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Dying with Her Cheer Pants On
Despite its humble origins, there is no more challenging or physically dangerous teen sport in the world than cheerleading. Cheerleaders are seriously injured and even killed at a higher rate than other high school sports. Their stunts are performed in skimpy uniforms without the benefit of proper safety equipment…and yet they love them, glittery eyeshadow, spirit bows, and all.
And then there are the Fighting Pumpkins, who take that injury rate as a challenge. Students of Johnson’s Crossing High School, they answer to a higher calling than the pyramid and the basket toss, pursuing the pep rally that is rising up against mysteries and monsters, kicking gods with the pointed toes of professional athletes chasing a collegiate career.
Meet Jude, half-vampire squad leader; Laurie, who can compel anyone to do as she asks; Heather, occasionally recreationally dead; Marti, strong enough to provide a foundation for any stunt; Colleen, who knows the rule book so well she may as well have written it; and Steph, who may or may not be the goddess of the harvest. The rest of the squad is ready to support them, and braced for the chaos of the big game, which may have a big body count. Prepare to jump high, yell loud, and look pretty with the Fighting Pumpkins, those glorious girls in the orange and green, whose high kicks could still be enough to save the world.
And if they’re not, it isn’t going to be for lack of trying.
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On includes three stories appearing for the first time anywhere: "Tryouts," "Trial by Fire," and "Compete Me."
And then there are the Fighting Pumpkins, who take that injury rate as a challenge. Students of Johnson’s Crossing High School, they answer to a higher calling than the pyramid and the basket toss, pursuing the pep rally that is rising up against mysteries and monsters, kicking gods with the pointed toes of professional athletes chasing a collegiate career.
Meet Jude, half-vampire squad leader; Laurie, who can compel anyone to do as she asks; Heather, occasionally recreationally dead; Marti, strong enough to provide a foundation for any stunt; Colleen, who knows the rule book so well she may as well have written it; and Steph, who may or may not be the goddess of the harvest. The rest of the squad is ready to support them, and braced for the chaos of the big game, which may have a big body count. Prepare to jump high, yell loud, and look pretty with the Fighting Pumpkins, those glorious girls in the orange and green, whose high kicks could still be enough to save the world.
And if they’re not, it isn’t going to be for lack of trying.
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On includes three stories appearing for the first time anywhere: "Tryouts," "Trial by Fire," and "Compete Me."
290 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 31, 2020
142 people are currently reading
1026 people want to read
About the author
Seanan McGuire
508 books17.1k followersHi! I'm Seanan McGuire, author of the Toby Daye series (Rosemary and Rue, A Local Habitation, An Artificial Night, Late Eclipses), as well as a lot of other things. I'm also Mira Grant (www.miragrant.com), author of Feed and Deadline.
Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
Born and raised in Northern California, I fear weather and am remarkably laid-back about rattlesnakes. I watch too many horror movies, read too many comic books, and share my house with two monsters in feline form, Lilly and Alice (Siamese and Maine Coon).
I do not check this inbox. Please don't send me messages through Goodreads; they won't be answered. I don't want to have to delete this account. :(
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 107 reviews
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May 26, 2020note to self: you already pre-ordered this. don't forget and buy it again like last time, dum dum!
February 12, 2021
I thought this was probably just going to be an amusing group of horror/fantasy short pieces, because, you know, -cheerleaders-, and it is that, but it's a whole lot more, too. Cheerleaders are one of those iconic concepts that are both loved and hated, feared and desired, admired and despised, mocked and worshipped, all without rational or reasonable consideration and treated as objects or cultists or any number of things rather than as individuals. McGuire takes all of this and wraps it up into the Fighting Pumpkins (the team name of my high school was the Beavers, so it can always be worse) cheer squad, who have to face and fight the monsters of every science fiction and monster film ever... with the fate of the world at stake. This perky and glittery book yells, bounces, tumbles, flies, shouts, sings, and dances, all without any safety equipment and always looking pretty. Go team.
February 22, 2021
It’s no surprise I loved this book as Seanan McGuire is one of my favorite authors, but man I am glad that her introduction promises that there will be more stories in this universe about the Fighting Pumpkins. This is a short story collections about a school where the cheerleaders, the Fighting Pumpkins, are what stands between the monsters and everyone else. I won’t lie, cheerleading has never been a part of me or even something I put a lot of value into, but this collection sheds a much needed refreshing light on the depth that cheerleaders can hold. I loved that the most important central piece through every story was that The Fighting Pumpkins are a team and that is how they manage to save the world time and time again. I love the horror cheerleader trope from the 80’s/90’s and this was also a welcome refresh to that. It was the movie version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer if she got a team to stand with her. I enjoyed that there were stories about more than one team, but I also loved that there were so many stories about Jude’s team.
November 8, 2020
This was fun.
One of the things I like about McGuire's books is how clear it is that she loves what she's writing. She's not churning out another book, she's feeling it.
One of the things I like about McGuire's books is how clear it is that she loves what she's writing. She's not churning out another book, she's feeling it.
April 4, 2022
This one was over the top and a bit ridiculous at times, but so much fun to read! I felt for Jude and her fellow cheerleaders, they knew what they were going up against, just trying to live to graduation. They found themselves in the craziest situations, but still came out ahead. I loved how they all were so revered about the sisterhood of cheerleading and how they all stuck together, despite not liking each other at times.
November 12, 2020
I didn't know I needed a fresh take on cheerleaders in the horror/supernatural genre until I read this. It was a fun read, an anthology of short stories that still felt like a complete piece because of the consistency of the world and its characters (including the setting itself; Johnson's Crossing has its own weird kind of life to it, as does at least one "away" location). There's also a lot of flexibility in style - there are melancholy stories, horrifying ones, and at least one that's upbeat and humorous while still being suitably horrifying. And of course there's witty commentary. There are a few characters I'd have liked to hear more about that didn't appear after the first couple chapters (I'd have enjoyed seeing more of Emma and Maple), but the main five are absolutely wonderful.
So, yes. Go read it, it's fun.
And now I want a novel.
So, yes. Go read it, it's fun.
And now I want a novel.
December 10, 2020
Smart, terrific, fun anthology (which doesn’t surprise me coming from this author!)
April 14, 2021
Once a Pumpkin, always a Pumpkin. ❤️
March 5, 2021
Do you like the strange and weird? Do you enjoy the autumn, its gentle falling darkness leading you into a land of warmth and cold, life and dying, glories and sacrifice? Do you have school spirit? Then the Fighting Pumpkins are for you!
A collection of short stories, we're given snapshots of the squad and the life they lead. Not everything is answered -- how can it be in a moment like a flame? -- but this collection will make you cheer for the home team!
Definitely a McGuire story set, and I highly recommend to any of her fans!
A collection of short stories, we're given snapshots of the squad and the life they lead. Not everything is answered -- how can it be in a moment like a flame? -- but this collection will make you cheer for the home team!
Definitely a McGuire story set, and I highly recommend to any of her fans!
May 26, 2024
I have no idea how this author thinks up her stories but she truly has a gift. This is a story about cheerleaders who are more than just athletes. They fight horrible monsters and creatures all while being great at their sport. I loved the action and the different stories. I want to read more!
July 25, 2025
Seanan McGuire comes to praise cheerleaders, then bury them!
I expected to have trouble with a hagiography of cheerleaders. As a high school student, my friends and I were united with cheerleaders and football players by strong bonds of mutual disdain. McGuire writes
Well, the "sheer necessity of school spirit" is not a thing I ever understood. If the phrase "school spirit" was ever uttered in my presence, I don't remember it, and it is certainly not a feeling I experienced.
But I was won over by the poetry of McGuire's paeans to cheerleading,
Won over temporarily and provisionally, let us say, for the sake of the story.
Now, the Fighting Pumpkins are not an ordinary consensus-Earth type of cheer squad. Their leader, Jude, is a vampire. Laurie has compulsive mojo, Heather spends time as a zombie, etc. (The publisher's blurb continues the list.) The Fighting Pumpkins exist to fight off extradimensional and alien threats to the Earth (very much a Buffy the Vampire-Slayer feel). It is rare for a Fighting Pumpkins squad to survive to graduation -- usually they die gruesomely on the way.
To me this felt like a McGuire sketchbook. It's where she played with half-formed ideas. If you've read much of McGuire's other works, you will definitely feel a Rose Marshall vibe to Heather's story. The longest story, "Turn the Year Around", which, at 77 pages, is actually a novella, explores some of the ideas that eventually became Seasonal Fears.
All the stories work, some to greater degree than others. My favorites were "Fiber" and "Turn the Year Around", which was unexpectedly poetic. (The second quote above comes from "Turn the Year Around".) I say "unexpectedly" because McGuire doesn't usually go for poesy. "Fiber" was more typical McGuire -- she can be very funny when she tries and when it clicks, and for me this one did. But I enjoyed all of them, along with the tongue-in-cheek world-building.
Blog review.
I expected to have trouble with a hagiography of cheerleaders. As a high school student, my friends and I were united with cheerleaders and football players by strong bonds of mutual disdain. McGuire writes
Even those of us who don’t like going to class ... or don’t enjoy the company of our fellow students ... understand the sheer necessity of school spirit, which is the glue that binds a student body together.
Well, the "sheer necessity of school spirit" is not a thing I ever understood. If the phrase "school spirit" was ever uttered in my presence, I don't remember it, and it is certainly not a feeling I experienced.
But I was won over by the poetry of McGuire's paeans to cheerleading,
These girls, who had seemed like strange, bright birds to me when I stood at the edge of the forest, were birds in more ways than one. They flew. They soared, they twisted in midair, they dropped out of the sky with the absolute confidence that they would be caught. Colleen seemed to have no weight at all when her teammates flung her upward. She jackknifed in flight, pressing her face to her knees, and then she fell like a star, so fast and so impossible that I almost made a wish on her. I was sure that if I did, it would be fulfilled.
Won over temporarily and provisionally, let us say, for the sake of the story.
Now, the Fighting Pumpkins are not an ordinary consensus-Earth type of cheer squad. Their leader, Jude, is a vampire. Laurie has compulsive mojo, Heather spends time as a zombie, etc. (The publisher's blurb continues the list.) The Fighting Pumpkins exist to fight off extradimensional and alien threats to the Earth (very much a Buffy the Vampire-Slayer feel). It is rare for a Fighting Pumpkins squad to survive to graduation -- usually they die gruesomely on the way.
To me this felt like a McGuire sketchbook. It's where she played with half-formed ideas. If you've read much of McGuire's other works, you will definitely feel a Rose Marshall vibe to Heather's story. The longest story, "Turn the Year Around", which, at 77 pages, is actually a novella, explores some of the ideas that eventually became Seasonal Fears.
All the stories work, some to greater degree than others. My favorites were "Fiber" and "Turn the Year Around", which was unexpectedly poetic. (The second quote above comes from "Turn the Year Around".) I say "unexpectedly" because McGuire doesn't usually go for poesy. "Fiber" was more typical McGuire -- she can be very funny when she tries and when it clicks, and for me this one did. But I enjoyed all of them, along with the tongue-in-cheek world-building.
Blog review.
January 8, 2021
If you’ve read this blog for any length of time, you may have noticed that Seanan McGuire is one of my favorite authors. Writing as both herself and Mira Grant, her Wayward Children, Incryptid, October Daye, and Newsflesh series, her non-series novels like Into the Drowning Deep and Middle Game—they are all different, and they all hit different pleasure centers in the brain. Her work ranges from ravishingly lyrical, to terrifying, to loose and funny, and sometimes all of it as once.
Dying With Her Cheer Pants On—Stories of the Fighting Pumpkins is, for the most part McGuire at her loosest and funniest. It’s a classic fix-up novel, made up of several previously published short stories and some new ones, along with excellent between-story material that explains and amplifies the book’s mythology. And because this is Seanan McGuire, that mythology is well-thought-out, internally consistent, creative and a helluva lot of fun.
The Fighting Pumpkins are the cheerleaders of Johnson’s Crossing High School, and as such, they are tasked not only with promoting school spirit and cheering for the Fighting Pumpkins football team, like most cheer squads, but also with keeping monsters, demons, student-eating zombies, and Cthuluesque otherworldly chaos at bay. See, the thing is, Fighting Pumpkin cheer squads have, for a hundred years, been the only thing standing between the town of Johnson’s Crossing and supernatural destruction. In McGuire’s world, school spirit is more than spirit bows and pep rallies, it’s a protective shield. If this sounds potentially dangerous for the cheerleaders, that’s putting it mildly. Over the decades, many, if not most, cheer squads have not survived to graduation. Even more devastating, when this happens the townspeople are fit with a sort of collective amnesia. The cheerleaders are forgotten, even by their own families.
Luckily, the current cheer squad has a few things going for it, namely that most of the cheerleaders aren’t totally, completely human. Jude, the squad leader, is half vampire (her mom, the vampire half, was a squad leader many decades ago); Heather was dead, at least for awhile; Marti is strong enough to support an entire inverted pyramid; Colleen is master of the mysterious Fighting Pumpkins rule book; even one of the J.V. girls is technically a demigod. Together this team is ready to face whatever monstrous entity comes their way.
The most important word in that last sentence is together. Dying With Her Cheer Pants On may be a sometimes thrilling, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny novel, but it’s also a poignant testament to the power of friendship and teamwork. McGuire has important things to say about family, both the ones we’re born into and the ones we form out of circumstance, love, or necessity. The book made me snort more than once, but it also choked me up.
I want to call specific attention to one story in particular, Turn the Year Around. Coming midway through the book, this long story was a standout for me, with a melancholy autumnal feeling that hit me hard.
I try to keep up with what Seanan McGuire is working on, but Dying With Her Cheer Pants On snuck up on me. I absolutely loved it.
Dying With Her Cheer Pants On—Stories of the Fighting Pumpkins is, for the most part McGuire at her loosest and funniest. It’s a classic fix-up novel, made up of several previously published short stories and some new ones, along with excellent between-story material that explains and amplifies the book’s mythology. And because this is Seanan McGuire, that mythology is well-thought-out, internally consistent, creative and a helluva lot of fun.
The Fighting Pumpkins are the cheerleaders of Johnson’s Crossing High School, and as such, they are tasked not only with promoting school spirit and cheering for the Fighting Pumpkins football team, like most cheer squads, but also with keeping monsters, demons, student-eating zombies, and Cthuluesque otherworldly chaos at bay. See, the thing is, Fighting Pumpkin cheer squads have, for a hundred years, been the only thing standing between the town of Johnson’s Crossing and supernatural destruction. In McGuire’s world, school spirit is more than spirit bows and pep rallies, it’s a protective shield. If this sounds potentially dangerous for the cheerleaders, that’s putting it mildly. Over the decades, many, if not most, cheer squads have not survived to graduation. Even more devastating, when this happens the townspeople are fit with a sort of collective amnesia. The cheerleaders are forgotten, even by their own families.
Luckily, the current cheer squad has a few things going for it, namely that most of the cheerleaders aren’t totally, completely human. Jude, the squad leader, is half vampire (her mom, the vampire half, was a squad leader many decades ago); Heather was dead, at least for awhile; Marti is strong enough to support an entire inverted pyramid; Colleen is master of the mysterious Fighting Pumpkins rule book; even one of the J.V. girls is technically a demigod. Together this team is ready to face whatever monstrous entity comes their way.
The most important word in that last sentence is together. Dying With Her Cheer Pants On may be a sometimes thrilling, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny novel, but it’s also a poignant testament to the power of friendship and teamwork. McGuire has important things to say about family, both the ones we’re born into and the ones we form out of circumstance, love, or necessity. The book made me snort more than once, but it also choked me up.
I want to call specific attention to one story in particular, Turn the Year Around. Coming midway through the book, this long story was a standout for me, with a melancholy autumnal feeling that hit me hard.
I try to keep up with what Seanan McGuire is working on, but Dying With Her Cheer Pants On snuck up on me. I absolutely loved it.
August 13, 2021
Rated 4.5 really.
Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Inventive twist on the cheerleader + teens-save-the-world tropes. Nice blend of humorous and poignant. Some excellent characterisation.
Cons: Not all the leads are equally developed. Due to the stories being written in the span of a few years, there are some continuity errors/inconsistencies. The change in tone from story to story might not work for everyone.
WARNING! Blood and gore.
Will appeal to: Those who enjoy a humorous approach to horror. Those who like the Chosen One(s) trope. In short, those who dig a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of vibe.
This collection started off as as seven individual short stories published in different anthologies over the span of ten years, to which the author ultimately added three brand new ones when they became their own book in 2020. Please note: the physical release is out of stock (you can only buy ridiculously priced second-hand copies on Amazon), but of course the ebook version is still available. Please also note - I did my research and peppered my review with cheerleading-related puns 😉. Finally, lo and behold...after 8 year and 10 months, I finally got to feature a book that matches my blog aestethic! 💃 😂
SINGLE-BASED DOUBLE CUPIE [1]
It's no secret that I pretty much love (or, at worst, like) everything Seanan McGuire writes. This collection is a litte different from her usual production, in that the stories it incorporates are more humorous/over the top than average - though, as the author herself states in prefacing one of them,
The more time I spend with the Fighting Pumpkins, who are in some ways the comedy relief of my ongoing universes, the more I come to understand how tragic they really are, and how many terrible things are lurking in the corners of their lives.
In short, the Fighting Pumpkins are a cheerleader squad - or, it turns out, a whole legacy of them - tasked with battling monsters and restoring the world's balance both via some superpower-fueled kick-assing and the actual, fine art of cheerleading. It's true that - regardless of the consequences and the body count - these stories (except for Turn the Year Around, easily my favourite) have a somehow lighter, more absurdist feel than I usually dig in my books, but the fact is, McGuire can get away with anything. Her characters are solid and sympathetic (which doesn't necessarily mean likeable, but you never fail to understand what makes them tick and to feel for them nevertheless), her imaginations knows no bound but is disciplined enough to build worlds you can buy into, and her writing is masterful (because yeah, the patches of telling-not-showing in her Wayward Children series are intentional, and they fit that kind of stories). So it comes as no surprise that, even when tackling the cheerleader trope and placing it in a universe where they can have a pep rally context with their alien counterpart, McGuire would pull it off (though the moments when she gets more serious/deep/philosophical are still my favourite, and oh, there are a few, and they will break your heart a little). So, yeah - DWHCPO is, ultimately, a book with two souls from an author who's strong enough to support (and juggle) both of them. [...]
Whole review here.
Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.
Pros: Inventive twist on the cheerleader + teens-save-the-world tropes. Nice blend of humorous and poignant. Some excellent characterisation.
Cons: Not all the leads are equally developed. Due to the stories being written in the span of a few years, there are some continuity errors/inconsistencies. The change in tone from story to story might not work for everyone.
WARNING! Blood and gore.
Will appeal to: Those who enjoy a humorous approach to horror. Those who like the Chosen One(s) trope. In short, those who dig a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kind of vibe.
This collection started off as as seven individual short stories published in different anthologies over the span of ten years, to which the author ultimately added three brand new ones when they became their own book in 2020. Please note: the physical release is out of stock (you can only buy ridiculously priced second-hand copies on Amazon), but of course the ebook version is still available. Please also note - I did my research and peppered my review with cheerleading-related puns 😉. Finally, lo and behold...after 8 year and 10 months, I finally got to feature a book that matches my blog aestethic! 💃 😂
SINGLE-BASED DOUBLE CUPIE [1]
It's no secret that I pretty much love (or, at worst, like) everything Seanan McGuire writes. This collection is a litte different from her usual production, in that the stories it incorporates are more humorous/over the top than average - though, as the author herself states in prefacing one of them,
The more time I spend with the Fighting Pumpkins, who are in some ways the comedy relief of my ongoing universes, the more I come to understand how tragic they really are, and how many terrible things are lurking in the corners of their lives.
In short, the Fighting Pumpkins are a cheerleader squad - or, it turns out, a whole legacy of them - tasked with battling monsters and restoring the world's balance both via some superpower-fueled kick-assing and the actual, fine art of cheerleading. It's true that - regardless of the consequences and the body count - these stories (except for Turn the Year Around, easily my favourite) have a somehow lighter, more absurdist feel than I usually dig in my books, but the fact is, McGuire can get away with anything. Her characters are solid and sympathetic (which doesn't necessarily mean likeable, but you never fail to understand what makes them tick and to feel for them nevertheless), her imaginations knows no bound but is disciplined enough to build worlds you can buy into, and her writing is masterful (because yeah, the patches of telling-not-showing in her Wayward Children series are intentional, and they fit that kind of stories). So it comes as no surprise that, even when tackling the cheerleader trope and placing it in a universe where they can have a pep rally context with their alien counterpart, McGuire would pull it off (though the moments when she gets more serious/deep/philosophical are still my favourite, and oh, there are a few, and they will break your heart a little). So, yeah - DWHCPO is, ultimately, a book with two souls from an author who's strong enough to support (and juggle) both of them. [...]
Whole review here.
April 21, 2022
This one is really hard to rate.
On the one hand, I love anything Seanan writes. I'd probably be wanting to go at a restaurant if she's the one writing the menu, as ridiculous as it sounds.
One the other hand, I don't like the style of this book. I had the same problem with Sparrow Hill Road. I loved the individual stories, for the most part, but, when put all together, my brain tends to want them to make some sense, instead of being just stories.
So, I feel like I'm missing something. Like time passing, or a flow. Which is stupid, because they are an assortment of stories, there is no time passing or a flow connecting them. That's how weird my brain is.
Could I still rate it 4 or 5 stars? Absolutely. If not for the fact that although I did enjoy Steph and the concept, I wasn't particularly fond of the lord of Winter's inputs.
On the one hand, I love anything Seanan writes. I'd probably be wanting to go at a restaurant if she's the one writing the menu, as ridiculous as it sounds.
One the other hand, I don't like the style of this book. I had the same problem with Sparrow Hill Road. I loved the individual stories, for the most part, but, when put all together, my brain tends to want them to make some sense, instead of being just stories.
So, I feel like I'm missing something. Like time passing, or a flow. Which is stupid, because they are an assortment of stories, there is no time passing or a flow connecting them. That's how weird my brain is.
Could I still rate it 4 or 5 stars? Absolutely. If not for the fact that although I did enjoy Steph and the concept, I wasn't particularly fond of the lord of Winter's inputs.
November 16, 2020
Weird and wonderful take on the cheerleaders in horror trope - Fighting Pumpkins Forever!!
December 28, 2020
Eldritch horror style is hit or miss for me, plus anthology collections are a particular weakness of mine. Some of these are really good! Some of these made me miss the previous story.
May 7, 2024
This was so much fun. Some definite Buffy vibes going on.
October 28, 2020
Full review to come shortly. Another great collection, including some new stories. I love the world of the Fighting Pumpkins.
January 7, 2021
this was fantastic. i always love seanan mcguire's books. this one was so much fun.
February 2, 2021
I love Seanan McGuire, but this collection of short stories didn't do it for me. I couldn't get into the characters, and I stopped caring what happened to them.
November 15, 2020
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On is a collection of interlinked short stories about an all girl cheer squad called The Fighting Pumpkins. The girls all attend high school at Johnson's Crossing, which isn't quite like other towns. Imagine if outside our reality, there was another reality and it was full of creatures that hungered. In some towns it's the team of intrepid reporters who keep the darkness at bay, or teen detectives, or the chess club, but in Johnson's Crossing, it's the cheer squad. Just as well the team includes Jude - the half vampire captain, Colleen - the historian and record keeper, Marti - acting attack dog and nominal mean girl who happens to be far stronger than any teen girl should be, Heather - it's best not to talk about how alive or dead she is, and Laurie - could have been an evil dominatrix who ruled the world but is in fact as sweet as a bunny and not too bright.
The most important thing, is that the Fighting Pumpkins are a team and any team which can pull off a reverse pyramid can totally hand the forces of darkness their collective asses.
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On How many times has the Earth come to complete annihilation? We may never know but thanks to the Fighting Pumpkins, the world spins madly on. This is the story of the previous squad before Jude became team captain.
Tryouts Half vampire, Jude, wakes to fine the rulebook on her pillow and that means just one thing: It's time to select a new squad.
Trial by Fire The new Fighting Pumpkins team goes up against their first monster. This is what you get when you combine a slovenly attitude towards tidiness with life in Johnson's Crossing.
Gimme a Z Heather wakes up to a whole new world of possibilities, including raw meat and betrayal.
Turn the Year Around As a folklorist, I especially enjoyed this one. No spoilers but there are patterns that have to play out, stories that must be told season by season. Sometimes none of your choices are good, but how you choose is what counts. Found family, belonging and the power of nature all star in this one.
Fiber Anything can happen on an away game. Or the return trip. Especially when Laurie has discovered the benefits of a certain type of yoghurt.
Switchblade Smile You really shouldn't mess with a cheerleader. No one who can perform that many backflips is someone to take lightly. A trip down memory lane to the last squad who survived until graduation.
School Colours The Fighting Pumpkins don't just go up against creatures from the other realm. Sometimes its visitors from within our own solar system.
Compete Me Marti has never cared what anyone else has thought of her. She knows she's perfect and she has plans for that perfection. Only her loyalty to the Pumpkins is in anyway outside this plan. But where has her not needing anyone attitude come from? Easily the most heart wrenching story in the book.
Away Game It just wouldn't be a Seanan McGuire short story collection if there wasn't a Lovecraftian horror in there somewhere. That's all I'll say.
This was brilliant. I loved every moment of it. The concept is so amazing I wish I'd thought of it. And I live in the UK where we have a dearth of cheerleaders. If you're a McGuire fan, this is definitely one for the tbr. If you like short speculative fiction stories with plenty of wit, this is also for you. Highly recommend.
The most important thing, is that the Fighting Pumpkins are a team and any team which can pull off a reverse pyramid can totally hand the forces of darkness their collective asses.
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On How many times has the Earth come to complete annihilation? We may never know but thanks to the Fighting Pumpkins, the world spins madly on. This is the story of the previous squad before Jude became team captain.
Tryouts Half vampire, Jude, wakes to fine the rulebook on her pillow and that means just one thing: It's time to select a new squad.
Trial by Fire The new Fighting Pumpkins team goes up against their first monster. This is what you get when you combine a slovenly attitude towards tidiness with life in Johnson's Crossing.
Gimme a Z Heather wakes up to a whole new world of possibilities, including raw meat and betrayal.
Turn the Year Around As a folklorist, I especially enjoyed this one. No spoilers but there are patterns that have to play out, stories that must be told season by season. Sometimes none of your choices are good, but how you choose is what counts. Found family, belonging and the power of nature all star in this one.
Fiber Anything can happen on an away game. Or the return trip. Especially when Laurie has discovered the benefits of a certain type of yoghurt.
Switchblade Smile You really shouldn't mess with a cheerleader. No one who can perform that many backflips is someone to take lightly. A trip down memory lane to the last squad who survived until graduation.
School Colours The Fighting Pumpkins don't just go up against creatures from the other realm. Sometimes its visitors from within our own solar system.
Compete Me Marti has never cared what anyone else has thought of her. She knows she's perfect and she has plans for that perfection. Only her loyalty to the Pumpkins is in anyway outside this plan. But where has her not needing anyone attitude come from? Easily the most heart wrenching story in the book.
Away Game It just wouldn't be a Seanan McGuire short story collection if there wasn't a Lovecraftian horror in there somewhere. That's all I'll say.
This was brilliant. I loved every moment of it. The concept is so amazing I wish I'd thought of it. And I live in the UK where we have a dearth of cheerleaders. If you're a McGuire fan, this is definitely one for the tbr. If you like short speculative fiction stories with plenty of wit, this is also for you. Highly recommend.
January 30, 2021
I wasn't sure if I would be into something about cheerleaders but this was delightful and exactly what I was in the mood for. It has a very Buffy-vibe with crossing over a semi-campy high school tropes with mild-moderate urban fantasy villains/doomsday plots. Most of it was a lot more "comedy relief" as Seanan McGuire puts it than many of her other shorter works but there were a few moments where I felt a little choked up, particularly with Heather's story.
"...everyone who knew while I was alive will be gone, and some new girl will be in charge of the squad, and I won't be 'our friend Heather, who got turned into a monster, but still likes to get mani-pedis and hang out during lunch.' I'll just be 'our team monster, she likes it when we remember she has a name.' I'll be a tool instead of a person. It won't be malicious. We'll still be teammates. But that's when I'll really die. The first time I look at a group of Fighting Pumpkins and not single one of them looks at me like I was ever a real girl."
That's really deep for a book about cheerleaders who fight wendigos.
"...everyone who knew while I was alive will be gone, and some new girl will be in charge of the squad, and I won't be 'our friend Heather, who got turned into a monster, but still likes to get mani-pedis and hang out during lunch.' I'll just be 'our team monster, she likes it when we remember she has a name.' I'll be a tool instead of a person. It won't be malicious. We'll still be teammates. But that's when I'll really die. The first time I look at a group of Fighting Pumpkins and not single one of them looks at me like I was ever a real girl."
That's really deep for a book about cheerleaders who fight wendigos.
July 31, 2025
Okay, I will never quite get cheerleaders. It’s honestly a ridiculous and alien concept to me, but I’m a sucker for a supernatural sisterhood, so I actually kinda enjoyed the collection.
I probably would have liked it more if it was anything BUT cheerleading though.
I probably would have liked it more if it was anything BUT cheerleading though.
June 6, 2021
Wer mich kennt, weiß, dass ich keinem Cheerleader-Klischee entsprechen würde. Da ich mich die letzten Monate jedoch in Seanan McGuire verliebt habe, wollte ich auch diesem Band eine Chance geben, denn ich freue mich unfassbar für Seanan, dass sie als Halloween-Freak Geschichten über eine tödliche Cheerleader-Truppe schreiben durfte und diese dann in orangenes Leinen mit grünem Vorsatz gebunden wurden. Ist es nicht schön, wenn alles zusammenkommt und passt?
Die Fighting Pumpkins sind jedenfalls ein Cheerleader-Team, das immer stirbt. Nach einer Weile wird jemand von einem magischen Buch berufen, eine neue Truppe aufzustellen und die "verschwindet" dann wieder, ohne dass jemand weiß, wieso, wie viele es schon gab, wohin sie gingen etc pp. Im Lauf der Jahre wurden einige Abenteuer in diversen Anthologien veröffentlicht, aber dies ist die erste eigene Zusammenstellung plus vier exklusive neue Geschichten.
Let's go!
The most sincere Patch
Einleitung - inspiriert wurde Seanan von Seriengeschichten in Zeitungen und Horror-Filmen der 80er. Eine Geschichte mit denselben Charakteren, aber nicht unbedingt einer zusammenhängenden Handlung.
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On
Der erste, legendäre Squad und ihr finales Abenteuer - was ziemlich drastisch und ziemlich heroisch und ziemlich weird ist. Klassischer Seanan: Aliens vs. Bloody Mary.
Tryouts (previously unpublished)
Die einleitende Geschichte des neuen Squads, wie sie sich fanden und einige Hintergrundinfos nach dem verrückten Start. Dabei merkt man, dass die Mädels selbst nicht ganz normal sind...
Trial by Fire (previously unpublished)
Weitere Hintergrundinfos zum neuen Squad sowie ein erstes Abenteuer.
Gimme a “Z”!
Z wie Zombies - denn nicht nur Heather kehrt in dieser Geschichte aus ihrem Grab zurück...
Turn the Year Around
Die längste Kurzgeschichte des Bandes, in der sich Cinderellas Kürbis nicht in eine Kutsche, sondern in Cinderella verwandelt! Dass sie gleichzeitig wunderschön ist, kommt zur Absurdität noch hinzu.
Fiber
Online bei Tor lesbar!
Die Pumpkins befinden sich auf einem Road Trip, als sie an einer äußerst suspekten Tankstelle halten müssen... Wendigos!
Switchblade Smile
Wir begeben uns auf einen Ausflug in die Vergangenheit - ein Abenteuer aus Andreas Perspektive (die Mutter eines aktuellen Pumpkins). Biker-Gang vs. Vampirin. Muhaha.
School Colors
Endlich - eine Geschichte aus Colleens Perspektive, der nerdigen Cheer-Historikerin des Teams! Leider hat sie sich den Fuß gebrochen und kann so das Abenteuer nur wahrheitsgemäß protokollieren - als die Aliens auftauchen und kurze Röcke tragen...
Compete Me (previously unpublished)
Und endlich darf auch Marti ihre Perspektive darlegen - bei einem Wettbewerb... ohne Jury und ohne Zuschauer?? Mysteriös, vor allem, da ein Team weniger nach Hause fahren wird...!
Away Game
In der letzten Geschichte erfahren wir, wie die Cheerleader an anderen Schulen sich so verhalten - beim Auswärtsspiel.
Natürlich werden die üblichen Klischees wie Spirit Stick oder Footballer-Freunde angesprochen, allerdings liegt bei den Fighting Pumpkins aufgrund der besonderen Umstände der Schwerpunkt auf Fairness, Schwesterlichkeit, Zusammenhalt und Überlebenswille. Da die Mädels alle nicht 100-prozentig menschlich sind, kommt Seanans Lieblingsthema der Andersartigkeit ebenfalls nicht zu kurz.
Wer jetzt neugierig geworden ist: Obwohl die Anthologie erst letztes Jahr erschien, ist die hübsche Subterranean Press Edition leider schwer vergriffen, es gibt allerdings ein E-Book und auf Tor kann man eine Geschichte komplett lesen. Insgesamt ein großartiger Mix aus subtilem Horror, Aufopferungsszenarien und natürlich Kämpfen gegen Monster und Aliens. Dabei wird es jedoch niemals blutig oder eklig, sondern bleibt immer niveauvoll und unterhaltsam. Nicht nur zu Halloween ein grandioser Spaß - genau, was ich erwartet habe. Entschuldigt mich, ich muss "Girls United" gucken gehen.
"we were a bunch of sometimes semi-supernatural weirdoes who flung each other into the air for fun"
Die Fighting Pumpkins sind jedenfalls ein Cheerleader-Team, das immer stirbt. Nach einer Weile wird jemand von einem magischen Buch berufen, eine neue Truppe aufzustellen und die "verschwindet" dann wieder, ohne dass jemand weiß, wieso, wie viele es schon gab, wohin sie gingen etc pp. Im Lauf der Jahre wurden einige Abenteuer in diversen Anthologien veröffentlicht, aber dies ist die erste eigene Zusammenstellung plus vier exklusive neue Geschichten.
Let's go!
The most sincere Patch
Einleitung - inspiriert wurde Seanan von Seriengeschichten in Zeitungen und Horror-Filmen der 80er. Eine Geschichte mit denselben Charakteren, aber nicht unbedingt einer zusammenhängenden Handlung.
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On
Der erste, legendäre Squad und ihr finales Abenteuer - was ziemlich drastisch und ziemlich heroisch und ziemlich weird ist. Klassischer Seanan: Aliens vs. Bloody Mary.
Tryouts (previously unpublished)
Die einleitende Geschichte des neuen Squads, wie sie sich fanden und einige Hintergrundinfos nach dem verrückten Start. Dabei merkt man, dass die Mädels selbst nicht ganz normal sind...
Trial by Fire (previously unpublished)
Weitere Hintergrundinfos zum neuen Squad sowie ein erstes Abenteuer.
Gimme a “Z”!
Z wie Zombies - denn nicht nur Heather kehrt in dieser Geschichte aus ihrem Grab zurück...
Turn the Year Around
Die längste Kurzgeschichte des Bandes, in der sich Cinderellas Kürbis nicht in eine Kutsche, sondern in Cinderella verwandelt! Dass sie gleichzeitig wunderschön ist, kommt zur Absurdität noch hinzu.
Fiber
Online bei Tor lesbar!
Die Pumpkins befinden sich auf einem Road Trip, als sie an einer äußerst suspekten Tankstelle halten müssen... Wendigos!
Switchblade Smile
Wir begeben uns auf einen Ausflug in die Vergangenheit - ein Abenteuer aus Andreas Perspektive (die Mutter eines aktuellen Pumpkins). Biker-Gang vs. Vampirin. Muhaha.
School Colors
Endlich - eine Geschichte aus Colleens Perspektive, der nerdigen Cheer-Historikerin des Teams! Leider hat sie sich den Fuß gebrochen und kann so das Abenteuer nur wahrheitsgemäß protokollieren - als die Aliens auftauchen und kurze Röcke tragen...
Compete Me (previously unpublished)
Und endlich darf auch Marti ihre Perspektive darlegen - bei einem Wettbewerb... ohne Jury und ohne Zuschauer?? Mysteriös, vor allem, da ein Team weniger nach Hause fahren wird...!
Away Game
In der letzten Geschichte erfahren wir, wie die Cheerleader an anderen Schulen sich so verhalten - beim Auswärtsspiel.
Natürlich werden die üblichen Klischees wie Spirit Stick oder Footballer-Freunde angesprochen, allerdings liegt bei den Fighting Pumpkins aufgrund der besonderen Umstände der Schwerpunkt auf Fairness, Schwesterlichkeit, Zusammenhalt und Überlebenswille. Da die Mädels alle nicht 100-prozentig menschlich sind, kommt Seanans Lieblingsthema der Andersartigkeit ebenfalls nicht zu kurz.
Wer jetzt neugierig geworden ist: Obwohl die Anthologie erst letztes Jahr erschien, ist die hübsche Subterranean Press Edition leider schwer vergriffen, es gibt allerdings ein E-Book und auf Tor kann man eine Geschichte komplett lesen. Insgesamt ein großartiger Mix aus subtilem Horror, Aufopferungsszenarien und natürlich Kämpfen gegen Monster und Aliens. Dabei wird es jedoch niemals blutig oder eklig, sondern bleibt immer niveauvoll und unterhaltsam. Nicht nur zu Halloween ein grandioser Spaß - genau, was ich erwartet habe. Entschuldigt mich, ich muss "Girls United" gucken gehen.
"we were a bunch of sometimes semi-supernatural weirdoes who flung each other into the air for fun"
October 4, 2022
The entire football team showed up for the game—naturally—and so did enough of the opposing team for the coaches to decide they should go ahead and play. “We’ll show those aliens what it means to be American!” said Coach Ackley, and everyone applauded.
It was a good game. It would have been a better one if the aliens hadn’t shown up at halftime and opened fire on the crowd. It took them less than five minutes to kill almost a hundred people and send the survivors scattering like quail.
[…]
They never even got to finish the game. Funny, the things that stop seeming like the end of the world when the world is really ending.
(Seanan McGuire, Dying With Her Cheer Pants On [Dying With Her Cheer Pants On], p.11)
Being a cheerleader is no cakewalk. Aside from games, competitions, and practising until your bones break, you're also your town's last line of defence against the monsters and aliens looking to destroy it and/or the world. You might not survive to see graduation. In fact, you almost definitely won't.
This short story collection tracks Seanan McGuire's fascination with the idea of a team of cheerleaders that got killed off constantly, the world resetting each time with new cheerleaders needed and no one remembering what happened to the last ones. The original group are in the opening/title story. As intended, they got killed off and the world reset, but McGuire had a much harder time killing off this second team since she'd gotten used to writing them. They survive the book, but it remains to be seen if they'll survive to graduation.
“This is the third time they’ve held mid-season tryouts to replace the whole cheer squad since my freshman year and I’m only a junior,” one girl said.
[…]
“That means we’re about due for a squad that doesn’t disappear,” said another girl as she checked her eyeliner in her compact mirror. She sounded almost bored. “Don’t mysterious-disappearance-shame the cheerleaders.”
(Seanan McGuire, Dying With Her Cheer Pants On [Tryouts], p.21)
And that's the part I sadly wasn't as fond of. Despite making it plain in-universe that the mortality rate is nearly 100%, McGuire is too reluctant to kill anyone. There are deaths off screen or implied, and one harmless self-immolation, and some of them are implied to be pretty gruesome but all but a few rare exceptions survive to the end of the book. I know that's technically a spoiler but I'm considering it to be more of a broken promise since it's the premise of the book and the girls spend the stories with the spectre of death hovering above them. If you want to see people die the first story will do it for you but these girls are disappointingly competent.
I'm not saying I wanted the cheerleaders we've grown to love to die. I'm saying that I was given an interesting premise and am seeing way too many survivors, and I wouldn't be half so frustrated by it if the survival rate wasn't drilled into our heads several times per story.
“My sister thought about trying out, but she wants to live long enough to graduate.”
And that, right there, was the reason that half the eyes were watching [Jude] with envy, and the other half with pity. She was a cheerleader, elevated, revered. She was also a sacrificial maiden, and while most of them had forgotten all the squads before hers, consigning them to the soft veil of gentle forgetfulness, they still knew that cheerleading was hazardous for your health.
[…] Girls in orange and green could get away with anything, because everyone expected them to disappear at any moment, wafting away like the morning mist. They were untouchable, right up until something touched them.
(Seanan McGuire, Dying With Her Cheer Pants On [Trial by Fire], p.46)
I mean, technically maybe someone did die. Part of the deal is that everyone forgets the cheerleader(s) existed... No, Cheer Captain Jude would have mentioned inexplicably being a girl short at some point.
It's a good idea to keep a little scorecard at first to try and keep the characters straight since we meet so many all at once (at the tryouts). I did, and I was pretty pleased to have thought of it after referencing it a couple of times, even if I did only start it because I was having such a hard time matching names to the girls on the cover (the official book blurb mentions 6 girls by name, but only 5 are on the cover and I couldn't figure out who the zombie was). There's a Junior Varsity team, too, who have a few special girls that you don't really need to know the names of but who'll be mentioned occasionally as their powers are needed. I got a little thrill late in the book when a demigoddess is mentioned, and I knew right away which JV girl they were talking about. It's a cheerleading squad; they're supposed to get you excited!
The plot tried to be linear but had a little trouble with it. The timeline is wonky, and it's especially noticeable when time is measured by Homecoming games yet no one seems able to remember how many have gone by, referencing the 'last one' as being the one that killed off the previous squad, even though that game could be upwards of two years before. It's little slips like that where the timeline fits for everything in the story except on that one point. You can tell these stories were written separately before being put together for this compilation.
Also there's no satisfying conclusion. Despite being a series of events all strung along chronologically-ish it doesn't end in anything. The girls don't reach graduation, but they also don't die; they just solve another monster problem and head home to practice for the next game.
CHARACTERS:
I’d like to see more stories with them, but especially more with the JV girls who exist in the background but never get a spotlight. The JV cheer co-captains are a trio of girls named Emma who are one person split into four bodies (one attends class). Now that’s really cool, but we never see them after the tryouts. There are a lot of girls on the two teams but we only really pay attention to the initial five.
EDITING:
Tryouts started twice in my ebook. But the bigger problem is how no one seems to remember how many Homecoming games they’ve cheered for.
ENJOYABILITY:
The stories were pretty good but would have been loads better if they culminated into something resembling an ending. The last game of the book isn’t even the last of the year, it could be set at any time during the season.
SETTING/WORLD BUILDING:
Okay, this was pretty inspired.
THE VERDICT?
An enjoyable collection of some of Seanan McGuire’s creations, but don’t expect it to have an endgame like the short story collection Sparrow Hill Road .
It was a good game. It would have been a better one if the aliens hadn’t shown up at halftime and opened fire on the crowd. It took them less than five minutes to kill almost a hundred people and send the survivors scattering like quail.
[…]
They never even got to finish the game. Funny, the things that stop seeming like the end of the world when the world is really ending.
(Seanan McGuire, Dying With Her Cheer Pants On [Dying With Her Cheer Pants On], p.11)
Being a cheerleader is no cakewalk. Aside from games, competitions, and practising until your bones break, you're also your town's last line of defence against the monsters and aliens looking to destroy it and/or the world. You might not survive to see graduation. In fact, you almost definitely won't.
This short story collection tracks Seanan McGuire's fascination with the idea of a team of cheerleaders that got killed off constantly, the world resetting each time with new cheerleaders needed and no one remembering what happened to the last ones. The original group are in the opening/title story. As intended, they got killed off and the world reset, but McGuire had a much harder time killing off this second team since she'd gotten used to writing them. They survive the book, but it remains to be seen if they'll survive to graduation.
“This is the third time they’ve held mid-season tryouts to replace the whole cheer squad since my freshman year and I’m only a junior,” one girl said.
[…]
“That means we’re about due for a squad that doesn’t disappear,” said another girl as she checked her eyeliner in her compact mirror. She sounded almost bored. “Don’t mysterious-disappearance-shame the cheerleaders.”
(Seanan McGuire, Dying With Her Cheer Pants On [Tryouts], p.21)
And that's the part I sadly wasn't as fond of. Despite making it plain in-universe that the mortality rate is nearly 100%, McGuire is too reluctant to kill anyone. There are deaths off screen or implied, and one harmless self-immolation, and some of them are implied to be pretty gruesome but all but a few rare exceptions survive to the end of the book. I know that's technically a spoiler but I'm considering it to be more of a broken promise since it's the premise of the book and the girls spend the stories with the spectre of death hovering above them. If you want to see people die the first story will do it for you but these girls are disappointingly competent.
I'm not saying I wanted the cheerleaders we've grown to love to die. I'm saying that I was given an interesting premise and am seeing way too many survivors, and I wouldn't be half so frustrated by it if the survival rate wasn't drilled into our heads several times per story.
“My sister thought about trying out, but she wants to live long enough to graduate.”
And that, right there, was the reason that half the eyes were watching [Jude] with envy, and the other half with pity. She was a cheerleader, elevated, revered. She was also a sacrificial maiden, and while most of them had forgotten all the squads before hers, consigning them to the soft veil of gentle forgetfulness, they still knew that cheerleading was hazardous for your health.
[…] Girls in orange and green could get away with anything, because everyone expected them to disappear at any moment, wafting away like the morning mist. They were untouchable, right up until something touched them.
(Seanan McGuire, Dying With Her Cheer Pants On [Trial by Fire], p.46)
I mean, technically maybe someone did die. Part of the deal is that everyone forgets the cheerleader(s) existed... No, Cheer Captain Jude would have mentioned inexplicably being a girl short at some point.
It's a good idea to keep a little scorecard at first to try and keep the characters straight since we meet so many all at once (at the tryouts). I did, and I was pretty pleased to have thought of it after referencing it a couple of times, even if I did only start it because I was having such a hard time matching names to the girls on the cover (the official book blurb mentions 6 girls by name, but only 5 are on the cover and I couldn't figure out who the zombie was). There's a Junior Varsity team, too, who have a few special girls that you don't really need to know the names of but who'll be mentioned occasionally as their powers are needed. I got a little thrill late in the book when a demigoddess is mentioned, and I knew right away which JV girl they were talking about. It's a cheerleading squad; they're supposed to get you excited!
The plot tried to be linear but had a little trouble with it. The timeline is wonky, and it's especially noticeable when time is measured by Homecoming games yet no one seems able to remember how many have gone by, referencing the 'last one' as being the one that killed off the previous squad, even though that game could be upwards of two years before. It's little slips like that where the timeline fits for everything in the story except on that one point. You can tell these stories were written separately before being put together for this compilation.
Also there's no satisfying conclusion. Despite being a series of events all strung along chronologically-ish it doesn't end in anything. The girls don't reach graduation, but they also don't die; they just solve another monster problem and head home to practice for the next game.
CHARACTERS:
I’d like to see more stories with them, but especially more with the JV girls who exist in the background but never get a spotlight. The JV cheer co-captains are a trio of girls named Emma who are one person split into four bodies (one attends class). Now that’s really cool, but we never see them after the tryouts. There are a lot of girls on the two teams but we only really pay attention to the initial five.
EDITING:
Tryouts started twice in my ebook. But the bigger problem is how no one seems to remember how many Homecoming games they’ve cheered for.
ENJOYABILITY:
The stories were pretty good but would have been loads better if they culminated into something resembling an ending. The last game of the book isn’t even the last of the year, it could be set at any time during the season.
SETTING/WORLD BUILDING:
Okay, this was pretty inspired.
THE VERDICT?
An enjoyable collection of some of Seanan McGuire’s creations, but don’t expect it to have an endgame like the short story collection Sparrow Hill Road .
February 15, 2024
Ever since I stumbled on her Wayward Children series, I've loved the writing of Seanan McGuire. Her humor, worldbuilding, and imagination are rivaled only by perhaps T. Kingfisher. I hadn't heard of this story collection before seeing it mentioned in one of my Goodreads groups... but with a title like that, how could I not check it out?
The stories in this collection stand decently on their own, but all revolve around the same group of high school cheerleaders -- the Fighting Pumpkins from Johnson's Crossing. These cheerleaders don't just pump up the football team, however... they also stand against the monsters, aliens, and other threats that regularly menace the town. And as vampiric Jude, zombie Heather, Amazonian Marti, gifted record-keeper Colleen, and dim but psychically gifted Laurie navigate the treacherous landscape of high school and supernatural menaces, they form an unlikely bond that may be the only thing that keeps them alive.
McGuire begins this story collection with an explanation of its inspiration -- the schlocky cheerleader horror movies of the 70s and 80s. While I don't watch horror films, I've seen the covers of enough cheerleader-themed horror movies and books to understand where the inspiration comes from. And it's refreshing to find the "dumb cheerleader" stereotype thoroughly subverted, as these scream queens who would otherwise be the first victims of the monster of the week end up kicking serious ass. Indeed, most of these stories do a good job of giving us cliche situations (alien invasions, demonic rituals, zombie armies) but with enough of a twist to be refreshing and interesting again.
It also helps that the characters themselves are vivid and entertaining too. Like in the Wayward Children series, these characters are by no means perfect but are all given distinct personalities, strengths, and flaws, which I appreciate. They take what they do seriously, but they don't overly angst either -- they do what needs to be done. And exchange plenty of quips along the way.
There's probably very little likelihood of a crossover between the Wayward Children and the Fighting Pumpkins, but I'd pay to see it. In the meantime, I'll hope for more from these cheerleaders in the future...
The stories in this collection stand decently on their own, but all revolve around the same group of high school cheerleaders -- the Fighting Pumpkins from Johnson's Crossing. These cheerleaders don't just pump up the football team, however... they also stand against the monsters, aliens, and other threats that regularly menace the town. And as vampiric Jude, zombie Heather, Amazonian Marti, gifted record-keeper Colleen, and dim but psychically gifted Laurie navigate the treacherous landscape of high school and supernatural menaces, they form an unlikely bond that may be the only thing that keeps them alive.
McGuire begins this story collection with an explanation of its inspiration -- the schlocky cheerleader horror movies of the 70s and 80s. While I don't watch horror films, I've seen the covers of enough cheerleader-themed horror movies and books to understand where the inspiration comes from. And it's refreshing to find the "dumb cheerleader" stereotype thoroughly subverted, as these scream queens who would otherwise be the first victims of the monster of the week end up kicking serious ass. Indeed, most of these stories do a good job of giving us cliche situations (alien invasions, demonic rituals, zombie armies) but with enough of a twist to be refreshing and interesting again.
It also helps that the characters themselves are vivid and entertaining too. Like in the Wayward Children series, these characters are by no means perfect but are all given distinct personalities, strengths, and flaws, which I appreciate. They take what they do seriously, but they don't overly angst either -- they do what needs to be done. And exchange plenty of quips along the way.
There's probably very little likelihood of a crossover between the Wayward Children and the Fighting Pumpkins, but I'd pay to see it. In the meantime, I'll hope for more from these cheerleaders in the future...
November 17, 2020
Imagine, if you will, that Sunnydale High had a cheerleading squad. And imagine further, that this squad was all that stood between Sunnydale and the creatures of the outer darkness, eldritch beings from outside that look on our world with hungry eyes and empty bellies and think that humans are the perfect snackfood.
And that squad happens to be composed entirely of Slayers and Scoobies. Too bad the cheer squads also have the lifespan of the average Slayer...
That's *kind* of what Dying With Her Cheer Pants On is like — a collection of stories of The Fighting Pumpkins, as they deal with those relatable issues that all teenagers in high school deal with: friendship, college admissions, dying and being brought back to life as part of somebody's undead army, toxic muck monsters, wendigos, living incarnations of the Harvest, aliens and Bloody Mary. Oh... and managing to survive until graduation.
If you're a fan of Seanan's urban fantasy series like Girl in The Green Silk Dress, InCryptid or the October Daye books, you owe it to yourself to check this out. It's easy to see the Fighting Pumpkins slotting into the InCryptid universe seamlessly; in fact, it would've been interesting to see them having to take on The Crossroads or Bobby Cross. But they're their own saga and we get to know most of the girls on the squad — as well as some of those who came before. You'll be left eager to know more about them... and who might come after.
And that squad happens to be composed entirely of Slayers and Scoobies. Too bad the cheer squads also have the lifespan of the average Slayer...
That's *kind* of what Dying With Her Cheer Pants On is like — a collection of stories of The Fighting Pumpkins, as they deal with those relatable issues that all teenagers in high school deal with: friendship, college admissions, dying and being brought back to life as part of somebody's undead army, toxic muck monsters, wendigos, living incarnations of the Harvest, aliens and Bloody Mary. Oh... and managing to survive until graduation.
If you're a fan of Seanan's urban fantasy series like Girl in The Green Silk Dress, InCryptid or the October Daye books, you owe it to yourself to check this out. It's easy to see the Fighting Pumpkins slotting into the InCryptid universe seamlessly; in fact, it would've been interesting to see them having to take on The Crossroads or Bobby Cross. But they're their own saga and we get to know most of the girls on the squad — as well as some of those who came before. You'll be left eager to know more about them... and who might come after.
November 30, 2020
I think I have a new favorite McGuire universe.
These are the stories of the Fighting Pumpkins, a cheer squad that is tasked with not only looking good and being terrific cheerleaders, but also saving the town on a regular basis. It's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a renewing group of teenage girls.
They renew because sometimes the Pumpkins, in their colorful orange and green uniforms, are defeated by the Big Bad. When this happens, people in the town forget these girls ever existed, and the handbook appears on the bed of the next girl selected to be the captain.
These are all great stories and the point of view character changes around the squad. I think we see three separate squads in this collection.
I really liked when one story said that the Fighting Pumpkins protect the town against typical high-school level supernatural threats - your zombie army, your swamp monsters, etc. There is also a cub scout troop and a sewing circle at a retirement home which performs the same function for their age groups.
If you love Buffy, you want to read this. If you want to jump into Seanan McGuire's works but don't know where to start, start here. It doesn't officially connect to any of her other works so it's a good stand alone. Just read this. It will cheer you up.
These are the stories of the Fighting Pumpkins, a cheer squad that is tasked with not only looking good and being terrific cheerleaders, but also saving the town on a regular basis. It's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a renewing group of teenage girls.
They renew because sometimes the Pumpkins, in their colorful orange and green uniforms, are defeated by the Big Bad. When this happens, people in the town forget these girls ever existed, and the handbook appears on the bed of the next girl selected to be the captain.
These are all great stories and the point of view character changes around the squad. I think we see three separate squads in this collection.
I really liked when one story said that the Fighting Pumpkins protect the town against typical high-school level supernatural threats - your zombie army, your swamp monsters, etc. There is also a cub scout troop and a sewing circle at a retirement home which performs the same function for their age groups.
If you love Buffy, you want to read this. If you want to jump into Seanan McGuire's works but don't know where to start, start here. It doesn't officially connect to any of her other works so it's a good stand alone. Just read this. It will cheer you up.
September 7, 2021
I bought this simply because it's a Seanan McGuire book that I'd never heard of or read, and it sounded so offbeat that I really wanted to.
Once I got into the weird world, the stories were strangely brilliant, because they made far more sense than they ought to. One of the stories was longer than a short story, but with so much going on that it was a quick read.
The concept of taking several folkloric principles and applying them to a cheerleading team was in itself fascinating, but then blending that with several different types of stories involving battles against evil, or against the passage of the seasons...these were weirdly powerful stories. One of the tales involved the strangest seasonal sacrifice, and another one was the highest-stakes cheerleading competition ever, but these stories made sense, especially as it becomes clear that this cheerleading squad is only one type of these youthful groups defending the world.
The front cover was a wonderful portrait of several of the characters in the story, sprawled in a shape that made perfect sense, in context.
I'm still not a fan of the title, but it's one of those Seanan McGuire things...
Once I got into the weird world, the stories were strangely brilliant, because they made far more sense than they ought to. One of the stories was longer than a short story, but with so much going on that it was a quick read.
The concept of taking several folkloric principles and applying them to a cheerleading team was in itself fascinating, but then blending that with several different types of stories involving battles against evil, or against the passage of the seasons...these were weirdly powerful stories. One of the tales involved the strangest seasonal sacrifice, and another one was the highest-stakes cheerleading competition ever, but these stories made sense, especially as it becomes clear that this cheerleading squad is only one type of these youthful groups defending the world.
The front cover was a wonderful portrait of several of the characters in the story, sprawled in a shape that made perfect sense, in context.
I'm still not a fan of the title, but it's one of those Seanan McGuire things...
December 29, 2021
Modern mythos and horror,oh my!
Seanan McGuire has made horror out of everything from daydreams to mermaids, and the reason they are so effective is that she can tap into the mythology that underlies the story. The mythos of the cheerleader as the queen of fall has been true since homecoming queens existed. But instead of sacrifice, the fighting pumpkins take on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer role of protector, as athletes who leap into the air without so much as a knee pad to protect them. Unlike Buffy, the dangers are more diverse than in Sunnydale and the monsters sometimes have been born to join the pumpkins in saving their part of the world. I like the way in which goodness and badness aren't dichotomies but evil is absolute. Her characters are memorable and fulfill the necessary requirement of a counterbalancing weakness for every strength. Not everyone is Super, and some characters have to die to become super, but you'll have to read the book to find out more. You'll remember it for a long while, and may even wonder if there is some truth to this mythology.
Seanan McGuire has made horror out of everything from daydreams to mermaids, and the reason they are so effective is that she can tap into the mythology that underlies the story. The mythos of the cheerleader as the queen of fall has been true since homecoming queens existed. But instead of sacrifice, the fighting pumpkins take on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer role of protector, as athletes who leap into the air without so much as a knee pad to protect them. Unlike Buffy, the dangers are more diverse than in Sunnydale and the monsters sometimes have been born to join the pumpkins in saving their part of the world. I like the way in which goodness and badness aren't dichotomies but evil is absolute. Her characters are memorable and fulfill the necessary requirement of a counterbalancing weakness for every strength. Not everyone is Super, and some characters have to die to become super, but you'll have to read the book to find out more. You'll remember it for a long while, and may even wonder if there is some truth to this mythology.
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