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Life Is Short and Then You Die
Mystery Writers of America's first teen anthology, edited by #1 New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong.
Adolescence is a time of “firsts.” First kiss. First love. First loss. First job. The first taste of adult responsibilities, and the first look at an independent life away from both the restrictions and the security of home.
And in this case, a very different type of “first”: murder.
This short story collection of murder mysteries adds a sinister spin to the joy and pain of firsts that have always been a major part of life, whether it be high school cliques who take the term “backstabbing” too seriously, stumbling upon a body on the way home from school, or receiving a Snapchat message that promises something deadly.
Contributors include Barry Lyga, Caleb Roehrig, Emmy Laybourne, Jonathan Maberry, R.L. Stine, Rachel Vincent, Steven Hockensmith, Y.S. Lee, and more!
An Imprint Book
Adolescence is a time of “firsts.” First kiss. First love. First loss. First job. The first taste of adult responsibilities, and the first look at an independent life away from both the restrictions and the security of home.
And in this case, a very different type of “first”: murder.
This short story collection of murder mysteries adds a sinister spin to the joy and pain of firsts that have always been a major part of life, whether it be high school cliques who take the term “backstabbing” too seriously, stumbling upon a body on the way home from school, or receiving a Snapchat message that promises something deadly.
Contributors include Barry Lyga, Caleb Roehrig, Emmy Laybourne, Jonathan Maberry, R.L. Stine, Rachel Vincent, Steven Hockensmith, Y.S. Lee, and more!
An Imprint Book
319 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 10, 2019
74 people are currently reading
5105 people want to read
About the author
Kelley Armstrong
302 books33.5k followersKelley Armstrong has been telling stories since before she could write. Her earliest written efforts were disastrous. If asked for a story about girls and dolls, hers would invariably feature undead girls and evil dolls, much to her teachers' dismay. All efforts to make her produce "normal" stories failed.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
Today, she continues to spin tales of ghosts and demons and werewolves, while safely locked away in her basement writing dungeon. She's the author of the NYT-bestselling "Women of the Otherworld" paranormal suspense series and "Darkest Powers" young adult urban fantasy trilogy, as well as the Nadia Stafford crime series. Armstrong lives in southwestern Ontario with her husband, kids and far too many pets.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
November 14, 2020
There were a few stand outs in this collection, but overall I was slightly disappointed. Teens encountering death/murder in all of its forms was a really cool concept—but the stories mushed together with very similar tones and plots.
November 5, 2019
3½ stars.
July 20, 2019
Thank you to Imprint/Macmillan for my review copy.
I'm going to start with the warnings first. Since this anthology is all about death and murder, you can already expect that it contains just about every trigger warning there is. Murder, implied suicide, implied sexual assault, some sex (nothing explicit), language, animal deaths (not described, just mentioned), all types of abuse, Nazi Germany, teenagers saying slurs at others, talk about appearance (both good and bad), young teens in jail (historical), school shooting drills and talk of shootings, teacher/student relationships, teenage drinking, teens going to college parties, bullying, and probably a lot more. If you read crime stories, you pretty much know what to expect.
I would normally try to talk about all the stories a bit in anthologies. But since these are more mystery, it's very hard without spoiling anything. So instead, I'm just going to talk a tiny bit about the standouts for me. I didn't hate any story, but some were much better (for me) than others.
Floater by Kelley Armstrong
I had a feeling I would like this since I enjoy Kelley's writing and it didn't disappoint. Except that it was shorter than I would have liked and it started the book. It's so hard to enjoy the rest when I like the first story so much. This one is about a dead body found floating and trying to figure out what happened.
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy by R.L. Stine
It's R.L. Stine. I don't really have to say more. It was short and strange and I really liked it a lot.
The Boy in the Red Vans by Rachel Vincent
This was one of those twisty short stories where you're trying to figure out what is going on. Not everything is as it seems in the beginning.
Concealment by Eileen Rendahl
I wasn't sure at first with this one since it started out with a school shooter drill. But that wasn't what the story was about at all. A young teen girl started having weird flashes that she didn't understand until she googled herself.
A Killer Story by Julie Tollefson
This starts off with a trio of friends who grew apart the summer of senior year. A body is found and everything is all connected somehow.
First Party Back by Emmy Laybourne
This is about a boy that attends his first party after accidentally killing someone while driving home from another party. It also deals with alcohol poisoning and had a really great friendship that I loved.
What I Did On My Summer Vacation by Jonathon Maberry
I love books with bodyguards and threats, so this story stood out to me. There was another with secret service that I enjoyed, too. I think this one stood out a bit more because of it taking place on an island.
Six Ways To Kill Your Grandmother by Barry Lyga
This was the final story in the book. It was about a 14 year old boy whose father was a serial killer and taught his son all his tricks. He's living with his grandma and it seems like she has dementia. He goes over all the ways he can kill her and get away with it.
There were quite a few more than I really enjoyed and a few that were just ok. I gave this book 4 stars.
I'm going to start with the warnings first. Since this anthology is all about death and murder, you can already expect that it contains just about every trigger warning there is. Murder, implied suicide, implied sexual assault, some sex (nothing explicit), language, animal deaths (not described, just mentioned), all types of abuse, Nazi Germany, teenagers saying slurs at others, talk about appearance (both good and bad), young teens in jail (historical), school shooting drills and talk of shootings, teacher/student relationships, teenage drinking, teens going to college parties, bullying, and probably a lot more. If you read crime stories, you pretty much know what to expect.
I would normally try to talk about all the stories a bit in anthologies. But since these are more mystery, it's very hard without spoiling anything. So instead, I'm just going to talk a tiny bit about the standouts for me. I didn't hate any story, but some were much better (for me) than others.
Floater by Kelley Armstrong
I had a feeling I would like this since I enjoy Kelley's writing and it didn't disappoint. Except that it was shorter than I would have liked and it started the book. It's so hard to enjoy the rest when I like the first story so much. This one is about a dead body found floating and trying to figure out what happened.
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy by R.L. Stine
It's R.L. Stine. I don't really have to say more. It was short and strange and I really liked it a lot.
The Boy in the Red Vans by Rachel Vincent
This was one of those twisty short stories where you're trying to figure out what is going on. Not everything is as it seems in the beginning.
Concealment by Eileen Rendahl
I wasn't sure at first with this one since it started out with a school shooter drill. But that wasn't what the story was about at all. A young teen girl started having weird flashes that she didn't understand until she googled herself.
A Killer Story by Julie Tollefson
This starts off with a trio of friends who grew apart the summer of senior year. A body is found and everything is all connected somehow.
First Party Back by Emmy Laybourne
This is about a boy that attends his first party after accidentally killing someone while driving home from another party. It also deals with alcohol poisoning and had a really great friendship that I loved.
What I Did On My Summer Vacation by Jonathon Maberry
I love books with bodyguards and threats, so this story stood out to me. There was another with secret service that I enjoyed, too. I think this one stood out a bit more because of it taking place on an island.
Six Ways To Kill Your Grandmother by Barry Lyga
This was the final story in the book. It was about a 14 year old boy whose father was a serial killer and taught his son all his tricks. He's living with his grandma and it seems like she has dementia. He goes over all the ways he can kill her and get away with it.
There were quite a few more than I really enjoyed and a few that were just ok. I gave this book 4 stars.
April 23, 2021
4.5/5
I haven’t read anything really rooted in the horror genre for soooo long, and when I went into this collection of shorts I only really knew a couple of the authors. But man, I’m remembering so much why I used to binge read horror books 🤣
Okay, so that might sound kinda bad when the collection of shorts is about murder; especially when depending on the author you never really know if the protagonist is going to be the victim, a bystander, or the murderer themselves. But for the most part these stories were really solid, complete shorts. I felt satisfied, with no questions or dangling unknowns, after each one. Plus even the stories where I was kind of able to predict the outcome were so well written the ride was enjoyable.
I honestly only really docked half a star for two stories that didn’t hold my interest very well; one because I felt it was poorly written and honestly kinda weird, and the other (while well executed) just didn’t click with me. But in a collection this size that’s pretty good odds.
Tl;dr - If you like horror, fictitious murder, and a fairly quick read, give it a shot. 🤣
I haven’t read anything really rooted in the horror genre for soooo long, and when I went into this collection of shorts I only really knew a couple of the authors. But man, I’m remembering so much why I used to binge read horror books 🤣
Okay, so that might sound kinda bad when the collection of shorts is about murder; especially when depending on the author you never really know if the protagonist is going to be the victim, a bystander, or the murderer themselves. But for the most part these stories were really solid, complete shorts. I felt satisfied, with no questions or dangling unknowns, after each one. Plus even the stories where I was kind of able to predict the outcome were so well written the ride was enjoyable.
I honestly only really docked half a star for two stories that didn’t hold my interest very well; one because I felt it was poorly written and honestly kinda weird, and the other (while well executed) just didn’t click with me. But in a collection this size that’s pretty good odds.
Tl;dr - If you like horror, fictitious murder, and a fairly quick read, give it a shot. 🤣
October 20, 2019
Life Is Short and Then You Die: First Encounters with Murder from Mystery Writers of America is an anthology of eighteen short stories which was collected and edited by Kelley Armstrong. It is a collection of eighteen tales of murder witnessed, committed, and experienced, from an array of Young Adult and Adult authors.
For the most part, I somewhat like most of these contributions. Life Is Short and Then You Die: First Encounters with Murder from Mystery Writers of America is an anthology eighteen short stories wherein teens' first brushes with murder function as the fulcrum of life changes. Several selections involve murder's aftermath, while other contributions portray adolescents contemplating murder. The authors chosen might have been more inclusive, and a few entries suffer from predictable twists, uneven pacing, and clunky dialogue, but this anthology will nonetheless provide ample entertainment for young murder-mystery aficionados.
Like most anthologies there are weaker contributions and Life Is Short and Then You Die: First Encounters with Murder from Mystery Writers of America is not an exception. Lack of diversity is a great weakness of this anthology. The short stories are mostly implicitly white and heteronormative characters, in largely contemporary settings, combine with the murder theme to give this an air of homogeneous atmosphere, despite the variety of narrative styles and the many forms of murder.
All in all, Life Is Short and Then You Die: First Encounters with Murder from Mystery Writers of America is a good, albeit uneven collection about murder and the adolescent experience.
For the most part, I somewhat like most of these contributions. Life Is Short and Then You Die: First Encounters with Murder from Mystery Writers of America is an anthology eighteen short stories wherein teens' first brushes with murder function as the fulcrum of life changes. Several selections involve murder's aftermath, while other contributions portray adolescents contemplating murder. The authors chosen might have been more inclusive, and a few entries suffer from predictable twists, uneven pacing, and clunky dialogue, but this anthology will nonetheless provide ample entertainment for young murder-mystery aficionados.
Like most anthologies there are weaker contributions and Life Is Short and Then You Die: First Encounters with Murder from Mystery Writers of America is not an exception. Lack of diversity is a great weakness of this anthology. The short stories are mostly implicitly white and heteronormative characters, in largely contemporary settings, combine with the murder theme to give this an air of homogeneous atmosphere, despite the variety of narrative styles and the many forms of murder.
All in all, Life Is Short and Then You Die: First Encounters with Murder from Mystery Writers of America is a good, albeit uneven collection about murder and the adolescent experience.
February 22, 2020
Thanks! I hate it
November 29, 2019
This book is based only on the following reviews.
Floater - Kelley Armstrong
This one made me sad. I hated what Kylie learned, but do agree with how she left things.
Daddy's Girl - Melissa Marr
This one was flat out creepy. I didn't like how calm Iris was about things, to say she had issues is not even close to what was going on.
The Boy in the Red Vans - Rachel Vincent
This was another one that made me sad, but more for Michael, he didn't deserve what happened to him and Ellie took the easy way out.
What I did on my Summer Vacation - Jonathan Maberry
With this one Dylan seemed to find his place in the world, or at least within his family. I wish he hadn't had to learn the lesson he did though.
Six Ways to Kill Your Grandmother - Barry Lyga
I loved the Jasper Dent books, so when I realized this short was set in that world I was happy. This one was a bit depressing though as it shows Jasper struggling to find his place and show how much he learned from his father. I do think Jasper made the right choice at the end.
Floater - Kelley Armstrong
This one made me sad. I hated what Kylie learned, but do agree with how she left things.
Daddy's Girl - Melissa Marr
This one was flat out creepy. I didn't like how calm Iris was about things, to say she had issues is not even close to what was going on.
The Boy in the Red Vans - Rachel Vincent
This was another one that made me sad, but more for Michael, he didn't deserve what happened to him and Ellie took the easy way out.
What I did on my Summer Vacation - Jonathan Maberry
With this one Dylan seemed to find his place in the world, or at least within his family. I wish he hadn't had to learn the lesson he did though.
Six Ways to Kill Your Grandmother - Barry Lyga
I loved the Jasper Dent books, so when I realized this short was set in that world I was happy. This one was a bit depressing though as it shows Jasper struggling to find his place and show how much he learned from his father. I do think Jasper made the right choice at the end.
November 7, 2019
representation: varied - hard to tell usually with anthologies
content warnings: death, murder, gore
This one was a mess. Usually in an anthology, I won't be a fan of very read, but I still might enjoy a few. There wasn't one in here that I really really enjoyed. To be honest, I could barely make it through most of the stories. I wasn't able to get pulled into any story, and I felt like it was just super eh even on the ones I sort of enjoyed.
I can't think of a stand out one. The Kelley Armstrong one was probably the best, but I saw the twist coming the moment I started reading the story. I don't have too much to say about this, but I just wouldn't recommend reading it. A Merida rating!
content warnings: death, murder, gore
This one was a mess. Usually in an anthology, I won't be a fan of very read, but I still might enjoy a few. There wasn't one in here that I really really enjoyed. To be honest, I could barely make it through most of the stories. I wasn't able to get pulled into any story, and I felt like it was just super eh even on the ones I sort of enjoyed.
I can't think of a stand out one. The Kelley Armstrong one was probably the best, but I saw the twist coming the moment I started reading the story. I don't have too much to say about this, but I just wouldn't recommend reading it. A Merida rating!
June 5, 2019
A fun, if uneven, jaunt into short YA murder fiction. Like many (if not, dare I say, all) anthologies, there are some remarkably solid inclusions (“Summer Job,” “Gnat," “First Party Back,” etc.) amidst some weaker entries (“Daddy's Girl,” “The Company I Keep,” “Night of the Living Dog,” etc.). While there's a smattering of diverse characters throughout, it seems like the only author of color included is Y.S. Lee (correct me if I'm wrong).
September 8, 2019
An amazing collection of short stories about teenagers and their first encounter with dead.
Even if the level is uneven all are well written and engrossing.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Even if the level is uneven all are well written and engrossing.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
February 27, 2020
It was pretty good, kind of sad though.
March 15, 2021
3.5 for a couple of really good stories.
February 17, 2022
Loved this collection of stories, there were some really great authors, and I had a great time reading it!
October 10, 2019
Some stories were better than 3 stars, some not. I read all but one. Many authors were new to me. I was surprised by a few of the stories. Billed as YA - most of them fit that bill.
August 28, 2021
I love short stories! These were fun but got a bit repetitious towards the middle. My favorite was the last story 6 Ways to Kill Your Grandmother
August 16, 2019
This was a book that I could not put down. I ignored laundry, emails, phone calls, eating and sleep for this one. That’s how great it is!
This was the first time that I’ve read an anthology and it didn’t disappoint. I’m struggling with this review as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. However, I will say that each short story is unique and different. All of them have their own identities and little twists that go along. I want to point out that there are a lot of triggers going on here so tread carefully.
This was the first time that I’ve read an anthology and it didn’t disappoint. I’m struggling with this review as I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. However, I will say that each short story is unique and different. All of them have their own identities and little twists that go along. I want to point out that there are a lot of triggers going on here so tread carefully.
May 24, 2020
I don't read a lot of short story collections, it's just not my favourite genre, but Kelley Armstrong is absolutely one of my favourite authors so when she edits a collection--which includes a story from her--I'm definitely going to have to make an exception. Life is Short and Then You Die: Mystery Writers of America Presents: First Encounters with Murder includes stories from 18 different authors, most of whom I hadn't read from before, but there are some familiar names such as Armstrong, Melissa Marr, R. L. Stine, and Emmy Laybourne.
I'm definitely not going to review every story in the collection but I will say that unfortunately my favourite was Armstrong's, which starts off the book, and then meant everything afterwards was somewhat disappointing. In "Floater" a teen girl see a body found floating in the water and works to figure out what happened. It was really well-written, and had a lot of character depth for such a short story, and just continues to remind me why I love Armstrong's writing so much. The second story, "The Day I Killed Coach Duffy", was by Stine, and it was weird but still wonderful. I also liked "The Boy In the Red Vans" by Rachel Vincent, which had a fun (albeit predictable) twist. Unfortunately, the majority of the stories were brief, expected, and felt pretty repetitive. I did think there would be more mystery in a collection about murders. If you like short story collections you might enjoy this more than I did, but despite liking some of the stories Life is Short and Then You Die the only author whose full works it left me wanting to pick up was Armstrong's--and I was going to do that regardless.
I'm definitely not going to review every story in the collection but I will say that unfortunately my favourite was Armstrong's, which starts off the book, and then meant everything afterwards was somewhat disappointing. In "Floater" a teen girl see a body found floating in the water and works to figure out what happened. It was really well-written, and had a lot of character depth for such a short story, and just continues to remind me why I love Armstrong's writing so much. The second story, "The Day I Killed Coach Duffy", was by Stine, and it was weird but still wonderful. I also liked "The Boy In the Red Vans" by Rachel Vincent, which had a fun (albeit predictable) twist. Unfortunately, the majority of the stories were brief, expected, and felt pretty repetitive. I did think there would be more mystery in a collection about murders. If you like short story collections you might enjoy this more than I did, but despite liking some of the stories Life is Short and Then You Die the only author whose full works it left me wanting to pick up was Armstrong's--and I was going to do that regardless.
August 13, 2019
*Goodreads Giveaway*
Well, this was a fun little read. I love short stories, particularly creepy/unsettling ones, so this book was right up my alley. As other reviewers have said, the book is a little uneven. Some of the stories are quite good, others not so much. I particularly enjoyed the couple of "historical" stories that were included. All in all, this book is a good weekend/rainy day read.
Well, this was a fun little read. I love short stories, particularly creepy/unsettling ones, so this book was right up my alley. As other reviewers have said, the book is a little uneven. Some of the stories are quite good, others not so much. I particularly enjoyed the couple of "historical" stories that were included. All in all, this book is a good weekend/rainy day read.
August 21, 2022
Floater by Kelley Armstrong - 4 stars
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy by R.L. Stine - 2 stars
In Plain Sight by Y. S. Lee - 2.5 stars.
Daddy's Girl by Melissa Marr - 1.5 stars. Too creepy tbh.
Summer Job by Amanda Witt - 3 stars
The Boy in the Red Vans by Rachel Vincent - 2 stars
The Company I Keep by Jeff Somers - skipped
Concealment by Eileen Rendahl - 3 stars
Night of the Living Dog by David Bart - DNF
Murder IRL by Jeff Soloway - 2.5 stars
A Killer Story by Julie Tollefson - 3 stars
Gnat by Joseph S. Walker - 2 stars
A Different Hero's Day - 2 stars
First Party Back - DNF
What I Did On My Summer Vacation - 2 stars
The Things We Don't Talk About - skipped
Enemy Lines - 3 stars. Longest of the bunch and most substantive. More just death and less horror.
Six Ways To Kill Your Grandmother - 1.5 stars.
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy by R.L. Stine - 2 stars
In Plain Sight by Y. S. Lee - 2.5 stars.
Daddy's Girl by Melissa Marr - 1.5 stars. Too creepy tbh.
Summer Job by Amanda Witt - 3 stars
The Boy in the Red Vans by Rachel Vincent - 2 stars
The Company I Keep by Jeff Somers - skipped
Concealment by Eileen Rendahl - 3 stars
Night of the Living Dog by David Bart - DNF
Murder IRL by Jeff Soloway - 2.5 stars
A Killer Story by Julie Tollefson - 3 stars
Gnat by Joseph S. Walker - 2 stars
A Different Hero's Day - 2 stars
First Party Back - DNF
What I Did On My Summer Vacation - 2 stars
The Things We Don't Talk About - skipped
Enemy Lines - 3 stars. Longest of the bunch and most substantive. More just death and less horror.
Six Ways To Kill Your Grandmother - 1.5 stars.
August 17, 2021
I'm not quite sure what I was expecting from this one, but what it was wasn't it. Most of the stories are unfinished without a definite ending and read as though they are from larger bodies of works. I'd also classify this one as more middle grade than YA. That being said, there were a couple interesting ideas, and it was nice reading authors that, in many cases, I haven't read since I hit puberty. I also expected more "mystery" considering this was done by the Mystery Writers of America, but these are more along the lines of Goosebumps level deaths, no real mystery involved.
August 27, 2023
“By what accident or oversight are any of us still alive?”
This was a solid collection of short stories about first encounters with murder. I did like some of the stories, but overall this one didn’t really wow me. Murder mystery is one of my favorite genres, so I thought I would enjoy this a lot more, but it was just okay. Not that it was bad, but anthologies are always hit or miss, and I think this one had more misses than hits. It was still fun, though!
(CW all the stories include death and murder, some more graphic than others.)
Floater by Kelley Armstrong
★★★☆☆
Whoa disturbing
POV of a dead person—cool!
The reveal :o
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy by R.L. Stine
★★★★☆
omg what
I have no words
In Plain Sight by Y.S. Lee
★★★★☆
Wow! I loved the historical aspect
Based on a real person—the youngest female inmate ever incarcerated at Kingston penitentiary!
Daddy’s Girl by Melissa Marr
★★★☆☆
um… what
That was so dark
Summer Job by Amanda Witt
★★★☆☆
Interesting plot twist
Story was kind of boring
The Boy in the Red Vans by Rachel Vincent
★★★☆☆
I didn’t like it at first but it grew on me
Just seemed unrealistic
That plot twist though
The Company I Keep by Jeff Somers
★★★★☆
Whoa what this was so disturbing
Dysfunctional families
Well written, but extremely dark
Concealment by Eileen Rendahl
★★★☆☆
WHAT?!
Not what I was expecting
Really good at the beginning but the end was kind of a letdown; got wrapped up too easily
Night of the Living Dog by David Bart
★★☆☆☆
okay what I just didn’t get this at all
The writing style annoyed me
The MC annoyed me
The story annoyed me
Murder IRL by Jeff Soloway
★★★☆☆
Worldwide virtual baseball league
This was so weird
But like, endearing?
I totally thought I’d predicted the plot twist but then it still surprised me lol
A Killer Story by Julie Tollefson
★★★☆☆
Journalism and teacher drama
All the characters annoyed me
I totally called who the killer was!!
Gnat by Joseph S. Walker
★★★☆☆
Bullying
Just wasn’t invested
Kinda boring
A Different Hero’s Day by Anthony Franze & Barry Lancet
★★★★☆
Escaping killers on the subway
Very unrealistic but still fun
ADHD rep!
First Party Back by Emmy Laybourne
★★★★☆
It grew on me
Nontoxic male friendships where they talk about their feelings :’)
Strangely uplifting in a way
What I Did on My Summer Vacation by Jonathan Maberry
★★★☆☆
This one grew on me too
But must we abbreviate parents to ‘rents??
Family bodyguard business
I PREDICTED THE PLOT TWIST
The Things We Don’t Talk About by Stephen Ross
★★★☆☆
Three friends who were on the track team
Well written
This was so depressing
Enemy Lines by Caleb Roehrig
★★★★☆
whoa so good
WW2 French resistance spies
Reminded me of the nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The mystery reveal was so satisfying
Six Ways to Kill Your Grandmother by Barry Lyga
★★★★☆
This was so dark but heartwarming at the same time??
When your father is arrested for being a serial killer
Read
November 1, 2021I am reading a book called Life is short and then you die by Kelley Armstrong. it is about a girl who thinks she is alive but she is really dead and her mom is an investigator from bodys pulled from the lake and her mom pulled her from the lake and it about her and how she was pulled from the lake and that she thinks that people can see her but everyone else cant and she is wondering like am i dead or am i alive she dont remember anything all she remembers was her boyfriend driving her home and.
Ava’s mom is a investigator for bodys pulled from the water and she was at home and her mom takes long showers and her mom got called for a body pulled from the lake and her mom went there and ava’s mom started cry cause it was ava pulled from the water and ava is confused because she is standing right there and she walks up to her mom and she say nothing and realizes her mom can't see her and she started think want happened and she she remembers her getting a ride home from her boyfriend and her boyfriend was talking about something before they left but she never could tell want he said and on the why home she thinks she fell asleep but she dont remember what happened because all she remembers is getting a ride home and then she dont remember anything and she thinks that she fell asleep but she didn't because her body was pulled front he lake and she has not been up at her lake for a long time and she tried grabbing her mom but she just went through her mom and she was invisible and she got in her brothers car and they went home and she closed the door and her brother heard it and he said ava are you there and she said ya but no response from him and she walked inside and she just went to her room and was thinking about want happened and she went to school they had something set up for her loss and she thought she was dead she began finding out if she is dead or not or she is dreaming and she went into school no one noticed her no one said anything after the school day she went home and she just could not find out what happened and that is want she is doing the hole book and
Recommend this to everyone because it is a good book and for me it was hard to start reading but i just went for it and got really into it and if you had the time you would read it all day because that how much it pulled me in and if you looking for a long book this is a very long book it is 308 pages and i just barely got it finished
Ava’s mom is a investigator for bodys pulled from the water and she was at home and her mom takes long showers and her mom got called for a body pulled from the lake and her mom went there and ava’s mom started cry cause it was ava pulled from the water and ava is confused because she is standing right there and she walks up to her mom and she say nothing and realizes her mom can't see her and she started think want happened and she she remembers her getting a ride home from her boyfriend and her boyfriend was talking about something before they left but she never could tell want he said and on the why home she thinks she fell asleep but she dont remember what happened because all she remembers is getting a ride home and then she dont remember anything and she thinks that she fell asleep but she didn't because her body was pulled front he lake and she has not been up at her lake for a long time and she tried grabbing her mom but she just went through her mom and she was invisible and she got in her brothers car and they went home and she closed the door and her brother heard it and he said ava are you there and she said ya but no response from him and she walked inside and she just went to her room and was thinking about want happened and she went to school they had something set up for her loss and she thought she was dead she began finding out if she is dead or not or she is dreaming and she went into school no one noticed her no one said anything after the school day she went home and she just could not find out what happened and that is want she is doing the hole book and
Recommend this to everyone because it is a good book and for me it was hard to start reading but i just went for it and got really into it and if you had the time you would read it all day because that how much it pulled me in and if you looking for a long book this is a very long book it is 308 pages and i just barely got it finished
October 29, 2023
Reviewed on Lili Lost in a Book
Even though I haven’t read anything by her in a while, I love Kelley Armstrong and was very excited to read this anthology edited by her! In fact, the first story in the book was actually written by her!
But not only that, there are plenty of other authors I’m familiar with and love that also contributed to this anthology! So exciting!
Floater
At the beginning of the book, Kelley warned us about the traumatic things these teens would go through, but damn! I was not expecting this book to go so hard in the first story! I loved it! I don’t want to say too much, because spoilers, but I really liked this story! As the title suggests, it’s about a body found in a body of water, but that plot twist regarding said body? OMG. It was crazy! This was so messed up and so sad, but also so good!
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy
This short story was by R.L. Stine! I was very excited about that! Unfortunately, his books tend to be hit or miss for me, and this was not one of my favorite stories from the book. It wasn’t terrible, but I didn’t like it as much as I hoped I would. It had the signature R.L. Stine comedy, so I liked that. Lol. But yeah, this one was fine.
In Plain Sight
This was another one that was just okay. I felt like nothing much happened.
Daddy's Girl
This one I really liked! It was messed up, but it was good! I’m starting to see a trend here of me liking the ones that are messed up 😆
Summer Job
In this story, Pete is helping clean up a burnt-down house after his old babysitter was murdered inside it. This one was a good one. Pete was smart and the overall story was interesting.
The Boy in the Red Vans
Rachel Vincent is another author I haven't read anything from in a while, but I was so excited to see that she wrote a story for this book because I remember loving her books! And omg this one was so sad! I really liked it though! I kinda figured out the twist, but I really enjoyed the story anyway.
The Company I Keep
The poor kid in this story, his life was so messed up (which means I liked this story 😆)! He’s a boy genius but his mom killed his dad and brother and then his sister is apparently an absolute nightmare! This was a good story though! It was messed up, but it was also really beautifully written. I loved the metaphors!
Concealment
I was a little apprehensive going into this one because this one had to do with a school shooting, and at the time I read this, things were going down in the real world and it was just a lot. But I ended up really liking it! Yes, this one, too, was very messed up, as you can imagine. But the plot twist was insane! And the ending of this one was really sweet, which I appreciated.
Night of the Living Dog
This was another story I loved! There was a dog and a kid with a smart-ass mouth, and this one was just fun!
Murder IRL
This story was fine... tbh I don’t remember much at the time of writing this book. I remember it had to do with like a chat/social media thing? Idk, it was fine.
A Killer Story
In this story, someone goes out for a run and a journalist stumbles upon the body of a teacher. This story was also good. I saw this twist coming, it was disgusting, but it was interesting overall.
Gnat
Bullies, blackmail, potential murder... this one had it all! And it was fine. Lol.
A Different Hero's Day
So this poor kid who was recently diagnosed with ADHD witnesses a murder and kidnapping when he decides to do something about it. This one was SO freaking good! It was suspenseful and action-packed, and I really liked the main character! The ending was very intriguing, so much so that I went and looked at the author’s backlog only to find out that they hadn’t written YA except for this one?? Why?! This was so good! And then, when I wrote this review and I went to do more research, I found out that Anthony Franz is the pen name of Alex Finlay! I read The Night Shift by him last year and I really liked it too! This was unexpected. Lol. Anyway, I’m gonna go add all his other books to my TBR, brb 😆
First Party Back
In this story, our main character Drew went through a pretty big life experience and he was gone for a while. He’s back now and he’s going to a party where everyone is excited to see him... though there are some whispers among the crowd. This one was so sad but so heartwarming! I loved the interactions between the characters, and it was overall a pretty good story.
What I Did on My Summer Vacation
This one was interesting because our main character Dylan was on a job as a bodyguard (and yes he is a teen). It's a family business so he’s helping out watching out for a kid who got a kidnapping threat. He’s unsure whether he wants to go into the family business, but let me tell you, this kid is GOOD! He’s got moves! And he was really funny and just likable. The story itself was pretty interesting and had a plot twist I did not see coming! Poor Dylan went through some rough stuff, but I really enjoyed this one.
The Things We Don't Talk About
This story was another one with a difficult subject. It was heavy stuff but it was overall good, even if I wasn’t good by the end 😭
Enemy Lines
And this one had Nazis 🙃 Let me tell you, at this point in the book I was wondering how much more my mental health could take after all these heavy subjects. But this story ended up being good! The twist was predictable, but I ended up enjoying it, despite the historical setting which I’m not usually the biggest fan of.
Six Ways to Kill Your Grandmother
And this last story is by Barry Lyga! Before starting this I was like, “Hey! I love I Hunt Killers!” Little did I know that this short story is part of THAT series! OMG! I was not expecting to have an I Hunt Killers novella in this book! I was SO freaking excited when I realized that Jasper Dent was our main character! Ah!
So this story takes place way before the books, he’s only 14 years old, and as the title suggests, he may or may not be contemplating how to kill his grandmother 🫠 To be fair, she's pretty terrible, and this poor kid is just messed up. In case you’re unfamiliar with the series, Jazz’s dad is an infamous serial killer, and growing up, Jazz was quite familiar with his father’s, erm, career choice. Messed up, I tell you. But I loved this! I felt so bad for poor Jazz and his terrible situation. This short story definitely made me want to continue with the series. I forgot how good it was!
Overall, I really enjoyed the entirety of this book! And I really liked the premise! Teenagers committing murder, witnessing murders, BEING murdered... Yeah, that one was a thing. It was so good!
Even though I haven’t read anything by her in a while, I love Kelley Armstrong and was very excited to read this anthology edited by her! In fact, the first story in the book was actually written by her!
But not only that, there are plenty of other authors I’m familiar with and love that also contributed to this anthology! So exciting!
Floater
At the beginning of the book, Kelley warned us about the traumatic things these teens would go through, but damn! I was not expecting this book to go so hard in the first story! I loved it! I don’t want to say too much, because spoilers, but I really liked this story! As the title suggests, it’s about a body found in a body of water, but that plot twist regarding said body? OMG. It was crazy! This was so messed up and so sad, but also so good!
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy
This short story was by R.L. Stine! I was very excited about that! Unfortunately, his books tend to be hit or miss for me, and this was not one of my favorite stories from the book. It wasn’t terrible, but I didn’t like it as much as I hoped I would. It had the signature R.L. Stine comedy, so I liked that. Lol. But yeah, this one was fine.
In Plain Sight
This was another one that was just okay. I felt like nothing much happened.
Daddy's Girl
This one I really liked! It was messed up, but it was good! I’m starting to see a trend here of me liking the ones that are messed up 😆
Summer Job
In this story, Pete is helping clean up a burnt-down house after his old babysitter was murdered inside it. This one was a good one. Pete was smart and the overall story was interesting.
The Boy in the Red Vans
Rachel Vincent is another author I haven't read anything from in a while, but I was so excited to see that she wrote a story for this book because I remember loving her books! And omg this one was so sad! I really liked it though! I kinda figured out the twist, but I really enjoyed the story anyway.
The Company I Keep
The poor kid in this story, his life was so messed up (which means I liked this story 😆)! He’s a boy genius but his mom killed his dad and brother and then his sister is apparently an absolute nightmare! This was a good story though! It was messed up, but it was also really beautifully written. I loved the metaphors!
Concealment
I was a little apprehensive going into this one because this one had to do with a school shooting, and at the time I read this, things were going down in the real world and it was just a lot. But I ended up really liking it! Yes, this one, too, was very messed up, as you can imagine. But the plot twist was insane! And the ending of this one was really sweet, which I appreciated.
Night of the Living Dog
This was another story I loved! There was a dog and a kid with a smart-ass mouth, and this one was just fun!
Murder IRL
This story was fine... tbh I don’t remember much at the time of writing this book. I remember it had to do with like a chat/social media thing? Idk, it was fine.
A Killer Story
In this story, someone goes out for a run and a journalist stumbles upon the body of a teacher. This story was also good. I saw this twist coming, it was disgusting, but it was interesting overall.
Gnat
Bullies, blackmail, potential murder... this one had it all! And it was fine. Lol.
A Different Hero's Day
So this poor kid who was recently diagnosed with ADHD witnesses a murder and kidnapping when he decides to do something about it. This one was SO freaking good! It was suspenseful and action-packed, and I really liked the main character! The ending was very intriguing, so much so that I went and looked at the author’s backlog only to find out that they hadn’t written YA except for this one?? Why?! This was so good! And then, when I wrote this review and I went to do more research, I found out that Anthony Franz is the pen name of Alex Finlay! I read The Night Shift by him last year and I really liked it too! This was unexpected. Lol. Anyway, I’m gonna go add all his other books to my TBR, brb 😆
First Party Back
In this story, our main character Drew went through a pretty big life experience and he was gone for a while. He’s back now and he’s going to a party where everyone is excited to see him... though there are some whispers among the crowd. This one was so sad but so heartwarming! I loved the interactions between the characters, and it was overall a pretty good story.
What I Did on My Summer Vacation
This one was interesting because our main character Dylan was on a job as a bodyguard (and yes he is a teen). It's a family business so he’s helping out watching out for a kid who got a kidnapping threat. He’s unsure whether he wants to go into the family business, but let me tell you, this kid is GOOD! He’s got moves! And he was really funny and just likable. The story itself was pretty interesting and had a plot twist I did not see coming! Poor Dylan went through some rough stuff, but I really enjoyed this one.
The Things We Don't Talk About
This story was another one with a difficult subject. It was heavy stuff but it was overall good, even if I wasn’t good by the end 😭
Enemy Lines
And this one had Nazis 🙃 Let me tell you, at this point in the book I was wondering how much more my mental health could take after all these heavy subjects. But this story ended up being good! The twist was predictable, but I ended up enjoying it, despite the historical setting which I’m not usually the biggest fan of.
Six Ways to Kill Your Grandmother
And this last story is by Barry Lyga! Before starting this I was like, “Hey! I love I Hunt Killers!” Little did I know that this short story is part of THAT series! OMG! I was not expecting to have an I Hunt Killers novella in this book! I was SO freaking excited when I realized that Jasper Dent was our main character! Ah!
So this story takes place way before the books, he’s only 14 years old, and as the title suggests, he may or may not be contemplating how to kill his grandmother 🫠 To be fair, she's pretty terrible, and this poor kid is just messed up. In case you’re unfamiliar with the series, Jazz’s dad is an infamous serial killer, and growing up, Jazz was quite familiar with his father’s, erm, career choice. Messed up, I tell you. But I loved this! I felt so bad for poor Jazz and his terrible situation. This short story definitely made me want to continue with the series. I forgot how good it was!
Overall, I really enjoyed the entirety of this book! And I really liked the premise! Teenagers committing murder, witnessing murders, BEING murdered... Yeah, that one was a thing. It was so good!
September 30, 2023
this ain't it
the most interesting part of this book was the introduction which obviously isn't a good sign
it promised "rawness of [the joy and pain of firsts] and the confusion of struggling to cope with new experiences" and went on to describe, "teens are often stereotyped as acting invincible, yet they are intellectually aware they are indeed mortal, and when they experience death, it becomes real in a way that might have escaped them at an earlier age. It is the first death that may bring them face-to-face with their own mortality." sounds interesting right?! but i never got that from this collection. so many of these stories lacked any sense of logic or cohesion.
almost all of these stories were very noticeably written by adults who likely haven't been teenagers in decades (but feels like centuries ngl). when was the last time you've heard teenagers use words like "yucky" or "grownups"? when was the last time you've heard high schoolers refer to themselves as "kids" or call someone a "freaking loser"? no that last one isn't done due to censorship as they swear on the same page. there were a lot of instances like this and it pulled me out of the reading experience every single time.
the title of the book is Mystery Writers of America Presents First Encounters with Murder, but i wasn't prepared for just how american it is. lots of stories involving shootings, of course one is a school shooting, and we also have to include a story of fighting nazis because why the hell not. yes nazis should absolutely be fought but my god it was so BORING!!!
out of this whole collection there were only one or two stories i kind of liked and even then they weren't great. i'm sorry but i can't recommend this.
the most interesting part of this book was the introduction which obviously isn't a good sign
it promised "rawness of [the joy and pain of firsts] and the confusion of struggling to cope with new experiences" and went on to describe, "teens are often stereotyped as acting invincible, yet they are intellectually aware they are indeed mortal, and when they experience death, it becomes real in a way that might have escaped them at an earlier age. It is the first death that may bring them face-to-face with their own mortality." sounds interesting right?! but i never got that from this collection. so many of these stories lacked any sense of logic or cohesion.
almost all of these stories were very noticeably written by adults who likely haven't been teenagers in decades (but feels like centuries ngl). when was the last time you've heard teenagers use words like "yucky" or "grownups"? when was the last time you've heard high schoolers refer to themselves as "kids" or call someone a "freaking loser"? no that last one isn't done due to censorship as they swear on the same page. there were a lot of instances like this and it pulled me out of the reading experience every single time.
the title of the book is Mystery Writers of America Presents First Encounters with Murder, but i wasn't prepared for just how american it is. lots of stories involving shootings, of course one is a school shooting, and we also have to include a story of fighting nazis because why the hell not. yes nazis should absolutely be fought but my god it was so BORING!!!
out of this whole collection there were only one or two stories i kind of liked and even then they weren't great. i'm sorry but i can't recommend this.
January 3, 2020
I give this book 4 out of 5 birds. This is such a TOUGH one to review because it's not one author but many. But this book had me by hello. It's all about first experiences with murder. I have yet to have my first, unless you include the time I found the body in the river during high school cross country... Beside the point. I'll make it crystal clear, I have no plans to join the club unless it's a zombie apocalypse. Out of the entirety of the book there were 3 I skimmed and maybe two I read and was like meh. The rest I enjoyed! There were a few that are still making me think.
One's I really remember liking-
Floater
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy
In Plain Sight- this one I didn't think I would like and ended up liking it the most!
Night of the Living Dog
Murder IRL
I'm sure I loved more than that- but those were ones I remember!
I was also surprised by Barry Lyga's- I have read all his Killer series and wish he would have given me something other than more Billy Dent. I enjoy him as an author and was hoping for new stuff- not a rehash.
I enjoyed picking up a short story, finishing it, and moving on. Anthologies are a great thing!
One's I really remember liking-
Floater
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy
In Plain Sight- this one I didn't think I would like and ended up liking it the most!
Night of the Living Dog
Murder IRL
I'm sure I loved more than that- but those were ones I remember!
I was also surprised by Barry Lyga's- I have read all his Killer series and wish he would have given me something other than more Billy Dent. I enjoy him as an author and was hoping for new stuff- not a rehash.
I enjoyed picking up a short story, finishing it, and moving on. Anthologies are a great thing!
October 16, 2021
There are a few standouts in this anthology featuring short stories centered around murder. Many genres are represented and some diversity is included - notably the hero with ADHD in A Different Hero’s Day.
Floater by Kelley Armstrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy by R.L. Stine ⭐️⭐️⭐️
In Plain Sight by Y.S. Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Daddy’s Girl by Melissa Marr ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summer Job by Amanda Witt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Boy in the Red Vans by Rachel Vincent ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Company I Keep by Jeff Somers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Concealment by Eileen Rendahl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Night of the Living Dog by David Bart ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Murder IRL by Jeff Soloway ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Killer Story by Julie Tollefson ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gnat by Joseph S. Walker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Different Hero’s Day by Anthony Franze and Barry Lancet ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First Party Back by Emmy Laybourne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What I Did on My Summer Vacation by Jonathan Maberry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Things We Don’t Talk About by Stephen Ross ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Enemy Lines by Caleb Roehrig ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Six Ways to Kill Your Grandmother by Barry Lyga ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Floater by Kelley Armstrong ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy by R.L. Stine ⭐️⭐️⭐️
In Plain Sight by Y.S. Lee ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Daddy’s Girl by Melissa Marr ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Summer Job by Amanda Witt ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Boy in the Red Vans by Rachel Vincent ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Company I Keep by Jeff Somers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Concealment by Eileen Rendahl ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Night of the Living Dog by David Bart ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Murder IRL by Jeff Soloway ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Killer Story by Julie Tollefson ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gnat by Joseph S. Walker ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A Different Hero’s Day by Anthony Franze and Barry Lancet ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
First Party Back by Emmy Laybourne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What I Did on My Summer Vacation by Jonathan Maberry ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Things We Don’t Talk About by Stephen Ross ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Enemy Lines by Caleb Roehrig ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Six Ways to Kill Your Grandmother by Barry Lyga ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
November 2, 2019
As the introduction acknowledges, being a teen means experiencing a lot of firsts, most of them pleasant and exciting. In these eighteen stories, teens encounter more unpleasant firsts--death in the form of murder in various forms. All of the entries are infinitely readable and entertaining. Although some of the pieces are written by debut authors, others come from the pens of bestselling authors, including R. L. Stine and Barry Lyga. If the first story in the collection, "Floater" by Kelley Armstrong, doesn't grab your attention, nothing will. Some of these are very dark and will leave readers scratching their heads while others will have them looking under their beds and inside closets and finding it hard to know which friends and family members can be trusted. I hope there will be more of this sort of thing forthcoming for a teen audience and those of us who love mysteries and a little suspense.
December 19, 2019
Average Rating: 3.38 / 5 stars
Floater by Kelley Armstrong
- 4 stars
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy by R.L Stine
- 3.5 stars
In Plain Sight by Y.S Lee
- 3 stars
Daddy’s Girl by Marissa Marr
- 2.5 stars
Summer Job by Amanda Witt
- 3.5 stars
The Boy in the Red Vans by Rachel Vincent
- 5 stars
The Company I Keep by Jeff Somers
- 3 stars
Concealment by Eileen Rendahl
- 4.5 stars
Night of the Living Dog by David Bart
- 3 stars
Murder IRL by Jeff Soloway
- 2 stars
A Killer Story by Julie Tollefson
- 3 stars
Gnat bf Joseph S Walker
- 2 stars
A Different Hero’s Day by Anthony Franze and Barry Lancet
- 4 stars
First Party Back by Emmy Laybourne
- 5 stars
What I Did on My Summer Vacation by Jonathan Maberry
- 3.5 stars
The Things We Don’t Talk About by Stephen Ross
- 4.5 stars
Enemy Lines by Caleb Roehrig
- 4 stars
Six Ways to Kill Your Grandmother by Barry Lyga
- 3 stars
Floater by Kelley Armstrong
- 4 stars
The Day I Killed Coach Duffy by R.L Stine
- 3.5 stars
In Plain Sight by Y.S Lee
- 3 stars
Daddy’s Girl by Marissa Marr
- 2.5 stars
Summer Job by Amanda Witt
- 3.5 stars
The Boy in the Red Vans by Rachel Vincent
- 5 stars
The Company I Keep by Jeff Somers
- 3 stars
Concealment by Eileen Rendahl
- 4.5 stars
Night of the Living Dog by David Bart
- 3 stars
Murder IRL by Jeff Soloway
- 2 stars
A Killer Story by Julie Tollefson
- 3 stars
Gnat bf Joseph S Walker
- 2 stars
A Different Hero’s Day by Anthony Franze and Barry Lancet
- 4 stars
First Party Back by Emmy Laybourne
- 5 stars
What I Did on My Summer Vacation by Jonathan Maberry
- 3.5 stars
The Things We Don’t Talk About by Stephen Ross
- 4.5 stars
Enemy Lines by Caleb Roehrig
- 4 stars
Six Ways to Kill Your Grandmother by Barry Lyga
- 3 stars
February 12, 2020
I received this book free as an ARC from a Goodreads Giveaway
So, I liked *most* of these stories. YA Thriller is not really a genre I usually read, but I recognized several of the authors in this anthology and thought I'd give it a try.
I think there's a very good mix of ghost stories, murder mystery, and physiological thrillers in this collection. I'm sure readers will all find something that interests them.
Since this was and ARC, my main critiques are about editing and format.
I think the book would benefit from having the authors' names listed next to their story titles in the table of contents. That's how I like to see anthologies.
Also, there are several spelling/punctuation errors that should get cleaned up with another read-through by an editor.
Overall, this was a good collection with an interesting premise. It didn't really inspire me to look up any new author's works.
So, I liked *most* of these stories. YA Thriller is not really a genre I usually read, but I recognized several of the authors in this anthology and thought I'd give it a try.
I think there's a very good mix of ghost stories, murder mystery, and physiological thrillers in this collection. I'm sure readers will all find something that interests them.
Since this was and ARC, my main critiques are about editing and format.
I think the book would benefit from having the authors' names listed next to their story titles in the table of contents. That's how I like to see anthologies.
Also, there are several spelling/punctuation errors that should get cleaned up with another read-through by an editor.
Overall, this was a good collection with an interesting premise. It didn't really inspire me to look up any new author's works.
October 10, 2019
I received an e-ARC of Life is Short and Then You Die from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Like all short story collections that I have read in the past, Life is Short and Then You Die contains some really good short stories, some okay short stories, and some not so good short stories. Edited by Kelley Armstrong, Life is Short and Then You Die contains 18 short stories that tell of teens' first exposure to death. Each story is told from the perspective of the victim, witness, or killer - sometimes, the point of view character even assumed multiple roles by the short story's completion (i.e. witness and killer).
The best aspect of the book has to be the variety of storytelling. As readers progress through the short story collection, they read about teens' many different first-time exposures to death.
Like all short story collections that I have read in the past, Life is Short and Then You Die contains some really good short stories, some okay short stories, and some not so good short stories. Edited by Kelley Armstrong, Life is Short and Then You Die contains 18 short stories that tell of teens' first exposure to death. Each story is told from the perspective of the victim, witness, or killer - sometimes, the point of view character even assumed multiple roles by the short story's completion (i.e. witness and killer).
The best aspect of the book has to be the variety of storytelling. As readers progress through the short story collection, they read about teens' many different first-time exposures to death.
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