PROM NIGHTS FROM HELL
Meg Cabot, Kim Harrison, Michele Jaffe, Stephenie Meyer and Lauren Myracle
HarperTeen
Horror/Short Stories
ISBN-10: 006125309X
ISBN-13: 9780061253096
320 pages

• Read an Excerpt

What does having a prom night from hell mean to you? Maybe you tear your dress on the way out of the limo so everyone sees your underwear. Or you spend the entire evening smiling for your friends' cameras with lipstick on your teeth. Perhaps you even get dumped on what is supposed to be one of the most important nights of your life. All of these things surely can add up to a prom night from hell, but at least you didn't have the prom night from Hell. 

Five of your favorite teen authors have teamed up to produce a set of short stories about proms gone supernaturally, horribly wrong. While you're concerned about shoes matching your purse, the girls in these stories are worried about crossbows and vampires, zombie dates who've been dead for weeks, and a devil in a red dress who causes chaos by snapping high heels and breaking up couples.  

Michele Jaffe (BAD KITTY) gives scary a twist of humor in her story "Kiss and Tell," in which Miranda, blessed (or maybe cursed) with superpowers, takes it upon herself to protect a 14-year-old chauffering charge named Sibby. Sarcasm and a roller derby outfit, however, might not be enough for Miranda to keep Sibby safe from a potential murder.

If you're a fan of Stephenie Meyer's TWILIGHT, then you'll love "Hell on Earth." What looks like your normal prom becomes a jumbled mess of broken jewelry, ripped dresses and destroyed romances thanks to the new girl, Sheba, who's really a 186-year-old demon in disguise. But will Sheba's meddling older sister keep the prom from being anything less than perfectly hellish? 

If you love the classic horror stories, then flip straight to "The Corsage" by Lauren Myracle (RHYMES WITH WITCHES), a retelling of W.W. Jacobs's "The Monkey's Paw."  Frankie wishes for Will to ask her to the prom while holding a corsage she bought from a Juicy Couture-clad fortune teller. You know how the saying goes, though: Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it. Frankie's wish comes true, and now Will is just dying to ask her to the prom.

For a twist on the Grim Reaper tale, look at "Madison Avery and the Dim Reaper" by Kim Harrison (A FISTFUL OF CHARMS). It's bad enough that Madison's date only takes her to the prom out of pity, but then the guy she leaves with kills her and completely botches her death. Now she's somewhere between human and ghost, relying on a stolen amulet to keep her solid.

And for those of you who are diehard vampire fans, open to page one and start reading "The Exterminator's Daughter" by Meg Cabot (AVALON HIGH). Vampires are alive, well, living in New York and taking Mary's best friend Lila to the prom. Mary, a vampire exterminator with her very own crossbow, is determined to save Lila. With Dracula in disguise at her high school, will Mary's prom completely suck?

Enter a world where Death and demons meet sequins and tuxedos. Whether you prefer a slow, detailed story or a tale that's funny and fast-paced, you'll find something here to enjoy. Your prom may not be as exciting as some of the ones in this book, but at least you won't have to worry about the new boy wielding a scythe.

   --- Reviewed by Carlie Webber

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