Book Review: Half-Minute Horrors by Susan Rich

Reading level: Ages 9-12

Hardcover: 160 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins (August 25, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0061833797

How scared can you get in only 30 seconds? Dare to find out with Half-Minute Horrors, a collection of deliciously terrifying short short tales and creepy illustrations by an exceptional selection of writers and illustrators, including bestselling talents Lemony Snicket, James Patterson, Neil Gaiman, R.L.Stine, Faye Kellerman, Holly Black, Melissa Marr, Margaret Atwood, Jon Scieszka, Brett Helquist, and many more. With royalties benefiting First Book, a not-for-profit organization that brings books to children in need, this is an anthology worth devouring. So grab a flashlight, set the timer, and get ready for instant chills!

My Review

One day, I was at the library with a friend and I saw this book on the shelf. Just laying there, waiting to be picked up. And, upon picking it up, there was absolutely no contemplation on whether or not I should read it. This is probably the best short story book I've read since Jon Scieszca's Guys Write for Guys Read, which I recommend to anyone of the male category. It took one night to read and, it was so good that I put off eating dinner for a whole five minutes before putting it down. And, it take's a lot for me to not want to eat, even for a short time.

This book was pure entertainment. I had a lot of fun reading it, not putting it down (Except for dinner) until I was finished. Some of the short stories were creepy, some hilarious, some you had to think about it for a while before you understood it's creepiness or hilarity. After the book was finished, I would keep going back to read a story here and there that I couldn't get out of my head. And after I returned it to the library, there were certain stories that I kept thinking that would have been so good in novel form.

A lot of my favorite authors contributed to this book. Joseph Delaney, Lemony Snicket, Pseudonymous Bosch, Jon Scieszka. It was a lot of fun a read things that weren't related to their other works (with the exception of Mr. Delaney) and that were sometimes written in complete different styles as their novels.

I greatly liked this book and, in case you guys haven't noticed yet, I obviously have a better opinion in books then anyone else here (Yeah, I know, I'm pretty awesome) so follow my advice. Read this book. It's pretty good.

• Sexual Content - none
• Violence - moderate. Some just implied.
• Profanity - none