Something Shiny

I finally had to give up on Kelly Link’s Stranger Things Happen. The stories in Pretty Little Monsters were… well, they had something happen. Stranger Things Happen seemed to be more a stream of consciousnesses sorta thing. Like streams were combined into “stories.” Anyway, I gave up two stories from the end of the collection.

So, after reading Tim Dorsey’s Nuclear Jellyfish I picked up J.B. Stanley’s Fit to Die. I had picked up Chile con Corpses on a whim at the library (I’m a sucker for clever titles and shiny covers). The characters were pretty flat and the plot wasn’t particularly clever, but it wasn’t bad either.

More interesting than the plot was the diet story sub-story. Ok, interesting isn’t quite acurate. Connecting perhaps? Much like fiscal responsibilty, diets aren’t exactly the focus of positive media attention. Aside from NBC’s The Biggest Loser (which is more social manipulation than useful information), TV, books, movies, don’t ever really touch on the pain in the ass which is weight loss and weight maintenance.

The fact that J.B. Stanley includes some of the actual issues around weight loss/management as a tertiary topic makes the characters a bit more real and is positive reinforcement for my own goals.

Since Chili con Corpses I’ve read Carbs & Cadavers, and am currently in the middle of Fit to Die. Ms. Stanley has one more book in the Supper Club Mystery series, Stiffs and Swine, as well as some other books outside the series.

So, in conclusion, the Supper Club Mystery series is a collection of solid, although not outstanding, mysteries. The real draw here is for those whose weight doesn’t manage itself. You can be the 6th member of the characters’ supper club and get enjoy the benefits of their support structure, even if it is only fictional.

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Having finished Kelly Link’s Pretty Monsters, I assumed Kelly Link targeted teens, but Stranger Things Happen is decidedly more adult focused. On the one hand, since I’m adult, I appreciate that I can relate a bit more. On the other hand, I actually think she has a better voice for teens.

From Ms. Link’s site regarding Stranger Things Happen:

This first collection by award-winning author Kelly Link, takes fairy tales and cautionary tales, dictators and extraterrestrials, amnesiacs and honeymooners, revenants and readers alike, on a voyage into new, strange, and wonderful territory. The girl detective must go to the underworld to solve the case of the tap-dancing bank robbers. A librarian falls in love with a girl whose father collects artificial noses. A dead man posts letters home to his estranged wife. Two women named Louise begin a series of consecutive love affairs with a string of cellists. A newly married couple become participants in an apocalyptic beauty pageant. Sexy blond aliens invade New York City. A young girl learns how to make herself disappear.

These eleven extraordinary stories are quirky, spooky, and smart. They all have happy endings. Every story contains a secret prize. Each story was written especially for you.

Stories from Stranger Things Happen have won the Nebula, Tiptree, and World Fantasy Award. Stranger Things Happen was a Salon Book of the Year, one of the Village Voice’s 25 Favorite Books of 2001, and was nominated for the Firecracker Alternative Book Award. Cover by Shelley Jackson.

Where was Kelly Link when I was… oh… I dunno, 13-18 years old? She’s got a great voice for that aged reader and It doesn’t come off as being condescending, or simplistic. The themes and topics she addresses are real issues for teens. All of her books are short story collections and her most recent, Pretty Monsters is just such a compilation (otherwise I couldn’t have said “all”).

Anyway, for the horror/fantasy crowd in their teens, Pretty Monsters is a great place to start digging into Kelly Link.

I’ve just started Stranger Things Happen and haven’t gotten very far so I can’t speak for it or any of her other work, but here are her collections:

• Pretty Monsters
• Stranger Things Happen
• Magic for Beginners

Additionally, she’s worked on the following collections:

• Trampoline
• The Best of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet

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