The poison eaters [eBook - NC Kids Digital Library] : and Other Stories

A collection of short stories includes two dark tales set in the world of Tithe, a tour of a fairy market, and the story of a girl who challenges the devil to a competitive eating match. Pick your poison: Vampires, devils, werewolves, faeries, or . . . ? Find them all here in Holly Blacks amazing first collection. In her debut collection, New York Times best-selling author Holly Black returns to the world of Tithe in two darkly exquisite new tales. Then Black takes readers on a tour of a faerie market and introduces a girl poisonous to the touch and another who challenges the devil to a competitive eating match. Some of these stories have been published in anthologies such as 21 Proms, The Faery Reel, and The Restless Dead , and many have been reprinted in many Best of anthologies. The Poison Eaters is Holly Blacks much-anticipated first collection, and her ability to stare into the voidand to find humanity and humor therewill speak to young adult and adult readers alike. A Junior Library Guild Pick. Illustrated by Theo Black. Holly Black is the author of Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale (an ALA Best Book for Young Adults) and two related novels, Valiant (Norton Award winner) and New York Times bestseller Ironside . Her latest novel, Black Heart is the third of a new series, The Curseworkers. She and Tony DiTerlizzi created the best-selling Spiderwick Chronicles. Holly lives in Massachusetts with her husband, Theo, in a house with a secret library.

A dark and fantastic collection of stories from the author of Tithe and The Spiderwick Chronicles.

Publishers Weekly

This first short story collection from a favorite writer of dark YA fantasy features 10 previously published tales and two original stories. “The Coldest Girl in Coldtown” tells the story of Matilda, who has been bitten by a vampire and knows that the only way to remain human is to stay “drunk. Stupid drunk. Whatever drunk she could get,” and avoid consuming blood for 88 days. The masterful “The Coat of Stars” concerns Rafael, a gay costume designer who, having lost the boy of his dreams to the faeries, discovers a way to regain him. And the brief but chilling “Going Ironside” concerns an elf girl who has come to our world to get pregnant (“We thought it would be easy.... Find a boy. Roll around in the grass. Dash back. What a prank!”), but has succumbed to heroin addiction. Black (the Good Neighbors series) proves equally adept at urban fantasy and more traditional fairy tales, and her stories often feature the edgy sexuality and angst that have become her trademarks. Ages 14–up. (Mar.)

A girl wagers her soul in a sour-gummy-frog-eating contest with the devil. Love and a homemade coat rescue a boy from his fairyland jailers. A newly bitten teenage vampire uses the Internet to show the world just how uncool the "cold" life is. In this collection of stories, the supernatural intersects with everyday life in surprising and dangerous ways. Includes two stories from the world of the Tithe series Contains: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown A Reversal of Fortune The Boy Who Cried Wolf The Night Market The Dog King Virgin In Vodka Veritas The Coat of Stars Paper Cuts Scissors Going Ironside The Land of Heart's Desire The Poison Eaters