be real. The collection has a good variety of stories, some are short and just a page long, while others are longer and almost a novelette. I was able to read a shortened version of MindWorks featuring the first 24 short stories. The collection has 19 more stories, including the two new Scythe stories. I was able to read MindWorks early thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing. Mindworks by Neal Shusterman was published on November 18, 2025.
Why did I read MindWorks by Neal Shusterman? I'm a huge fan of Shusterman and his Arc of the Scythe series. So I jumped at the chance to read new stories in that series. I may have cried a little when they were not included in this copy. But Shusterman is a great writer who thinks outside of the box and is truly unique.
I read and ranked all 24 short stories included in this version of the collection. I wrote a brief description of the stories and made notes about what I liked and did not like about them. I have ranked all the stories from favorite to least favorite in categories of 5, 4, 3, and 2 stars.
5 Stars:
Presumed Destroyed with Brendan Shusterman is about the life of a handgun. At first, the gun is about to be destroyed, but then it is saved and illegally sold. It is sold and sold again, passing the hands of three individuals. The story is very powerful and looks at the heart of gun violence in America. The story reminded me of Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. I like that the gun has a conscience and does not want violence.
Pea Soup is an interesting horror story where a family is on a road trip, and they keep seeing billboards for Pea Soup. It gets in their head that they need it, and when they taste it, they become addicted. It reminded me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But they wanted to rule the world with Pea Soup. This one gave Goosebumps vibes. The imagery is really good and a little scary.
Obsidian Sky is about a boy curious about bats, and a strange girl who knows where they come from. An investigation will change his life. This story is very metaphoric. The language and the imagery are written beautifully. The story dips into body horror. The ending was perfect for this story. I love the message of the story. The last line enforces the concept.
A Unity of (Purpose) is a political satire about electing a sentient dolphin as president. The title references a translation mix-up. Where the dolphin said, a unity of purpose, but the translator said a unity of porpoise. This gaffe hurts his election. The opposition party wants Ling-o the panda, who has just saved a child in a zoo, to run. The story is hilarious. I will not spoil who the potential running mate is. But it is hilarious. The story took me a second to figure out what was going on, but the writing is good. The story is very out of the box and fun. The humor is smart. The more serious the story gets, the funnier the story is. The political spin on the Ling-o the panda was great.
Ralphy Sherman’s Bag of Wind is about two kids who mess with another kid. The kids sell him a bag of wind through snickering grins. The kids don't believe in the bag of wind, but the kid who bought it does. They are all about to feel the power of wind and belief. I loved this middle grade story. It reminds me of Sideways Stories from Wayside School. The story mixes the heart and the humor so well. The story was just fun, but also well-written.
Non-Player Character by Neal and Brendan Shusterman is about Darion, a boy who is ignored by his parents in favor of an interactive zombie video game. Darion hasn't played the game even though his family bought him a headset. He watches them play and notices an NPC in the game looking at him. He decides to enter the game to talk to her. I really liked this story; it had me guessing the direction it was going. I like that it covered absentee parents and abandonment.
The In Crowd is about a loner, Alana, who has been in and out of foster homes. She feels like a loner and has decided to live her life like it. When she finds a boy crying, he goes to talk to him. He is a people person who can't be around people. He was the last person seen when a group of kids went missing. Something is not making sense. She finds out his secret, but it might make her disappear.
Dawn Terminator is an apocalyptic story about the sun going supernova and a family trying to make it to the Arctic. They go to the Arctic to escape the sun, since it is dark for 3 months. The destruction that is described is very effective. Poor San Francisco. The story is compelling. You can feel the desperation. It reminded me of the movie 2012. I liked Lauren and what she did with her artistic talent.
Bad Fortune at Richard Yee's is about Robin and her family. They have a tradition of going to Richard Yee's, a Chinese restaurant, and everyone reading the fortune out loud. Once Robin's aunt read a fortune meant as a joke that predicted her aunt's death. Since that day, Robin has not opened any cookies and instead has been reading ones she made herself. But something changed, and now she is haunted by fortune cookies. There's a slight cosmic horror vibe to this story. The ending was great, one of my favorites in this collection. The premise gets a little ridiculous and repetitive, but it maintains its fun.
4 Stars:
Terrible Tannenbaum is about a family purchasing a haunted Christmas tree. The story was very clever. It was a very subtle horror, but it was effective. The tree doesn't talk or anything, but is still a presence. The 3 siblings have good banter. The ending was quirky but worked.
The Bob Squad is about Bobby, who awakes from a dream, with 7 strangers in business suits and clipboards staring at him. The strangers can do incredible things like walk through walls and pull objects out of nothing. The story has a great twist that I will not reveal here. The story is very fun and quirky. It made me chuckle a couple of times. This story reminded me of Goosebumps a lot. Especially the final twist.
Boy on a Stoop is about a young teenager who has no friends, finds a handsome boy on the stoop in a row of condemned buildings. She sees him every day on her way to school, where he will smile and enjoy the sun. She gets up the courage to talk to him and finds they have a lot in common. He sees her and wants to show her his place, which is deep in the condemned buildings. This story is about trusting strangers. The story is also about teen loneliness and what you would do for a friend. This is a horror story with scary and creepy moments. This story is more YA than some others. The beginning is a little slow. The imagery is good, and I did like the ending.
Midnight Michelangelo is about a graffiti artist who calls himself the Midnight Michelangelo. His art is horror or futuristic. He watches his art, the Martians change from happy face to angry, and they get painted over. He started painting more horrific imagery than he had in mind. His art has started coming alive, taunting him. I like the way the story slowly ramps up the horror. The horror felt Lovecraftian. The ending was good. I like the way he fought back. And what was behind the horror in his head.
The Shit on Our Shoes is about Lowell, an orphaned boy on the spaceship Primodius. The vessel is for colonists to secure the new planet. Lowell is made fun of for his bad odor. He is a farmer and does not want to waste the water. The new planet is less than a month away. What Lowell can't figure out is how the water supply is low. This question leads him to discover what the real purpose of the colony is. The story was good, but a little too slow. It builds up to an exciting ending, but the story is a bit of a slow burn. I like the character of Mr. Beausoleil, the only living first-generation colonist. The conspiracy was good, and how Lowell figured it out. And what he now has to do to survive it. The story reminded me of Wool by Hugh Howey.
Ralphy Sherman's Jacuzzi of Wonders is a humorous story of a brother and sister who have to share a hot tub with their father's new girlfriend. The brother and sister clearly do not like her and tell all kinds of family secrets that can't be true, or can they? The story was a great use of sarcasm. I liked the story. Shusterman flips the already odd moment on its head. The siblings reminded me of the kids on Bob's Burgers.
Butterball is a flash fiction about a cooked turkey escaping the oven and more. The story is 1 page long. It is humorous and a good idea. I wanted it to continue a little more. The end line was okay, and could have been better.
Number Two is a flash fiction piece that is a page long. The twist is at the end, and it was good. This reminded me a lot of a digital called Life of Pumpkin. I was confused on this one, trying to figure it out until the end, where I chuckled. The story has some great personification.
The Living Place is about a family moving into a new house and discovering a place in their backyard that cures illness. The story is kind of a take on The Secret Garden. But the story takes a turn when this place full of life becomes effective. The story could be a metaphor for pollution. I thought this story had the best prose. There are some beautiful descriptions. The story was a little too predictable and easy to figure out where it was going.
3 Stars:
Fear-for-All is about Seth, who is fearless but obsessed with fear since he is not afraid of anything. He gets accepted into Oakheart Academy, where every student has an irrational fear but him. But he has a purpose, and one he might fear the results of. This story was interesting. The ending was okay for me; I wanted more explanation for how the end turned out for Seth. The fears were interesting.
Opabinia is about Myles, who keeps being visited by time travelers set to give him a message, but they keep appearing in walls and other things. One finally makes contact and says he is destined to watch prehistoric sea creatures at the Burgess Shale. He is given a time machine, and is told by the time traveler that he is destined to push the button at a time travel 5000 years in the past. The story is a little mixed.
I, of the Storm is about a family trip to a Mexico City museum. The museum is filled with Aztec and Inca statues of Gods. Aishia is responsible for her baby brother Karson, who likes to run and hide. He stands in an area where he is not allowed to be, a place reserved for a new statue. Aishia finds him, and he runs away, but this time she can't find him at all. The family stayed in Mexico for weeks, and couldn't find him.
Smells Like Kafka is about a young girl who can not seem to fit in. Her parents aren't really there. She was raised by her aunt. When her parents arrive, they give extravagant gifts, like a teddy bear that is life-sized. She wishes her life were better, and the Teddy Bear named Kafka becomes real. The story had an interesting take on dependency. I liked the resolution with the parents and what it means for the future. The story was thoughtful and an interesting take on stuffed animals becoming real.
The writing was okay. The story didn't really grab me.
Special Deliverance is about a delivery boy who has to make a special delivery to hell. The story is short. It is quirky, but it did not always land. I thought the story idea was okay. I like the ending, but I hated the final line. This story was just okay.
2 Stars:
Majority Rules is about a person who is a fulcrum in arguments of the world. Is the Earth round or Flat? When the fulcrum is the tie breaker, our reality shifts in that direction. The fulcrum has to decide once again. The story is okay. It is a good idea, but I was not a fan of the way this story was told.
Recommendation: Since I did not read the full copy, I can not give a recommendation.
Rating: MindWorks by Neal Shusterman. I will not rate yet. I have rated 24 out of the 43 stories so far.
Why did I read MindWorks by Neal Shusterman? I'm a huge fan of Shusterman and his Arc of the Scythe series. So I jumped at the chance to read new stories in that series. I may have cried a little when they were not included in this copy. But Shusterman is a great writer who thinks outside of the box and is truly unique.
I read and ranked all 24 short stories included in this version of the collection. I wrote a brief description of the stories and made notes about what I liked and did not like about them. I have ranked all the stories from favorite to least favorite in categories of 5, 4, 3, and 2 stars.
5 Stars:
Presumed Destroyed with Brendan Shusterman is about the life of a handgun. At first, the gun is about to be destroyed, but then it is saved and illegally sold. It is sold and sold again, passing the hands of three individuals. The story is very powerful and looks at the heart of gun violence in America. The story reminded me of Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds. I like that the gun has a conscience and does not want violence.
Pea Soup is an interesting horror story where a family is on a road trip, and they keep seeing billboards for Pea Soup. It gets in their head that they need it, and when they taste it, they become addicted. It reminded me of Invasion of the Body Snatchers. But they wanted to rule the world with Pea Soup. This one gave Goosebumps vibes. The imagery is really good and a little scary.
Obsidian Sky is about a boy curious about bats, and a strange girl who knows where they come from. An investigation will change his life. This story is very metaphoric. The language and the imagery are written beautifully. The story dips into body horror. The ending was perfect for this story. I love the message of the story. The last line enforces the concept.
A Unity of (Purpose) is a political satire about electing a sentient dolphin as president. The title references a translation mix-up. Where the dolphin said, a unity of purpose, but the translator said a unity of porpoise. This gaffe hurts his election. The opposition party wants Ling-o the panda, who has just saved a child in a zoo, to run. The story is hilarious. I will not spoil who the potential running mate is. But it is hilarious. The story took me a second to figure out what was going on, but the writing is good. The story is very out of the box and fun. The humor is smart. The more serious the story gets, the funnier the story is. The political spin on the Ling-o the panda was great.
Ralphy Sherman’s Bag of Wind is about two kids who mess with another kid. The kids sell him a bag of wind through snickering grins. The kids don't believe in the bag of wind, but the kid who bought it does. They are all about to feel the power of wind and belief. I loved this middle grade story. It reminds me of Sideways Stories from Wayside School. The story mixes the heart and the humor so well. The story was just fun, but also well-written.
Non-Player Character by Neal and Brendan Shusterman is about Darion, a boy who is ignored by his parents in favor of an interactive zombie video game. Darion hasn't played the game even though his family bought him a headset. He watches them play and notices an NPC in the game looking at him. He decides to enter the game to talk to her. I really liked this story; it had me guessing the direction it was going. I like that it covered absentee parents and abandonment.
The In Crowd is about a loner, Alana, who has been in and out of foster homes. She feels like a loner and has decided to live her life like it. When she finds a boy crying, he goes to talk to him. He is a people person who can't be around people. He was the last person seen when a group of kids went missing. Something is not making sense. She finds out his secret, but it might make her disappear.
Dawn Terminator is an apocalyptic story about the sun going supernova and a family trying to make it to the Arctic. They go to the Arctic to escape the sun, since it is dark for 3 months. The destruction that is described is very effective. Poor San Francisco. The story is compelling. You can feel the desperation. It reminded me of the movie 2012. I liked Lauren and what she did with her artistic talent.
Bad Fortune at Richard Yee's is about Robin and her family. They have a tradition of going to Richard Yee's, a Chinese restaurant, and everyone reading the fortune out loud. Once Robin's aunt read a fortune meant as a joke that predicted her aunt's death. Since that day, Robin has not opened any cookies and instead has been reading ones she made herself. But something changed, and now she is haunted by fortune cookies. There's a slight cosmic horror vibe to this story. The ending was great, one of my favorites in this collection. The premise gets a little ridiculous and repetitive, but it maintains its fun.
4 Stars:
Terrible Tannenbaum is about a family purchasing a haunted Christmas tree. The story was very clever. It was a very subtle horror, but it was effective. The tree doesn't talk or anything, but is still a presence. The 3 siblings have good banter. The ending was quirky but worked.
The Bob Squad is about Bobby, who awakes from a dream, with 7 strangers in business suits and clipboards staring at him. The strangers can do incredible things like walk through walls and pull objects out of nothing. The story has a great twist that I will not reveal here. The story is very fun and quirky. It made me chuckle a couple of times. This story reminded me of Goosebumps a lot. Especially the final twist.
Boy on a Stoop is about a young teenager who has no friends, finds a handsome boy on the stoop in a row of condemned buildings. She sees him every day on her way to school, where he will smile and enjoy the sun. She gets up the courage to talk to him and finds they have a lot in common. He sees her and wants to show her his place, which is deep in the condemned buildings. This story is about trusting strangers. The story is also about teen loneliness and what you would do for a friend. This is a horror story with scary and creepy moments. This story is more YA than some others. The beginning is a little slow. The imagery is good, and I did like the ending.
Midnight Michelangelo is about a graffiti artist who calls himself the Midnight Michelangelo. His art is horror or futuristic. He watches his art, the Martians change from happy face to angry, and they get painted over. He started painting more horrific imagery than he had in mind. His art has started coming alive, taunting him. I like the way the story slowly ramps up the horror. The horror felt Lovecraftian. The ending was good. I like the way he fought back. And what was behind the horror in his head.
The Shit on Our Shoes is about Lowell, an orphaned boy on the spaceship Primodius. The vessel is for colonists to secure the new planet. Lowell is made fun of for his bad odor. He is a farmer and does not want to waste the water. The new planet is less than a month away. What Lowell can't figure out is how the water supply is low. This question leads him to discover what the real purpose of the colony is. The story was good, but a little too slow. It builds up to an exciting ending, but the story is a bit of a slow burn. I like the character of Mr. Beausoleil, the only living first-generation colonist. The conspiracy was good, and how Lowell figured it out. And what he now has to do to survive it. The story reminded me of Wool by Hugh Howey.
Ralphy Sherman's Jacuzzi of Wonders is a humorous story of a brother and sister who have to share a hot tub with their father's new girlfriend. The brother and sister clearly do not like her and tell all kinds of family secrets that can't be true, or can they? The story was a great use of sarcasm. I liked the story. Shusterman flips the already odd moment on its head. The siblings reminded me of the kids on Bob's Burgers.
Butterball is a flash fiction about a cooked turkey escaping the oven and more. The story is 1 page long. It is humorous and a good idea. I wanted it to continue a little more. The end line was okay, and could have been better.
Number Two is a flash fiction piece that is a page long. The twist is at the end, and it was good. This reminded me a lot of a digital called Life of Pumpkin. I was confused on this one, trying to figure it out until the end, where I chuckled. The story has some great personification.
The Living Place is about a family moving into a new house and discovering a place in their backyard that cures illness. The story is kind of a take on The Secret Garden. But the story takes a turn when this place full of life becomes effective. The story could be a metaphor for pollution. I thought this story had the best prose. There are some beautiful descriptions. The story was a little too predictable and easy to figure out where it was going.
3 Stars:
Fear-for-All is about Seth, who is fearless but obsessed with fear since he is not afraid of anything. He gets accepted into Oakheart Academy, where every student has an irrational fear but him. But he has a purpose, and one he might fear the results of. This story was interesting. The ending was okay for me; I wanted more explanation for how the end turned out for Seth. The fears were interesting.
Opabinia is about Myles, who keeps being visited by time travelers set to give him a message, but they keep appearing in walls and other things. One finally makes contact and says he is destined to watch prehistoric sea creatures at the Burgess Shale. He is given a time machine, and is told by the time traveler that he is destined to push the button at a time travel 5000 years in the past. The story is a little mixed.
I, of the Storm is about a family trip to a Mexico City museum. The museum is filled with Aztec and Inca statues of Gods. Aishia is responsible for her baby brother Karson, who likes to run and hide. He stands in an area where he is not allowed to be, a place reserved for a new statue. Aishia finds him, and he runs away, but this time she can't find him at all. The family stayed in Mexico for weeks, and couldn't find him.
Smells Like Kafka is about a young girl who can not seem to fit in. Her parents aren't really there. She was raised by her aunt. When her parents arrive, they give extravagant gifts, like a teddy bear that is life-sized. She wishes her life were better, and the Teddy Bear named Kafka becomes real. The story had an interesting take on dependency. I liked the resolution with the parents and what it means for the future. The story was thoughtful and an interesting take on stuffed animals becoming real.
The writing was okay. The story didn't really grab me.
Special Deliverance is about a delivery boy who has to make a special delivery to hell. The story is short. It is quirky, but it did not always land. I thought the story idea was okay. I like the ending, but I hated the final line. This story was just okay.
2 Stars:
Majority Rules is about a person who is a fulcrum in arguments of the world. Is the Earth round or Flat? When the fulcrum is the tie breaker, our reality shifts in that direction. The fulcrum has to decide once again. The story is okay. It is a good idea, but I was not a fan of the way this story was told.
Recommendation: Since I did not read the full copy, I can not give a recommendation.
Rating: MindWorks by Neal Shusterman. I will not rate yet. I have rated 24 out of the 43 stories so far.
January 20, 2026
Neal Shusterman is one of my favorite authors, so of course I pre-ordered the signed deluxe special edition of Mindworks months before release. I didn't really know what to expect, except for greatness. And the collection begins with greatness and ends with greater greatness. How can I describe the epic intelligence that is the ShusterGod? Below I have written the title of each story in order with it's individual rating out of five and a little blurb of my thoughts. Hopefully not spoilery, but enough to interest you.
Forces of Nature
"A Unity of [Purpose]"-5/5
At first I was confused about the brackets in the title. then I thought of a word that would have made the title funny. Then I realized the intention, as with how one changes out a word with brackets when quoting. Too intelligent, Shusterman, too intelligent. This one was both satirical and also goofy. It follows a dolphin that is running for president. There's a part with a hamster potentially becoming presidents and a lovely line that says "We've certainly had worse..." 👏👏👏 I really appreciated what this story was doing and how it ended. I feel like having this as the first story really sets the tone for the rest of the novel, and I am absolutely loving it.
"I, of the Storm"-4/5
Family visiting an art gallery. Older daughter tasked to watch her three-year-old brother who is full of tantrums and wants to play hide-and-seek. Bother mysteriously disappears. Mythical whimsy.
"Smells Like Kafka"-4/5
Girl whose parents don't really have time for her and do lots of fun things without her, leaving her at her aunt's house frequently. A gift-bear becomes something more. As with most of Shusterman's titles, quite thoughtful. Similar themes to Kafka's The Metamorphosis in the regard that anyone can transform themselves to be better, they just have to actually try in order to made a change.
"Obsidian Sky"-4/5
South Texas. Bats and caves. Gaia. I love bats. This was an interesting one. Another clever story title to boot.
"Ralphy Sherman's Bag of Wind"-4/5
Ralphy and Roxy have a paper bag they left on the table in the library. Local kind-of-nosy-jerk Marvin wants a peek, unable to mind his own business. The two pull it off as a bag of wind, selling it for a whopping $12. It's just a silly paper bag after all. Or is it?
"The In Crowd"-4/5
Set in a mansion-turned group home. A new bot arrives who is said to have murdered his whole neighborhood. What is the truth behind the ne boy's mysterious arrival and the current disappearances of the other kids???
"The Living Place"-3.5/5
Whimsical. Some places are just life itself.
Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree
"Non-Player Character"-4.5/5
Harrowingly relevant to today's world and the power that video games can hold over our lives. A daunting look at the near future with virtual reality where parents barely take care of themselves or their child because of immersive virtual reality. When youth get sucked in as well, it's really an end-of-reality situation.
"Midnight Michelangelo"-4.5/5
Sixteen-year-old street artist whose work is brilliant. Art teacher thinks he could do great if he did art for galleries where people would see it as such, instead of the public's perception of it as graffiti. When his artwork starts becoming something not his own, he figures something extra strange is going on. Hopefully he can get to the bottom of it. Loved the aspect about street art vs gallery art. There is a ton of gorgeous street art out there that some people see as vandalism while others find the beauty within it. The twist of this one was intriguing and even just a little bit haunting in the end.
"Boy on a Stoop"-4.5/5
The title alone just reminds me of the "Stoop Kid" episode of Hey Arnold where they say "Stoop Kid's afraid to leave his stoop!" The vibes of the story itself isn't too far off...at first. But there is definitely something odd about the gorgeous boy who just sits on his stoop every day. It's a bit strange, but Olivia love strange things, so the matchup is perfect. Even when things take a more "natural" turn, she just rolls with it. Fun and great characterization for a short story!
"Butterball"-4.5/5
LOL what did I just read? Flash fiction. This one pager is...well...I don't want to spoil it, but it's both horrifying and a bit Thanksgiving festive all at one. The title makes this hilarious. I loved this one.
"The Bob Squad"-4.5/5
So apparently everyone in the entire world has seven guardian angels, but we just can't see them. Unless we have extremely vivid dreams. Imagine what it must be like to have seven suited/winged people following you around and telling you what to do 24/7 (crammed bathroom included). Pretty funny, with a kind of darker twist, and one of those endings that's just ironic and hilarious. This one was more enjoyable than I anticipated!
"Special Deliverance"-4/5
Going down? Yet another fun and clever title for a fun and clever story.
"Ralphy Sherman's Jacuzzi of Wonders"-4/5
Ralphy isn't really into his dad's latest girlfriend. A trip to the jacuzzi is a justified way for Ralphy to play some tricks. Good old Ralphy...
"Terrible Tannenbaum"-4/5
1824: "O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie treu sind deine Blätter!" Yeah, so I had to look up "Tannenbaum." The word sounded familiar, as if I had in fact heard it before, and when I found that it was "Christmas tree," it sounded right and made sense. Original German song "O Tannenbaum" based on a folk tale. I learned so much from researching just one word! Yet another fun and clever title: Great little holiday story about finding the right Christmas tree. Just remember, "You get what you pay for" (179).
The Wheel of Destiny
"Dawn Terminator"-4.5/5
Well, don't let the sun hit you or you'll be incinerated? 🤷♀️
"The 💩 On Our Shoes"-5/5
Two connections. It's not Scythe and it's not the way the Thunderhead set things up, but it does kind of make me think "What if this was one of the shuttles that left Earth?" Another fun theory: in the previous story, people were trying to escape being burned alive by the sun via aircraft. What if creating this spacecraft was actually a solution and those people escaped the unlivable Earth? Just some fun with making connections.
A small farming town of about 400 residents are on a cylindrical spacecraft to colonize a new planet. The craft supports farming and self-regulated infrastructure. They have been on this journey for 67 years, and families have blossomed. The children born on the craft have no clue what life on a planet will be like, so they learn it in school. The spacecraft is basically a fully functioning community with as many aspects of community as can be. The farmstead itself is described (cylindrically) to be as big as Central Park when flattened, and of course many on the vessel have no idea what that is. I love space, so this story was very fun for me, but man, what a crappy plot twist. 🤭
"Number Two"-5/5
Okay so after the previous story, I went in thinking this would be about the journey of a poo. It is in fact NOT about a poo. Perhaps this story could have come before the previous one in the collection? It's all about mindset! So after seeing the ending and knowing it's not a poo, I still wasn't sure what it was, but when I went back and re-read the first few sentences, it all made sense! Extremely clever imagery and detail with yet another clever title. This one rally resonated with me and I even read it a third time! It's only two pages, so why not?
"Fear-for-All"-4.5/5
Think you are doing others a favor when exposing them to their true phobias? Having no fears must be nice!
"Bad Fortune at Richard Yee's"-4.5/5
Chinese is a weekly family dinner affair, and so is sharing the fortune cookie fortunes at the end of the evening! But what if a bad fortune comes true? Kind of haunting, where the end had my jaw dropping (with a bit of a chuckle).
"Pea Soup"-4/5
I could see where this was going. Lotus Hotel vibes. Good thing I'm so picky that I will NOT settle for something I didn't want!
"Majority Rules"-3.5/5
Kind of an interesting one that demonstrates myth and reality through the majority percentage of global belief (such as the % that believes the Earth is flat vs round). The majority is the reality!
"Opabinia"-4/5
Time travel, extinct critters, and irony.
"Presumed Destroyed"-4.5/5
From the first-person perspective of...a gun. Ends about how you would expect with today's world. A bit to real, but really interesting to see the gun's take on the actions around it.
Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls
"Caleb's Colors"-4/5
Nonverbal/autism representation. Child hired for art. Art is not forced. Takes a whimsical turn.
"Retaining Walls"-3.5/5
I wasn't super invested in this one, but I did like the family aspect that was taking place and the more fantastical element that the story went with near the end.
"Open House"-5/5
Okay I loved this one. Once I realized what was going on, I laughed at the cleverness. Yet another great perspective to write from. I especially loved the more satirical ending it took upon itself. Too funny.
"Mr. Vandermeer's Attic of Shame"-4/5
There's something strange going on in the house across the street. Mr. Vandermeer's Attic seems to defy time and space, but at a severe cost.
"Dark Alley"-4.5/5
I really liked where this one was going from the beginning. Bowling alley, and a lane with a hungry secret. 😜
The Living, The Dead, and The Undecided
"Dead Letter"-4/5
Letter from one of the living dead to society about best practices when talking about their people. Please do NOT call them "zombies"!
"Resurrection Bay"-4.5/5
Sapient glacier? Or sentient? Undetermined. Title has a lot to do with events in this story. Eerie and even horrific. It was a tad slow at first, like a glacier's receding pace, but it was a bit of a longer story. Give it a chance and the horrors will delight.
"Perpetual Pest"-4.5/5
Two brothers thing grave robbing is a great way to get rich. The dead don't care! Just be careful whose grave you rob and how greedy you are...
"Yardwork"-4/5
Ari's neighbor is a bit sus. All he does is yard work. Why?
"Deadliner"-4/5
A short story in the universe of Night of the Living Dead. Why not utilize the global circumstance for entertainment? A circus is a great idea, just one more oddity to add to the acts.
"Loveless"-4/5
Uniquely told in second-person. You seek a fortune teller. Interesting twist.
I'm Not Myself Today
"The Body Electric"-4/5
Lightning can change who--and when--you are. Coming from the future, you are certain to shape the past! (Another second-person tale. Very fun.)
"Mail Merge"-4/5
Remember AOL IM and Chatrooms? This really took me back. Nostalgic, funny, and thought-provoking.
"The Elsewhere Boutique"-4.5/5
This one was a fun way to see reshaped reality. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Reminded me of Shusterman's Gamechanger novel. If you have not yet read that book and are enjoying the stories in the "I'm Not Myself Today" section, do yourself a favor and go read it!
"Ralphy Sherman's Inside Story"-3.5/5
Nanny's don't last long for Ralphy and his sister. If the nanny's think they are bad, wait until their cousins arrive! It's like the plague.
"The Soul Exchange"-4/5
Classic tale of not liking what oneself looks like, aims to look more beautiful, and has regrets for what they had.
"Clothes Make the Man"-4/5
Careful about making sure you grab the right suitcase at the airport! Someone else's clothes might be a bit altering.
You Reap What You Sow (The World of Scythe)
"None More Beautiful Than I"-4.5/5
Scythe prequel. Shows the overlap of remnants from the mortal society to the immortal one and how there are attempts to eradicate all mortal-born to fully incorporate the world into the immortal one. See you again in The Toll, Scythe Alighieri!
"The Scythe Interviews"-4.5/5
Magazine interview featuring Q&A with The Thunderhead, Scythe Anastasia, Scythe Goddard, Scythe Faraday, and Neal Shusterman himself. Quippy. Some play with the coming prequel series. Shusterman potentially at risk of being gleaned. 🤷♀️
A totally fun collection of stories that make you think just a little bit harder about life and the world around you.
Favorites:
"A Unity of [Purpose]"
"The 💩 On Our Shoes"
"Number Two"
"Open House"
"The Elsewhere Boutique"
"None More Beautiful Than I"
Forces of Nature
"A Unity of [Purpose]"-5/5
At first I was confused about the brackets in the title. then I thought of a word that would have made the title funny. Then I realized the intention, as with how one changes out a word with brackets when quoting. Too intelligent, Shusterman, too intelligent. This one was both satirical and also goofy. It follows a dolphin that is running for president. There's a part with a hamster potentially becoming presidents and a lovely line that says "We've certainly had worse..." 👏👏👏 I really appreciated what this story was doing and how it ended. I feel like having this as the first story really sets the tone for the rest of the novel, and I am absolutely loving it.
"I, of the Storm"-4/5
Family visiting an art gallery. Older daughter tasked to watch her three-year-old brother who is full of tantrums and wants to play hide-and-seek. Bother mysteriously disappears. Mythical whimsy.
"Smells Like Kafka"-4/5
Girl whose parents don't really have time for her and do lots of fun things without her, leaving her at her aunt's house frequently. A gift-bear becomes something more. As with most of Shusterman's titles, quite thoughtful. Similar themes to Kafka's The Metamorphosis in the regard that anyone can transform themselves to be better, they just have to actually try in order to made a change.
"Obsidian Sky"-4/5
South Texas. Bats and caves. Gaia. I love bats. This was an interesting one. Another clever story title to boot.
"Ralphy Sherman's Bag of Wind"-4/5
Ralphy and Roxy have a paper bag they left on the table in the library. Local kind-of-nosy-jerk Marvin wants a peek, unable to mind his own business. The two pull it off as a bag of wind, selling it for a whopping $12. It's just a silly paper bag after all. Or is it?
"The In Crowd"-4/5
Set in a mansion-turned group home. A new bot arrives who is said to have murdered his whole neighborhood. What is the truth behind the ne boy's mysterious arrival and the current disappearances of the other kids???
"The Living Place"-3.5/5
Whimsical. Some places are just life itself.
Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree
"Non-Player Character"-4.5/5
Harrowingly relevant to today's world and the power that video games can hold over our lives. A daunting look at the near future with virtual reality where parents barely take care of themselves or their child because of immersive virtual reality. When youth get sucked in as well, it's really an end-of-reality situation.
"Midnight Michelangelo"-4.5/5
Sixteen-year-old street artist whose work is brilliant. Art teacher thinks he could do great if he did art for galleries where people would see it as such, instead of the public's perception of it as graffiti. When his artwork starts becoming something not his own, he figures something extra strange is going on. Hopefully he can get to the bottom of it. Loved the aspect about street art vs gallery art. There is a ton of gorgeous street art out there that some people see as vandalism while others find the beauty within it. The twist of this one was intriguing and even just a little bit haunting in the end.
"Boy on a Stoop"-4.5/5
The title alone just reminds me of the "Stoop Kid" episode of Hey Arnold where they say "Stoop Kid's afraid to leave his stoop!" The vibes of the story itself isn't too far off...at first. But there is definitely something odd about the gorgeous boy who just sits on his stoop every day. It's a bit strange, but Olivia love strange things, so the matchup is perfect. Even when things take a more "natural" turn, she just rolls with it. Fun and great characterization for a short story!
"Butterball"-4.5/5
LOL what did I just read? Flash fiction. This one pager is...well...I don't want to spoil it, but it's both horrifying and a bit Thanksgiving festive all at one. The title makes this hilarious. I loved this one.
"The Bob Squad"-4.5/5
So apparently everyone in the entire world has seven guardian angels, but we just can't see them. Unless we have extremely vivid dreams. Imagine what it must be like to have seven suited/winged people following you around and telling you what to do 24/7 (crammed bathroom included). Pretty funny, with a kind of darker twist, and one of those endings that's just ironic and hilarious. This one was more enjoyable than I anticipated!
"Special Deliverance"-4/5
Going down? Yet another fun and clever title for a fun and clever story.
"Ralphy Sherman's Jacuzzi of Wonders"-4/5
Ralphy isn't really into his dad's latest girlfriend. A trip to the jacuzzi is a justified way for Ralphy to play some tricks. Good old Ralphy...
"Terrible Tannenbaum"-4/5
1824: "O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie treu sind deine Blätter!" Yeah, so I had to look up "Tannenbaum." The word sounded familiar, as if I had in fact heard it before, and when I found that it was "Christmas tree," it sounded right and made sense. Original German song "O Tannenbaum" based on a folk tale. I learned so much from researching just one word! Yet another fun and clever title: Great little holiday story about finding the right Christmas tree. Just remember, "You get what you pay for" (179).
The Wheel of Destiny
"Dawn Terminator"-4.5/5
Well, don't let the sun hit you or you'll be incinerated? 🤷♀️
"The 💩 On Our Shoes"-5/5
Two connections. It's not Scythe and it's not the way the Thunderhead set things up, but it does kind of make me think "What if this was one of the shuttles that left Earth?" Another fun theory: in the previous story, people were trying to escape being burned alive by the sun via aircraft. What if creating this spacecraft was actually a solution and those people escaped the unlivable Earth? Just some fun with making connections.
A small farming town of about 400 residents are on a cylindrical spacecraft to colonize a new planet. The craft supports farming and self-regulated infrastructure. They have been on this journey for 67 years, and families have blossomed. The children born on the craft have no clue what life on a planet will be like, so they learn it in school. The spacecraft is basically a fully functioning community with as many aspects of community as can be. The farmstead itself is described (cylindrically) to be as big as Central Park when flattened, and of course many on the vessel have no idea what that is. I love space, so this story was very fun for me, but man, what a crappy plot twist. 🤭
"Number Two"-5/5
Okay so after the previous story, I went in thinking this would be about the journey of a poo. It is in fact NOT about a poo. Perhaps this story could have come before the previous one in the collection? It's all about mindset! So after seeing the ending and knowing it's not a poo, I still wasn't sure what it was, but when I went back and re-read the first few sentences, it all made sense! Extremely clever imagery and detail with yet another clever title. This one rally resonated with me and I even read it a third time! It's only two pages, so why not?
"Fear-for-All"-4.5/5
Think you are doing others a favor when exposing them to their true phobias? Having no fears must be nice!
"Bad Fortune at Richard Yee's"-4.5/5
Chinese is a weekly family dinner affair, and so is sharing the fortune cookie fortunes at the end of the evening! But what if a bad fortune comes true? Kind of haunting, where the end had my jaw dropping (with a bit of a chuckle).
"Pea Soup"-4/5
I could see where this was going. Lotus Hotel vibes. Good thing I'm so picky that I will NOT settle for something I didn't want!
"Majority Rules"-3.5/5
Kind of an interesting one that demonstrates myth and reality through the majority percentage of global belief (such as the % that believes the Earth is flat vs round). The majority is the reality!
"Opabinia"-4/5
Time travel, extinct critters, and irony.
"Presumed Destroyed"-4.5/5
From the first-person perspective of...a gun. Ends about how you would expect with today's world. A bit to real, but really interesting to see the gun's take on the actions around it.
Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls
"Caleb's Colors"-4/5
Nonverbal/autism representation. Child hired for art. Art is not forced. Takes a whimsical turn.
"Retaining Walls"-3.5/5
I wasn't super invested in this one, but I did like the family aspect that was taking place and the more fantastical element that the story went with near the end.
"Open House"-5/5
Okay I loved this one. Once I realized what was going on, I laughed at the cleverness. Yet another great perspective to write from. I especially loved the more satirical ending it took upon itself. Too funny.
"Mr. Vandermeer's Attic of Shame"-4/5
There's something strange going on in the house across the street. Mr. Vandermeer's Attic seems to defy time and space, but at a severe cost.
"Dark Alley"-4.5/5
I really liked where this one was going from the beginning. Bowling alley, and a lane with a hungry secret. 😜
The Living, The Dead, and The Undecided
"Dead Letter"-4/5
Letter from one of the living dead to society about best practices when talking about their people. Please do NOT call them "zombies"!
"Resurrection Bay"-4.5/5
Sapient glacier? Or sentient? Undetermined. Title has a lot to do with events in this story. Eerie and even horrific. It was a tad slow at first, like a glacier's receding pace, but it was a bit of a longer story. Give it a chance and the horrors will delight.
"Perpetual Pest"-4.5/5
Two brothers thing grave robbing is a great way to get rich. The dead don't care! Just be careful whose grave you rob and how greedy you are...
"Yardwork"-4/5
Ari's neighbor is a bit sus. All he does is yard work. Why?
"Deadliner"-4/5
A short story in the universe of Night of the Living Dead. Why not utilize the global circumstance for entertainment? A circus is a great idea, just one more oddity to add to the acts.
"Loveless"-4/5
Uniquely told in second-person. You seek a fortune teller. Interesting twist.
I'm Not Myself Today
"The Body Electric"-4/5
Lightning can change who--and when--you are. Coming from the future, you are certain to shape the past! (Another second-person tale. Very fun.)
"Mail Merge"-4/5
Remember AOL IM and Chatrooms? This really took me back. Nostalgic, funny, and thought-provoking.
"The Elsewhere Boutique"-4.5/5
This one was a fun way to see reshaped reality. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Reminded me of Shusterman's Gamechanger novel. If you have not yet read that book and are enjoying the stories in the "I'm Not Myself Today" section, do yourself a favor and go read it!
"Ralphy Sherman's Inside Story"-3.5/5
Nanny's don't last long for Ralphy and his sister. If the nanny's think they are bad, wait until their cousins arrive! It's like the plague.
"The Soul Exchange"-4/5
Classic tale of not liking what oneself looks like, aims to look more beautiful, and has regrets for what they had.
"Clothes Make the Man"-4/5
Careful about making sure you grab the right suitcase at the airport! Someone else's clothes might be a bit altering.
You Reap What You Sow (The World of Scythe)
"None More Beautiful Than I"-4.5/5
Scythe prequel. Shows the overlap of remnants from the mortal society to the immortal one and how there are attempts to eradicate all mortal-born to fully incorporate the world into the immortal one. See you again in The Toll, Scythe Alighieri!
"The Scythe Interviews"-4.5/5
Magazine interview featuring Q&A with The Thunderhead, Scythe Anastasia, Scythe Goddard, Scythe Faraday, and Neal Shusterman himself. Quippy. Some play with the coming prequel series. Shusterman potentially at risk of being gleaned. 🤷♀️
A totally fun collection of stories that make you think just a little bit harder about life and the world around you.
Favorites:
"A Unity of [Purpose]"
"The 💩 On Our Shoes"
"Number Two"
"Open House"
"The Elsewhere Boutique"
"None More Beautiful Than I"
October 2, 2025
*prefacing this with the fact I have only read a portion of the short story collections as I was given a physical arc by the publisher which included just a part of the total short stories (not including the Scythe story)
BRING BACK SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS!!!
I have always been a huge fan of short stories growing up and this completely lived up to everything I love about them
From science fiction, to horror to dystopian, there are stories in here that can appeal to such a wide range of readers
The stories in this collection were thought provoking, creative, and unsettling
My favourite part about short stories are the endings, they leave you with a twist, gasp, reveal and I felt all of these in this collection
If you haven't read short stories before I really recommend you giving this collection a read.
THANK YOU again to the publisher, Simon & Shuster Canada for the arc
BRING BACK SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS!!!
I have always been a huge fan of short stories growing up and this completely lived up to everything I love about them
From science fiction, to horror to dystopian, there are stories in here that can appeal to such a wide range of readers
The stories in this collection were thought provoking, creative, and unsettling
My favourite part about short stories are the endings, they leave you with a twist, gasp, reveal and I felt all of these in this collection
If you haven't read short stories before I really recommend you giving this collection a read.
THANK YOU again to the publisher, Simon & Shuster Canada for the arc
Want to Read
September 2, 2025(9/1/25) I'm so excited to get my hands on any arc of a scythe content!
December 1, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
MindWorks by Neal Shusterman is exactly what I hoped it would be. It is sharp, emotional speculative fiction from an author who is basically a god at crafting mind-bending, heart-tugging stories. My advanced reader copy only included a limited selection of the pieces that will appear in the final collection (maybe half of them?), but even with that small sampling, I was hooked. Shusterman delivers short stories that are unique, easy to read, and incredibly thought provoking. This collection is perfect for longtime fans of Scythe and for middle and high school teachers who want fresh speculative fiction selections for the classroom.
I am already thinking about where several of these stories will fit into my students’ speculative fiction exploration unit. My personal standouts were “A Unity of Purpose” because it feels uncomfortably relevant to the 2025 political climate, “The In Crowd” because it is one of the biggest interpersonal mind messes I have read in a while, and “Bad Fortune at Richard Yee’s” because it is creepy in the best possible way.
My one disappointment is that my ARC did not include the two short stories set in the world of Arc of the Scythe. Those were the pieces that originally drew me to the collection. Since they were missing, my review feels a bit incomplete because I was not able to read the full lineup as a fresh reader would. Even so, the stories I did read were fantastic. I am very excited to see the final publication when it releases on November 18, 2025.
UPDATE: I bought a deluxe copy of this book to read the short stories this advanced preview didn't share, and I really liked the new stories! The Arc of the Scythe short story was especially worth it if you've read other stories in this world. I love how in-depth this world is going! It shows the direction Neal Shusterman's writing is moving in the future, and I love to see it!
Thank you to Neal Shusterman, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and NetGalley for the advanced preview of this eBook.
MindWorks by Neal Shusterman is exactly what I hoped it would be. It is sharp, emotional speculative fiction from an author who is basically a god at crafting mind-bending, heart-tugging stories. My advanced reader copy only included a limited selection of the pieces that will appear in the final collection (maybe half of them?), but even with that small sampling, I was hooked. Shusterman delivers short stories that are unique, easy to read, and incredibly thought provoking. This collection is perfect for longtime fans of Scythe and for middle and high school teachers who want fresh speculative fiction selections for the classroom.
I am already thinking about where several of these stories will fit into my students’ speculative fiction exploration unit. My personal standouts were “A Unity of Purpose” because it feels uncomfortably relevant to the 2025 political climate, “The In Crowd” because it is one of the biggest interpersonal mind messes I have read in a while, and “Bad Fortune at Richard Yee’s” because it is creepy in the best possible way.
My one disappointment is that my ARC did not include the two short stories set in the world of Arc of the Scythe. Those were the pieces that originally drew me to the collection. Since they were missing, my review feels a bit incomplete because I was not able to read the full lineup as a fresh reader would. Even so, the stories I did read were fantastic. I am very excited to see the final publication when it releases on November 18, 2025.
UPDATE: I bought a deluxe copy of this book to read the short stories this advanced preview didn't share, and I really liked the new stories! The Arc of the Scythe short story was especially worth it if you've read other stories in this world. I love how in-depth this world is going! It shows the direction Neal Shusterman's writing is moving in the future, and I love to see it!
Thank you to Neal Shusterman, Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, and NetGalley for the advanced preview of this eBook.
July 19, 2026
Going into Neal Shusterman’s MindWorks, I’ll admit I was a bit intimidated. This book is quite dense, and oftentimes short story collections can be quite a slog. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I enjoyed most of the stories in this collection!
The stories in this collection are grouped around different themes, including Forces of Nature; Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree; The Wheel of Destiny; Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls; The Living, The Dead, and the Undecided; I’m Not Myself Today; and You Reap What You Sow. Each section contains a handful of stories with a wide range of genres and tones.
As a child of the ‘90s, I of course grew up on Goosebumps, and I was so excited to discover that Neal Shusterman wrote in a similar tone and style as R.L. Stine on many of these stories. The Goosebumps vibe is the perfect approach for a collection of short stories written with kids and teens in mind. Some of my favorites that brought me right back to my own childhood include: Pea Soup, Terrible Tannenbaum, Clothes Make the Man, and Dark Alley, These stories feature kids put in strange and impossible situations and explore what happens next.
Then there were the stories that were clever and surprising with a fun concept, such as Bad Fortune at Richard Yee’s, The Soul Exchange, The Elsewhere Boutique, Open House, Boy on a Stoop, and all of the Ralphie Sherman tales.
Some of the stories were about the relationships between siblings and were beautiful and poignant, such as I, Of the Storm and Caleb’s Colors. As a fan of the YA dystopian survival stories of the 2010s, I also really loved Dawn Terminator, which fit that vibe perfectly.
Perhaps the most high concept, creatively written story of all, however, revolves around a gun. Presumed Destroyed is told from the POV of a gun, and I could not look away. This short story is so thought-provoking and haunting.
As a fan of the Scythe series, I was surprised to discover that I did NOT enjoy the Scythe stories that were included. It has been too long since I read the Scythe series and being thrown back into this world was jarring. I couldn’t keep up with what was going on and felt utterly confused.
In all, this is a great collection - one of the better compilations of short stories I have ever read!
The stories in this collection are grouped around different themes, including Forces of Nature; Angels, Demons, Monsters, and a Tree; The Wheel of Destiny; Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls; The Living, The Dead, and the Undecided; I’m Not Myself Today; and You Reap What You Sow. Each section contains a handful of stories with a wide range of genres and tones.
As a child of the ‘90s, I of course grew up on Goosebumps, and I was so excited to discover that Neal Shusterman wrote in a similar tone and style as R.L. Stine on many of these stories. The Goosebumps vibe is the perfect approach for a collection of short stories written with kids and teens in mind. Some of my favorites that brought me right back to my own childhood include: Pea Soup, Terrible Tannenbaum, Clothes Make the Man, and Dark Alley, These stories feature kids put in strange and impossible situations and explore what happens next.
Then there were the stories that were clever and surprising with a fun concept, such as Bad Fortune at Richard Yee’s, The Soul Exchange, The Elsewhere Boutique, Open House, Boy on a Stoop, and all of the Ralphie Sherman tales.
Some of the stories were about the relationships between siblings and were beautiful and poignant, such as I, Of the Storm and Caleb’s Colors. As a fan of the YA dystopian survival stories of the 2010s, I also really loved Dawn Terminator, which fit that vibe perfectly.
Perhaps the most high concept, creatively written story of all, however, revolves around a gun. Presumed Destroyed is told from the POV of a gun, and I could not look away. This short story is so thought-provoking and haunting.
As a fan of the Scythe series, I was surprised to discover that I did NOT enjoy the Scythe stories that were included. It has been too long since I read the Scythe series and being thrown back into this world was jarring. I couldn’t keep up with what was going on and felt utterly confused.
In all, this is a great collection - one of the better compilations of short stories I have ever read!
May 6, 2026
3.5 ⭐️ en eerlijk? dat voelt voor mij als een kleine overwinning.
ik ben dus totaal geen short stories persoon. en sci-fi al helemaal niet. mijn brein wil worldbuilding, wil blijven hangen, wil investeren. maar deze bundel heeft me soort van gedwongen om los te laten en tbh dat werkte verrassend goed.
wat me echt opviel: deze verhalen hebben geen onnodige (overdreven literaire) ruis, gewoon meteen erin en toch impact bij een paar verhalen. sommigen voelde bijna als een klap in je gezicht: kort, maar ze blijven hangen op een manier die je niet verwacht van iets van een paar pagina’s. tussen de bladzijden door zit best wel veel existentiële shit verstopt: identiteit, angst, verlies, wat het betekent om mens te zijn in een wereld die soms totaal onbegrijpelijk voelt. meerdere keren heb ik met open mond gelezen. en ja, bij een paar gewoon kippenvel of zelfs tranen.
mijn favorieten zeggen denk ik ook veel over wat bleef hangen:
-Smells Like Kafka — had mijn jongere, onzekere zelf echt nodig gehad. voelde bijna persoonlijk.
-Obsidian Sky — eerst spanning, daarna emotionele schade!
-The Living Place — hoe pijn ook mooi kan zijn.
-Non-player character — MAAK HIER EEN FILM VAN!
-Boy on the Stoop — I <3 instabiele psycho meiden
-Bad Fortune at Richard Yee’s — slim, weird, perfect uitgevoerd.
-Pea Soup — gewoon doodeng.
-Caleb’s Colors — zacht en verdrietig tegelijk.
deze bundel heeft mijn weerzin voor short stories een beetje gesloopt. ik dacht altijd dat ze oppervlakkiger waren, maar dit bewijst dat je in weinig woorden soms juist harder kan raken.
dus ja, ik ben nog steeds geen 'short stories girl', maar ik ben wel minder sceptisch nu. en dat is misschien nog wel meer waard dan die 3.5⭐️
ik ben dus totaal geen short stories persoon. en sci-fi al helemaal niet. mijn brein wil worldbuilding, wil blijven hangen, wil investeren. maar deze bundel heeft me soort van gedwongen om los te laten en tbh dat werkte verrassend goed.
wat me echt opviel: deze verhalen hebben geen onnodige (overdreven literaire) ruis, gewoon meteen erin en toch impact bij een paar verhalen. sommigen voelde bijna als een klap in je gezicht: kort, maar ze blijven hangen op een manier die je niet verwacht van iets van een paar pagina’s. tussen de bladzijden door zit best wel veel existentiële shit verstopt: identiteit, angst, verlies, wat het betekent om mens te zijn in een wereld die soms totaal onbegrijpelijk voelt. meerdere keren heb ik met open mond gelezen. en ja, bij een paar gewoon kippenvel of zelfs tranen.
mijn favorieten zeggen denk ik ook veel over wat bleef hangen:
-Smells Like Kafka — had mijn jongere, onzekere zelf echt nodig gehad. voelde bijna persoonlijk.
-Obsidian Sky — eerst spanning, daarna emotionele schade!
-The Living Place — hoe pijn ook mooi kan zijn.
-Non-player character — MAAK HIER EEN FILM VAN!
-Boy on the Stoop — I <3 instabiele psycho meiden
-Bad Fortune at Richard Yee’s — slim, weird, perfect uitgevoerd.
-Pea Soup — gewoon doodeng.
-Caleb’s Colors — zacht en verdrietig tegelijk.
deze bundel heeft mijn weerzin voor short stories een beetje gesloopt. ik dacht altijd dat ze oppervlakkiger waren, maar dit bewijst dat je in weinig woorden soms juist harder kan raken.
dus ja, ik ben nog steeds geen 'short stories girl', maar ik ben wel minder sceptisch nu. en dat is misschien nog wel meer waard dan die 3.5⭐️
May 8, 2026
This book was ulitmately disapointing for me, but I still have pretty mixed feelings about it. Written as an anthology of short stories by one of my favorite authors, Neal Shusterman, I was really looking forward to more of a peak into his mind. It definetly started off strong, but by the middle sections I found it to be very repetative and depressing. Angels, Demons and a Tree, The Wheel of Destiny, and Attics, Basements, Windows, and Walls all followed the same structure for the most part. It was kind of exhausting. I had honestly picked up this book mainly because of the new Scythe stories at the end, but they were also extremely disapointing. I think that Shusterman should stick with writing full-length stories, it seems to suit his style better. With all this being said, lots of the stories in this books were very interesting and engaging. The sections that stood out the most to me were Forces of Nature, The Living, the Dead, and the Undecided, and I'm Not Myself Today. I found that these sections felt the most creative and broke the formula that Shusterman had apparently be following.
November 21, 2025
MINDWORKS is a compelling collection of short stories from Neal Shusterman. These include many short stories compiled from other collections as well as a couple new stories. There are a lot of different stories, including some from the ARC OF A SCYTHE universe.
What I loved: This is a fantastic collection with a lot of powerful short stories. If you haven't read Shusterman's short stories before, you are in for a treat! Even if you have, this is a fantastic collection to have with lots of old favorites and a couple new ones. They span a few genres, with some intriguing dips into horror and sci-fi in particular that make the stories unforgettable.
I particularly found Majority Rules and Boy on the Stoop to be compelling, but there are many thought-provoking and memorable stories. They would make fantastic discussion pieces in a classroom or for a book club!
Final verdict: MINDWORKS is a fantastic collection of short stories that really cover the highlights of Shusterman's writing. Highly recommend checking it out if you want some unforgettable and consuming short stories!
Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
What I loved: This is a fantastic collection with a lot of powerful short stories. If you haven't read Shusterman's short stories before, you are in for a treat! Even if you have, this is a fantastic collection to have with lots of old favorites and a couple new ones. They span a few genres, with some intriguing dips into horror and sci-fi in particular that make the stories unforgettable.
I particularly found Majority Rules and Boy on the Stoop to be compelling, but there are many thought-provoking and memorable stories. They would make fantastic discussion pieces in a classroom or for a book club!
Final verdict: MINDWORKS is a fantastic collection of short stories that really cover the highlights of Shusterman's writing. Highly recommend checking it out if you want some unforgettable and consuming short stories!
Please note that I received an ARC. All opinions are my own.
January 14, 2026
I was excited to read Mindworks because I have genuinely loved so much of Neal Shusterman’s work. Scythe is one of my favourite YA series, Unwind stuck with me for years, and I fully plan to keep reading the All Better Now books. Unfortunately, this one just did not work for me.
I know all of his writing is YA, but this felt especially geared toward a very young audience. Not in a bad way exactly, just in a way that made most of the stories feel thin and lacked compelling themes. Out of the 43 short stories, only one really landed for me. The rest were mostly meh at best.
I seriously considered DNFing this, which is rare for me, but I pushed through for two reasons. First, I wanted to read the two Scythe stories (and of course they were at the end), which were the strongest part of the collection for me. Second, I had already used an Audible credit on it, which made me feel weirdly obligated to finish.
This is not a bad book. I can absolutely see it working for younger readers or for longtime fans who want bite-sized concepts and familiar themes. It just was not for me, and I found myself disengaged far more often than invested.
I know all of his writing is YA, but this felt especially geared toward a very young audience. Not in a bad way exactly, just in a way that made most of the stories feel thin and lacked compelling themes. Out of the 43 short stories, only one really landed for me. The rest were mostly meh at best.
I seriously considered DNFing this, which is rare for me, but I pushed through for two reasons. First, I wanted to read the two Scythe stories (and of course they were at the end), which were the strongest part of the collection for me. Second, I had already used an Audible credit on it, which made me feel weirdly obligated to finish.
This is not a bad book. I can absolutely see it working for younger readers or for longtime fans who want bite-sized concepts and familiar themes. It just was not for me, and I found myself disengaged far more often than invested.
January 18, 2026
Step into the pages of this strange yet delectable collection featuring uncanny stories from the mind of Neal Shusterman. You will read stories across all genres: the fantastical, the scientific, the horrific, and everything in between, that will shock, dazzle, and bewilder you at every turn. This epic volume consists of both Shusterman’s old and classic short stories and others that are brand new, organized into sections based on strange phenomena: Forces of Nature, Angels & Demons & Monsters (and a Tree), the Wheel of Destiny, Attics & Basements & Windows & Walls, The Living & The Dead & The Undecided, “I’m Not Myself Today”, and two new stories from the world of Scythe. Stories are relatively short - no more than ten pages, with some only being two - yet pack a punch with their bizarreness, moral dilemmas, questionable characters, and existential crises. If you want to be intrigued, confused, repulsed, and fascinated, usually simultaneously, then dive headfirst into this collection of uncanny tales of Mindworks. Link to complete review: https://ysbookreviews.wordpress.com/2...
November 25, 2025
I'll admit I've waffled, but it's so hard to give a short story collection that's almost 600 pages a 5. 43 stories over the course of 572 pages (not counting the acknowledgements) means there is a TON of content in here. I'd give it a 4.5 if I could. Every one of these stories is good (even the page long dad joke :D ) and some of them are phenomenal. Separated into different sections by themes, I pretty much want everything in the The Living, the Dead, and the Undecided section turned into a full fledged novella, at the least. Stories like Resurrection Bay and Yardwork will tug at your heart strings while maintaining some creepy vibes. Meanwhile stories like A Unity of (Purpose), The Bob Squad, and Dead Letter will tickle your funny bone. Then there are stories like Presumed Destroyed to make you think and Caleb's Colors to make you wonder... and Butterball just might make you groan... unless you're a dad ;) There's something in here for everyone including some new Scythe content and some stories that have never been in print before. Absolutely worth a read.
June 29, 2025
Neal Shusterman, the king of the weird and the wonderful in the world of YA fiction, strikes again with a compilation of scifi, dystopian, and horror short stories: MINDWORKS: AN UNCANNY COMPENDIUM OF SHORT FICTION. This collection is organized thematically: from angels and demons to monsters and aliens to anthropomorphized nature to the world in an imagined future. Shusterman invites readers to enter a post-apocalyptic future where the humanity is racing west from the burgeoning and blinding sun; to witness a Christmas tree with a mind of its own will wreak havoc on a family's "most wonderful time of the year"; and to imagine what it would be like to actually have guardian angels following your every move. These short stories will entice reluctant young readers to venture to new worlds, connect with characters that feel real to them, and enjoy fast-paced and truly inventive storytelling.
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