Author: Edited by Zoraida Cordova & Natalie C. Parker
Publisher: Imprint
Publication Date: September 22, 2020
Genres: Young Adult Paranormal Anthology
*Thank you Imprint and Hear Our Voices Blog Company for providing me this awesome opportunity. *
Where to Buy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
Synopsis
Eleven fresh vampire stories from young adult fiction’s leading voices!
In this delicious new collection, you’ll find stories about lurking vampires of social media, rebellious vampires hungry for more than just blood, eager vampires coming out―and going out for their first kill―and other bold, breathtaking, dangerous, dreamy, eerie, iconic, powerful creatures of the night.
Welcome to the evolution of the vampire―and a revolution on the page.
Vampires Never Get Old includes stories by authors both bestselling and acclaimed, including Samira Ahmed, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova and Natalie C. Parker, Tessa Gratton, Heidi Heilig, Julie Murphy, Mark Oshiro, Rebecca Roanhorse, Laura Ruby, Victoria “V. E.” Schwab, and Kayla Whaley.
Review
Eleven riveting tales of the creature many of us have swooned about – the vampire. Vampires Never Get Old [edited] by Zoraida Cordova& Natalie C. Parker is an anthology of vampires stories full of modern and magical twists, vampires of all shapes, sizes and identities and just overall a fresh bite of vampire stories. Many folks like myself grew up with vampires created by Anne rice, L.J. Smith and the mother daughter duo, P.C. & Kristin Cast. Personally, this anthology was definitely a fresh start to the revival of the vampire we are seeing in Young Adult fiction. To be clear, I am here for all of it!
Was this anthology perfect? No, and that’s what I enjoyed most about it. There are so many cliffhangers, questions need to be answered and a yearning to read both the books I grew up with and the books that are yet to be published. Did this anthology continuously pique my interest? Of course! Each story has a different vampire and if you came here to get your average pale, dark and handsome – well sorry to delightfully disappoint you because these vampires are flourishing with so much awesomeness. While I enjoyed each story, there were three that I want to put some shine on.
The three stories that made me want a full novel of were Mirrors, Windows, Selfies by Mark Oshiro, First Killby V.E. Schwab, and Vampires Never Die by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker.
Mirrors, Windows, Selfies by Mark Oshiro was such a good read! I need more of this. It had a great modern twist to the superstitions of mirrors and vampires. As a Latina, I grew up hearing so many superstitions about mirrors, so this was a story I was automatically intrigued by. For the main character the importance of the mirror becomes pivotal is discovering who and what they truly are. It opens doors to the main character realizing everything they have been hidden from. Mark Oshiro knows how to write a story in a different form; in the case of this story in the form of a blog and still manages to get me screaming that the story has ended.
First Kill by V.E Schwab is actually the second piece of writing I have read from the author. Let’s just say, I might be a fan of her writing. Straight form the title, I know this was going to be a good one. Whenever you hear first kill in vampires stories, it’s either the vampires first kill or a vampire hunter’s first vampire kill. The story is told in two points of view, each view a main character in the story. Juliette and Calliope are girls pining for each other and trying to be just normal teens. Juliette is also a born and bred vampire, while Calliope comes form a family of fierce Vampire hunters. Sounds interesting, right? Juliette and calliope throughout the story have to figure out whether they want to pursue the crush or honor their family. With a cliffhanger that could have you flinging the book across the room [I promise no book was harmed], V.E. Schwab sucks you into this unique vampire story and leave you wanting to know what happens next for Juliette and Calliope.
Vampires Never Die by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker is a vampire story with a modern feel to it. Brittany, a vampire, crates an Instagram account to escape her reality and be a whatever she wants to be. Along this social media journey she befriends Tony and they become a little closer. But this little budding friendship/relationship is just the tip of the story iceberg. Brittany is a vampire who turns other women in Vampires. Now, before you go – oh no! Brittany turns women who have been told by men and society that they are not worthy. Turning them into vampires gives them a power that make them fierce forces of nature. Overall, Zoraida and Natalie were able to create a short story with the right amount of social media escapism, pizazz and a nostalgic feeling to go and read that vampire novel where the female characters are fierce, powerful and making sure the world is at peace.
Want a book full of stories that take a fresh look into the vampire, vivid & magical backdrops and characters that have complicated lives because they are vampires? Then pick this anthology up today!
About The Authors
Zoraida Córdova is the author of many fantasy novels, including the award-winning Brooklyn Brujas series, Incendiary, Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge: A Crash of Fate, and The Way to Rio Luna. Her short fiction has appeared in the New York Times bestselling anthology Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, Star Wars: Clone Wars Stories of Light and Dark, and Come On In. She is the co-editor of Vampires Never Get Old. She is the co-host of the writing podcast, Deadline City, with Dhonielle Clayton. Zoraida was born in Guayaquil, Ecuador and raised in Queens, New York. When she’s not working on her next novel, she’s finding a new adventure.
Natalie C. Parker grew up in a Navy family finding home in coastal cities from Virginia to Japan. Now, she lives surprisingly far from any ocean on the Kansas prairie with her wife where she writes and edits books for teens including the acclaimed Seafire trilogy.
Samira is the New York Times bestselling author of Love, Hate, & Other Filters and the forthcoming, Internment (March 2019) and Mad, Bad, & Dangerous to Know (April 2020).
These days, Samira lives in Chicago, Illinois. When she’s not writing or reading, she can be found on her lifelong quest for the perfect pastry.
Her writing is represented by Jo Volpe at New Leaf Literary.
Dhonielle Clayton was born in the suburbs of Washington, DC and spent her childhood Saturdays at the comic book store with her father and most evenings hiding beneath her grandmother’s dining room table with a stack of books. She earned a BA in English at Wake Forest University. She was an English teacher for three years and worked with educational curriculum. Being surrounded by children, Dhonielle re-discovered her love of children’s literature and earned a masters in children’s and young adult literature from Hollins University. Currently, she is working on both middle grade and young adult novel projects. She moved to NYC where she earned her MFA at the New School’s MFA Program. She is co-founder of CAKE Literary, a literary development studio committed to bringing diversity to high concept content.
Tessa Gratton is the author of adult SFF The Queens of Innis Lear and Lady Hotspur from Tor Books, as well as the YA series The Blood Journals and The United States of Asgard. Her most recent YA is the original fairy tale Strange Grace from McElderry Books and the upcoming Night Shine. Tessa’s novels and short stories have been translated into twenty-two languages, nominated twice for the Tiptree Award, and several have been Junior Library Guild Selections. Though she has lived all over the world, she currently resides at the edge of the Kansas prairie with her wife.
Heidi grew up in Hawaii where she rode horses and raised peacocks, and then she moved to New York City and grew up even more, as one tends to do. Her favorite thing, outside of writing, is travel, and she has haggled for rugs in Morocco, hiked the trails of the Ko’olau Valley, and huddled in a tent in Africa while lions roared in the dark.
She holds an MFA from New York University in Musical Theatre Writing, of all things, and she’s written books and lyrics for shows including The Time Travelers Convention, Under Construction, and The Hole. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, son and their pet snake, whose wings will likely grow in any day now.
In her debut, The Girl from Everywhere, Heidi Heilig blends fantasy, history, and a modern sensibility with witty, fast-paced dialogue, breathless adventure, and enchanting romance.
Julie Murphy lives in North Texas with her husband who loves her, her dog who adores her, and her cats who tolerate her. After several wonderful years in the library world, Julie now writes full-time.
When she’s not writing or reliving her reference desk glory days, she can be found watching made-for-TV movies, hunting for the perfect slice of cheese pizza, and planning her next great travel adventure.
She is also the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the young adult novels Dumplin’ (now a film on Netflix), Puddin’, Ramona Blue, and Side Effects May Vary. Dear Sweet Pea is her debut middle grade novel.
Mark Oshiro is the author of Anger is a Gift (Tor Teen), winner of the 2019 Schneider Family Book Award and nominated for a 2019 Lammy Award (in the LGBTQ Children’s/Young Adult category). Upcoming novels include Each of Us a Desert (Tor Teen), a YA Fantasy novel out September 15, 2020, and The Insiders (Harper Collins), a MG Contemporary with magical elements out Fall 2021. When they are not writing, crying on camera about fictional characters for their online Mark Does Stuff universe, or traveling, Mark is busy trying to fulfill their lifelong goal: to pet every dog in the world.
Rebecca Roanhorse is a NYTimes bestselling and Nebula, Hugo and Locus Award-winning speculative fiction writer and the recipient of the 2018 Astounding (Campbell) Award for Best New Writer.
Her novel Trail of Lightning (Book 1 in the Sixth World Series) won the Locus Award for Best First Novel and is a Nebula, Hugo and World Fantasy finalist. It was also selected as an Amazon, B&N, Library Journal, and NPR Best Books of 2018, among others. Book 2 in the Sixth World Series, Storm of Locusts, has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist, is a Locus Award Finalist, and has been named an Amazon, Powell’s, and Audible Best of 2019. Her novel, Resistance Reborn, is part of Star Wars: Journey to The Rise of Skywalker and a USA Today and NYTimes bestseller. Her middle grade novel Race to the Sun for the Rick Riordan Present’s imprint was a New York Times Bestseller and received a starred review from Kirkus. Her next novel is an epic Fantasy set in a secondary world inspired by the Pre-Columbian Americas called Black Sun, out Oct 13, 2020.
She lives in Northern New Mexico with her husband, daughter, and pups. She drinks a lot of black coffee.
A two-time National Book Award Finalist, Laura Ruby writes fiction for adults, teens and children. She is the author of the Printz Medal Winning novel Bone Gap, as well as Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All. Other works include the Edgar®-nominated children’s mystery Lily’s Ghosts, the ALA Quick Pick for teens Good Girls (2006), a collection of interconnected short stories about blended families for adults, I’m not Julia Roberts (2007), and the York trilogy. She is on the faculty of Hamline University’s Masters in Writing for Children Program. She makes her home in the Chicago area.
Victoria “V.E.” Schwab is the #1 NYT, USA, and Indie bestselling author of more than a dozen books, including Vicious, the Shades of Magic series, and This Savage Song. Her work has received critical acclaim, been featured by EW and The New York Times, been translated into more than a dozen languages, and been optioned for TV and Film. The Independent calls her the “natural successor to Diana Wynne Jones” and touts her “enviable, almost Gaimanesque ability to switch between styles, genres, and tones.”
Kayla Whaley lives outside Atlanta, Georgia where she buys too many books and drinks too many lattes. She holds an MFA in creative nonfiction from the University of Tampa and is a graduate of the Clarion Writers’ Workshop. She was named one of Bustle‘s inaugural “Rule Breakers” in 2018.
Whether writing fiction, nonfiction, or the extremely occasional poem, she is fascinated by disability, sexuality, and the body. Among other venues, her work has appeared at Catapult, Bustle, Michigan Quarterly Review, Uncanny Magazine, Book Riot, and in the anthologies Here We Are: Feminism for the Real World (Algonquin) and Unbroken: 13 Stories Starring Disabled Teens (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux).
She has also appeared on the first season of Reese Witherspoon’s podcast How It Is and Slate’s popular Dear Prudence podcast.
Whaley spent four years as senior editor at Disability in Kidlit, an award-winning site dedicated to examining portrayals of disability in middle grade and young adult fiction, and she is currently on the Advisory Board for Research on Diversity in Youth Literature, a peer-reviewed journal published by St. Catherine University. She also holds a Master’s in Public Administration, which is languishing somewhere in her closet, so the less said about that, the better.
Vampire Teeth Photo Credit : Flower vector created by freepik – www.freepik.com
Star Photo Credit: Logo vector created by rawpixel.com – www.freepik.com
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