Rags & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales Book Review

Title: Rag & Bones: New Twists on Timeless Tales
Edited by: Melissa Marr & Tim Pratt
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: October 22, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-0316212946

368 pp.

ARC provided by publisher


This anthology of science fiction and fantasy tales is edited by Melissa Marr and Tim Pratt. They challenged 10 other authors to create a short story based upon a classic story that influenced them. These authors included Neil Gaiman, Holly Black, Carrie Ryan, and Rick Yancey.

As with any anthology, there are some hits and some misses. Neil Gaiman's fairy tale mash-up of Sleeping Beauty, "The Sleeper and the Spindle," and Melissa Marr's selkie interpretation of Kate Chopin's The Awakening, "Awakened," are among my favorites. I thought that these stories honored the originals while giving them completely original twists.

But you don't have to be familiar with the classic story to appreciate the interpretation. I never read Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla, but Holly Black's "Millcara" is wonderfully creepy on its own.

Some of the other stories dragged on for me, whether or not I was familiar with the source material. I didn't feel a YA vibe for most of the stories since most of the protagonists are adults, but it's definitely worth recommending to older teens who are fans of featured authors.