His Hideous Heart is a very strong compilation of works that aim to modernize several original Edgar Allen Poe stories. Poe stories that get the modern treatment include "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Tell-tale Heart," and "The Raven." In addition to the modernized works, the original stories are published in the back of the edition for reference (I did not read these for this review.)

I'm not a huge short story person and fairly selective about young adult fiction, so I was pleasantly surprised that the majority of stories found in this collection are smart and compelling. Most of them really capture the tone of an Edgar Allen Poe story perfectly. Stand-out favorite stories include "It's Carnival" and "Night-Tide," but must of these are rated at least four stars if I were to rate them individually.

The least strong stories in the collection in my opinion were the last two, which is a shame because I always want to leave a short story collection on a high note. But even these are good and worth reading.

“Once upon a midnight dreary,
I received a review query,
About this very quaint and curious volume of Poe’s retold lore…”

First off, I have to start by saying I was incredibly tempted to write this entire review as a poem in the style of “The Raven” but, unfortunately (…or perhaps fortunately), I think that far exceeds my creative writing talents.

I know I am pointing out the obvious at this point, but this is a collection of thirteen YA authors’ contemporary retellings of some of Edgar Allan Poe’s most famous works. The authors have taken these chilling stories and reimagined them for a new generation of readers. These modernized versions are hauntingly unique yet still retain much of Poe’s signature tone and style while paying homage to the beloved originals. Thrills and chills, love, heartbreak, and revenge can all be found within these pages, forming a collection that further immortalizes these classic tales.

As a lover of all things dark and creepy, I immediately fell in love with Edgar Allan Poe’s work when we first studied him back in middle school. So when I heard about this collection, I absolutely had to give it a read—and I was not disappointed. As with any anthology with multiple authors, you’re going to have some hits and some misses. However, I found that the focus here on Poe retellings helped to unify the stories quite a lot more than other short story collections I have read. Each story possesses the vividly eerie, peculiar, longing, and vengeful qualities found in the originals and stays very faithful to Poe’s visions for them.

My favorite stories from the collection were:

Night-Tide by Tessa Gratton
Lygia by Dahlia Adler
The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles
A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily Lloyd-Jones
The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig
The Fall of the Bank of Usher by Fran Wilde

Now, I’ll go into some specifics about each of the individual stories and my thoughts on them.

She Rode a Horse of Fire by Kendare Blake (3.5/5)
Inspired by “Metzengerstein”

In this story, we follow a girl who works in a mansion. The young master of the estate, Friedrich Baron, loses his most recent girlfriend in a fire on his property. It turns out that she was the daughter of another wealthy family who has a centuries-long feud with Friedrich’s. Then, out of nowhere one day, a young woman appears and Friedrich begins to spend all his time with her. And, somehow, this young woman has a striking resemblance to a figure in a mysterious tapestry found in the Baron estate. Though it was an interesting story, it just felt like it needed something more. I would have liked a little more clarity about who the characters are—particularly the main character—and what their relationships to each other were. The way the story is told, it makes it seem necessary to have a few more of those details. Other than that, it is a splendid update of the original story—very faithful to all the elements of the plot with a more modern twist to them!

It’s Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson (3/5)
Inspired by “The Cask of Amontillado”

In this story, a girl named Cindy plans to get her revenge on a man named Darrell using Brooklyn’s West Indian Day Carnival to cover her tracks. It is clear that Darrel has been harassing her and her family relentlessly for years, though not much detail is given. The Cask of Amontillado is one of my favorite Poe tales and I felt that this was a pretty accurate depiction of the general idea of the story. It unfolds in much the same way as the original and that holding back of details is similar to how Poe tells his version. I think my only real issue was that I couldn’t quite get into Jackson’s writing style. It just didn’t click with me and I felt like there was a little something missing, but overall, it is an accurate retelling.

Night-Tide by Tessa Gratton (5/5)
Inspired by “Annabel Lee”

Gratton transforms this classic poem into a short story about lost lovers. A young lady tells of a girl she loves who has tragically fallen ill and passed away. The narrator mourns her Annabel Lee, reminisces of better times, and feels anger at the intolerant whispers of the locals in this beach town. This was my favorite story in the whole collection—I absolutely adored it. It is both beautiful and utterly heartbreaking and is such a brilliant take on the original poem. Gratton did an amazing job of capturing those feelings of loss and longing that emanate from Poe’s writing. A wholly unique and imaginative retelling!

The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig (4.25/5)
Inspired by “The Pit and the Pendulum”

In this story, a young girl is captured by an infamous serial killer named “The Judge”. He is going to kill her because he believes she has committed many sins and he wants her to confess them before her time comes. While trapped in a cage in his basement, she realizes she will have to determine how to beat him at his own game if she wants to get out alive. This is just begging to be turned into a full-length psychological thriller novel! The one thing I felt it was lacking was a bit more backstory for the main character. There were a number of plot points, specifically about her relationships with a couple other characters, that were only vaguely touched on. The fact that these plot points were brought up in the first place made some more detail necessary in order to fully develop the story.

A Drop of Stolen Ink by Emily Lloyd-Jones (4.5/5)
Inspired by “The Purloined Letter”

In this story, society has reached a point where our entire identities are written in a tattoo on our bodies that can be scanned whenever our details are needed. This makes it nearly impossible for a person’s identity to be stolen. However, that very thing has happened, and it is up to our main character to find the missing tattoo. Classic mystery/thriller style plot meets futuristic tech? Sign me up! I absolutely loved this story—it was definitely my kind of thing. Once again, this is another story that I would absolutely love seeing turned into a full novel!

Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn (2/5)
Inspired by “The Tell-Tale Heart”

In this story, we follow a girl who is dealing with a lot of pressure from herself to be the best but is struggling with being a minority in her school. She continuously loses out to a rich, white boy who does not put the same effort into things as she does. As the end of senior year approaches, she will do anything to become valedictorian. The Tell-Tale Heart is another one of my favorite Poe stories. However, I ended up not really liking this retelling. I do think it was very accurate and featured many of the important plot elements from the original. And, while I definitely understand the message Kuehn is trying to convey, I feel that this particular story is just not the right one to use in order to do that. I wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about this one.

The Raven (Remix) by Amanda Lovelace (N/A)
Inspired by “The Raven”

This is a blackout poetry version of “The Raven” (one of my favorite poems of all time). Essentially, Lovelace takes the original poem and blacks out portions of the text in order to reveal a new poem that she has created from Poe’s words. Unfortunately, there was an error here with the digital ARC and nothing was blacked out, so I cannot give a rating or review on this one. However, I absolutely love Amanda Lovelace and her poetry is always so beautiful and creative. I am certain I will enjoy reading this when the collection officially releases.

Changeling by Marieke Nijkamp (4/5)
Inspired by “Hop-Frog”

In this story, the children in society who are deemed “crippled” are either being treated unfairly or just left to fend for themselves. There is a tale of the fae coming to gather these children and bring them to a better life that many of them are hopeful is true. We follow a character who was once found and taken in by the fae and who now does the same for others—while also aiding them if they wish to take revenge on those who have wronged them. This one felt like a dark fairytale and I loved that. It was definitely an interesting and unique take on the original story.

The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles (5/5)
Inspired by “The Oval Portrait”

This is the story of a guy named Tariq whose girlfriend has recently been murdered. Suddenly, she is haunting his Instagram feed, her constantly changing image in the oval profile picture helping lead Tariq to discover who has killed her. I had not read The Oval Portrait prior to this but I ended up absolutely loving both versions. Giles definitely captures the highly unsettling nature of the original work using our modern-day portraits—profile pictures. The changing image in the oval filter is described so vividly and the way it is used is truly creepy. Giles did a fantastic job of setting a clear and intense tone and atmosphere in a short amount of time.

Red by Hillary Monahan (2/5)
Inspired by “The Masque of the Red Death”

Despite being familiar with and having studied The Masque of the Red Death, I was honestly quite confused by this story. I couldn’t really figure out what was happening. We follow this mysterious girl with red hair and it is clear that she is some sort of otherworldly being out for revenge. But that’s about all I figured out. There are many references to names used within the original story, such as the bar the girl ends up at having the same name and distinct internal color scheme as the home where the guests are hiding from the plague in Poe’s version. The ending produces the same result as the original text. However, I could not figure out why anything was happening or anything about the girl and what exactly she is. I do have to give Monahan credit for making such a fascinatingly atmosphere setting, though.

Lygia by Dahlia Adler (5/5)
Inspired by “Ligeia”

In this story, our main character loses the girl she is deeply in love with to cancer. Then one day at school, she passes Lygia’s locker only to see a new girl who is somewhat reminiscent of Lygia—reminiscent enough that the narrator begins to do everything she can to make her the spitting image of Lygia. This is exactly the type of story that I love and I desperately wish this was a full-length novel. And that ending! I totally want to hear more of this story. I read the original “Ligeia” alongside this one as I had not read it before and felt that it was a very unique yet accurate retelling.

The Fall of the Bank of Usher by Fran Wilde (4/5)
Inspired by “The Fall of the House of Usher”

Here, we follow twins who, together, are the hacker phenom “Madrik”. They receive an email inviting them to a bank in need of their skills to test their new security system. Once the twins arrive, however, it is clear that something much more sinister is at play. The sci-fi/hacker story nerd in me was very pleased with this one. The only “complaint” I had was that I wish this had been longer. There were so many fascinating pieces of technology I wanted more details on, and I would have loved to hear more of the twins’ backstory. Nevertheless, I thought this was an absolutely brilliant modernization of the original tale. Taking the creepy and inexplicable things that ensnare the house in the original story and transforming them into things like biotech and robotics was so great!

The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay by Rin Chupeco (3/5)
Inspired by “The Murders in the Rue Morgue”

In this story, we follow a transgender girl as she falls in love with a man who takes her on a wild journey. She marvels at his attention to detail and remarkable powers of deduction. After spending days together exploring the area, they find out that a double murder has taken place and they are swept up into the investigation. This kind of had some Sherlock Holmes vibes, which I liked. It was an interesting story, but I never felt like I was all that invested in it or the characters. I think part of it was the writing style. I have read and enjoyed Rin Chupeco’s work in the past, but have also found her writing style a bit difficult to get in to. It was a very faithful retelling of the original, however, with a neat, fantastical twist!

Overall, I had a really great time reading this. I definitely very highly recommend giving this collection a go if you are a fan of Edgar Allan Poe or any of these wonderful YA authors!

His Hideous Heart is an anthology collection of 13 re-imagined tales inspired by works of Edgar Allan Poe. The book is split into two sections: The Tales Retold and The Original Tales. What I liked about the layout of this collection is that it’s easy for those of us who’ve read the originals to revisit them before or after reading the retold stories — and it’s also convenient for readers who’ve never been introduced to Poe before. When it comes to retellings in any form, catching on to the fact that a story was inspired by another can be a challenge, especially if the inspiration is rather loose. But that’s another reason why I love the layout of this collection: It’s clear as to which original story inspired a retelling, and I loved reading along, connecting the dots and yet, being surprised by all the new twists and turns.

In a perfect world, I’d love to review each and every retelling in this collection, because many of them were downright gorgeous and grotesque. However, my absolute favorites were:

1. It’s Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson
2. Lygia by Dahlia Adler (inspired by “Ligeia”)
3. Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn
4. The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig

What I loved the most was that the stories themselves aren’t confined to the horror genre, often weaving a mix of sci-fi, horror, suspense, and fantasy throughout the collection. It truly felt like I was reading the same stories….for the first time.

Anthologies are fun. Oftentimes they are a miss, some stories lacking the power of the others. Rarely do I find myself completely obsessed with a book of short stories. And retellings? They’re hard to do. This book managed to hold my interest from start to finish and by the end I discovered authors I had never known about before, but now would hopelessly and utterly read more of their work. That is the true sign of a good anthology.

We all are familiar with Edgar Allan Poe’s work but of course there are stories more well known than others. In His Hideous Heart we get a mix of the known and the unknown and the combination is delicious. It’s stark and so well written.

The authors and the characters are diverse in all factions. They tell you their story through their stories. There are a handful of narratives that are modernized as they mention Hayley Kiyoko, Iphones, and new slang. They work so very well because each author is fantastic in their own right and while you may think you know the ending, you never do.

Some of my favorites are:

The Oval Filter by Lamar Giles
It’s Carnival! by Tiffany D. Jackson
The Glittering Death by Caleb Roehrig
Happy Days, Sweetheart by Stephanie Kuehn

All of the stories are great however. You won’t be disappointed in any of the work. Whether its modernized, set in the past, or includes mythical creatures such as fae, eldritches, and monsters, they are all well written and leave you hungry for more.

And there is more.

Included in the book are the original tales by Edgar Allan Poe which are fun to read and cross reference. I really like how they included that because it’s two books in one! Now, I don’t have to hunt for my old collection of Poe.


The future is ours, these stories are ours. It’s creative and fun to delve into the mind of one of the greatest horror writers in history and make it our own. From betrayal, lost love, and murder His Hideous Heart takes the best out of this current array of talented authors and siphons it directly into our veins, brains, and heart. Multitudes upon dark multitudes. You absolutely love to see it.

. Please be sure to follow this blog tour on all its stops. And please remember that ravens have a long memory. Never cross them.

Thank you very much to the publisher for this opportunity as well as my ARC and physical copy of my book. All opinions are my own.

As an educator who introduces 8th graders to Poe every year, it is rarely a challenge to get them to appreciate the twisted themes and actions present in his work. This anthology allows them to see these ideas in a more contemporary light. Highlights include reimaginings of "The Cask of Amontillado", set amid a boisterous Caribbean parade in New York City; "The Tell-Tale Heart", which has some resonance with #MeToo; and "The Masque of the Red Death", which moves itself to an exclusive nightclub. Students will enjoy seeing these classic tales in a new life, and in a manner that appeals to their everyday lives. Enjoyment of these new stories are not necessarily contingent on having read the original work, but as with all anthologies, there are ups and downs.

Some of these stories are incredible! Even though I am familiar with the original Poe works, some of these still made me gasp out loud.

Others are a little lackluster.
But overal a solid collection.

I have a hard time getting horror into teen hands, but maybe I'll be able to persuade them on this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the ARC

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Content Warnings: Animal death, fire, ableist comments, blood, death (cancer), abuse of a child/teenager

Representation:

Rep: F/F (Night-Tide), disabled MC (Changeling), MOC/WOC MCs (The Oval Portrait), Portuguese LI (Lygia), trans girl MC & French-Filipino LI (The Murders in the Rue Apartelle, Boracay)



This list may not be 100% complete, but is compiled to the best of my knowledge.

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If you're looking for the perfect collection of stories to curl up with, to haunt you into the wee hours of the morning and beyond, look no further than this: His Hideous Heart, edited by Dahlia Adler and contributed to by many more names from across the literary world.

Taking inspiration from some of Edgar Allan Poe's most well known works, and from some possibly not so well known, each story or poem collected and reimagined therein is one sure to inspire chilling thoughts as you wonder about where the story will go, what will have changed, and just who you might be cheering for in the end.

Thank you to Cat from Flatiron Books for having me on the His Hideous Hearts blog tour. It's been a blast. :)


What I Enjoyed


The authors within His Hideous Heart took inspiration from a classic source and brought that into modern places. There were elements of desperation and terror and anger and the need for justice that many feel and need. Whether it's someone getting a privilege or an absolution they don't deserve, or another person tearing a character down because of their accent, their heritage...a fragment of a Poe story waits for them within.

The eeriness, the elements of the supernatural, the depths of depravity that humans themselves are capable of, all of these facets combine to weave an intense tapestry of stories.

I loved how I was able to find satisfaction in the crafting of these stories. I won't say that they're 100% faithful to the originals, as I haven't read all of the Poe versions, but let's say that the contributors to His Hideous Heart were able to find endings that twisted the themes of the stories, embodied the soul of them, and found wicked beauteous finales.

The diversity of the tales was also terrific, much improved over the originals. From the Philippines to Barbadian immigrants to trans girls and more, there was so much to find within these pages.

An exceptionally helpful facet of the book, if you've never read the original Poe tales before or if you need a refresher, if that His Hideous Heart includes the corresponding works at the back of this anthology. They're well worth a look because what would this collection be without Poe's classics?


What I Didn't Enjoy


While normally of fan of amanda lovelace, I wasn't entirely taken with her rendition of The Raven, here entitled The Raven (Remix). It didn't flow smoothly for me and made it difficult to take in amongst all the other stories.


To Sum It Up


This was one of my favorite anthologies in memory. How often can you say that you enjoyed almost every entry and cannot wait to go back for a reread? I look forward to the publication date of this book and the opportunity to secure the audiobook and experience these tales from a whole new perspective.

3.5 Stars

'His Hideous Heart' is an imaginative YA anthology of retellings from some of the most well known and loved stories of Edgar Allan Poe. I'm an incredibly huge fan of Poe (if you couldn't tell by my blog name!) so I was really excited when I heard about this book. I've read several of the various authors other works and loved them, so I was expecting this to be amazing. I wasn't sure how they would reimagine Poe's tales, but I was excited to find out.

One thing I immediately liked about the book was that it not only contained the retellings but also included the original works by Poe that had inspired the others. It's great for readers that are new to Poe as well as those already familiar with his works but would like a refresher on them and to help compare and/or contrast them with the new reimaginings. I have both a B.A. and an M.A. in English, so Poe is not only a favorite of mine but one I've studied academically.

Since this is an anthology, it's a bit unrealistic to expect to love every single story. And I have to admit that my feelings for these tales ranged from really liking them to being a bit upset because I felt the originals were too different to the new ones. I really wanted to love each and every one of these stories, but ultimately I had a mix of reactions and emotions. Some of the ones I really liked were "She Rode a Horse of Fire," "The Glittering Death," "A Drop of Stolen Ink," "Happy Days, Sweetheart," "Changeling," "The Oval Filter," and "Red." They elicited the same feelings as Poe's originals and were both well written and imaginative. I liked the new spin each author brought to the table and each were able to bring their stories to life with lots of vivid imagery and detailed descriptions. I found that the other stories were too far from Poe's originals that I couldn't connect with them and ended up disappointed.

Also, I felt like there was an overabundance of diverse characters, namely LGBTQ, which felt forced. Please don't get me wrong, I'm all about diverse characters of all kinds and I love to connect with them. But it felt like a lot of these stories were about girls in love - and as I mentioned, it just felt so forced. Like they were written on purpose with these aspects in mind and the tale was kind of secondary. I hope that makes sense. I felt that the characters' relationships overshadowed the main plot of the story (which happens with lots of books I encounter). And being a huge Poe fan, I guess I'm biased toward the actual gothic story and not so much the diversity of the characters and their love interests. Again, I want to reiterate that I'm all for diverse characters of all kinds, but in this specific case, some of them felt forced and ruined the story for me. This is only my personal opinion and definitely not something that other readers will be bothered by. I only want to be honest about how I felt about the stories. That being said, I absolutely loved the concept of the book - particularly because they were based on my favorite classic author and I'm really into retellings. I'd definitely recommend this book to Poe fans old and new, as well as readers who enjoy horror, paranormal, fantasy, science fiction, and romance.

His Hideous Heart is an excellent collection of 13 short stories inspired by Edgar Allen Poe's classic tales. Each story was written by a different YA author. Fans of Poe and those unfamiliar will both enjoy what this collection has to offer. Highly recommended to readers who enjoy a great YA short story collection.

His Hideous Heart is a collection of famous Edgar Allan Poe stories retold by 13 well known YA authors. Writers such as Rin Chupeco, Amanda Lovelace, and Marieke Nijkamp come together to weave new and exciting ways to tell some of our favorite thrilling tales. Out of all of the stories by favorite by far was Lamar Giles' reinterpretation of "The Oval Portrait." It was well written, has wonderful "edge of your seat" tension, and a twist at the end! Also a shoutout to one of my favorite authors Amanda Lovelace and her beautiful retelling of "The Raven." This is a great book to have in a YA collection to introduce young readers into classics!

Rarely do I approach reviews through the eyes of an educator. Part of why I started writing reviews was to have a space where I could discuss Young Adult books for enjoyment away from education. Even after leaving my career, I still try to steer clear of that lens when reviewing books.

However, I can’t ignore the enormous benefits to English classrooms when discussing His Hideous Heart, edited by Dahlia Adler (Q and A link from last week). With that in mind, through two of my favorite stories, I’m going to give what I found highly entertaining as a reader, and brilliantly beneficial as an educator without writing my own novel.

It was a fantastic structural and contextual addition to have the original works of Edgar Allan Poe in the second half of the book. For those who have some familiarity to, or are completely new to, Poe’s work, you have an easy guide to reference. For educators, this provides numerous variations and opportunities in which students can access both the original and reimagining of Poe’s work.

In the case of stories such as Night-Tide by Tessa Gratton, inspired by Poe’s poem, Annabel Lee, there is an additional opportunity for educators. Not only are there two version of the story, but the structural change of Poe’s poem to Gratton’s prose provides an excellent chance to discuss the impact of format on content.
On the flip side, readers will find Night-Tide one of the most inspired stories in His Hideous Heart. A soaring and heartbreaking tale of young love between Annabel and her girlfriend that was misunderstood and shamed.

Picking the summer after Annabel’s sickness and ultimate death, the narrator arrives with pulse quickening anticipation to see her love. Upon hearing the devastating news, we follow her as she longs for understanding and comfort in the stolen moments, whispered words and shared secrets from the past.

Poe has nothing on Tiffany Jackson. The Carnival is Jackson’s dark and twisty take on Poe’s gothic, vengeful The Cask of Amontillado. Fed up with Darrell’s bullying and filth laced words towards her family’s lineage, she mixes-up (quite literally) some revenge to shut him up.

The cacophony of sounds, the brilliance of colors and aromas of foods from the annual Carnival come to life throughout the story. It collides with the once cocky then slowly changing to palpable fear from in Darrel. While Cindy starts sticky sweet, pulling her prey in like a rattle snake and then going in for the kill.

Dahlia Adler set-out to make Poe’s work more accessible and relatable for today. Along with the authors involved, she accomplished that and much more. These stories are just two examples of what you will find throughout His Hideous Heart. Whether you are an educator or a reader (in the case of the former, I truly hope you are both), there is no shortage of highly charged, entertaining and masterful work being brought forth for all ages.

As with most anthologies, I love and hate them. It's rare to find an anthology where I love all of the stories and I'm not shocked that I didn't love all the stories in this one. I recommend reading all the original prose before diving in. I hadn't read some of his prose in a while, or ever, and I think not reading the original work first hurt my ability to love some of these.

His Hideous Heart is a dark and delicious twist on Edgar Allen Poe's gothic masterpieces. Some of these stories creeped me out so much I had to stop reading them before bed. I didn't love all of these stories but a lot of them got under my skin or were just delightfully dark. These all did Mr. Por's work justice and I loved seeing the different interpretations of his prose, especially those through a modern lens. I sincerely think this anthology would make Mr. Poe very happy.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book from Flatiron Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.*

I've only ever read a few of Edgar Allen Poe's works so I appreciated that the book include the original tales at the end. Overall, I enjoyed most of the stories while I found others hard to care about. For the ones that I was able to get into, I enjoyed thoroughly. It's interesting to see these tales written into a more modern setting, so I think this will be a great way to introduce younger generations to Poe's work. And I definitely think that Poe fans will find an appreciation for the re-tellings.

I'm a big Edgar Allan Poe fan, but this book was a bit boring to me. To be fair, I did not finish it, so maybe it got more exciting, but it just never grabbed my attention. I'm not big on anthologies so that may have been part of it. I think anyone who likes retellings or horror stories. Although it wasn't my favorite, I will still be recommending it to library patrons.

A wonderful collection of excellently edited stories that offer something for everyone. If you are a Poe lover, a teen looking to get into Poe, or want some short retellings, this book is for you!

I was raised on Edgar Allan Poe's work (in particular "Annabel Lee" and "The Raven") so it wasn't hard for me to get behind retellings of his stories. These short stories are just as chilling as Poe's works and contain similar themes, but the YA voice and diverse characters and settings make them more accessible for the younger generation. The inclusion of the original stories also allows an opportunity for the reader to deepen their understanding by comparing the retelling to the source material. I have a feeling that middle and high school English teachers will be all over this book.

As a fan of Poe’s original works, I understand that students oftentimes find them a bit inaccessible. This anthology would be good to engage students and spark their interest. It would also be interesting to juxtapose the original work with the anthology story and have students analyze whether it has truly been ‘reimagined.’

I love that Edgar Allan Poe’s original Tales are included at the end of the book. I read a plot summary of each tale before reading the retelling, in order to get reacquainted with each of the original tales. Each retelling captured the cruelty of mankind as much or almost as much as the original tales did. I love the way some of the tales were told in modern times, while others were told in more futuristic times.

I’ve read books by Marieke Nijkamp, Amanda Lovelace, Stephanie Kuehn and Lamar Giles, which I enjoyed. the rest of the authors are on my to the read shelf. Seeing this group come together for an anthology made me extremely excited. I usually feel like anthologies need more story, almost as if they aren’t finished, but I felt like all of these stories had enough to them and had real conclusions.

Overall I loved the mix of past, present, and future time tables in each of the tales. I enjoyed the diversity of the characters in each of the retellings. These are definitely dark and ominous tales, not for the faint of heart. I would recommend this if you are a long time fan of Edgar Allan Poe, or just want to get into his tales.

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

I love this as a project and in general, the execution is really fantastic! His Hideous Heart is a collection of 13 short stories by YA authors, each inspired by a story from Edgar Allen Poe. They take these timeless themes like fear, love, and revenge and reimagine them in interesting, thought-provoking ways. More often than not, writing from the margins and asking questions about how these stories change when they are through the lens of characters who are female, queer, or people of color. The second half of the book includes the original stories from Poe, and I also love this as a way of introducing teens to more classic literature.

A few of these stories were on the weaker side, but I didn't dislike any of them. Among my favorites were the ones by Kendare Blake, Caleb Roerig, Lamar Giles, and Dahlia Adler. (All five stars for me) I also think that the common source of inspiration helps this avoid some of the issues anthologies typically face in terms of pacing and feeling jarring. While you do get a variety of genres (contemporary, urban fantasy, historical, science-fiction etc.) for the most part it flows together pretty well. I would definitely recommend checking this collection out! I received an advance copy of this book for review via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

**Will be posted on my blog http://pastmidnight.home.blog on August 20th, 2019, my blog tour spot date**

When I heard about this anthology, I had to get my hands on it. One, because I love Edgar Allan Poe’s work. Two, because I saw some of my favorite authors contributing to this anthology and others I had never heard of. And third, it has a young adult twist to it which made me very curious to see how each story would play out.

This will definitely appeal to readers who are not familiar with Poe’s work. There is fantasy, sci-fi, horror and mystery genres represented throughout the collection. The stories have so much diversity with LGBT+ characters and people of color representation which I appreciated. This is the book I wish I had in high school when I studying Edgar Allan Poe! I would have related to some of his stories on a whole new level.

The original works are included in this book as well, which is perfect for new and old fans of Edgar Allan Poe. It gave me a chance to compare the classic and reimagined work side by side. Another thing the book allowed me to do is get a glimpse of authors I’ve never heard of. I’ll be adding a few books from these authors to my TBR list for sure. She Rode a Horse of Fire (“Mertzengerstein”) got me spooked, and The Glittering Death (“The Pit and The Pendulum”) scared me as much as Poe’s version did, maybe even more because it was a modern retelling. It’s Carnival! (“The Cask of Amontillado”) had me cackling in wicked delight, it’s such a classic even when it’s reimagined! Whenever I read one of the stories at night, it gave me the creepy feeling that I always look forward to from Poe’s work.

This is a wonderful collection and creative endeavor by thirteen talented authors who took on some of Poe’s most popular works and made it relatable to young adults and adults (like me) today. I am definitely adding this to my book shelf!