Another anthology that was forgettable and mostly unlikable, for me anyways. Most of the stories were very strange, but mostly they felt like they had no purpose, no meaning, no new take on the story it was inspired by and, worst of all, no entertainment value.

The stories worth mentioning as being better than the rest were "The Fastest Horse in the World" "Other Earth", "Doc's Lucky Day at the Dump", and "Best Served Cold".

I'm a sucker for short stories, and this collection is absolutely breathtaking. I went into this ARC not knowing much about it and I didn't read the synopsis because I liked to go into a lot of my books completely blind. Without knowing what to expect, this collection swept me off my feet from the dedication page. It features so many big name writers that have reimagined classic stories we all know and love. The title of the book is so perfect as they're just giving a "wink" to the original story and adding a delightfully creepy twist. This is perfect for the fall and spooky season! Highly recommending to all of my friends.

Title: Wink
Review:
This anthology was a mixed experience for me. Drawn in by the captivating cover, I initially expected a cohesive collection of eerie, dark retellings of classic children’s tales. Instead, Wink offers a wide range of tones and styles, with stories ranging from middle-grade "Goosebumps" vibes to higher YA levels of complexity. While the variation added some unexpected variety, it also resulted in an uneven reading experience.

One standout for me was "The Scent of Cotton Candy," a retelling of Mary Poppins by Leah Cypess. This story struck an eerie, unsettling mood that almost reminded me of Turn of the Screw, particularly in how it emphasized the fae-like qualities of Mary Poppins. The dark and mysterious atmosphere was intriguing, making it one of the more memorable stories in the collection.

Another story that I appreciated was "Waii-Chan and Sparklepony" by Nancy Holder, a peculiar retelling of The Velveteen Rabbit. As someone who ascribes feelings and sentience to inanimate objects, I found this tale both strange and charming.

The final story, "Best Served Cold" by David Gerrold, provided a vengefully feminist take on The Snow Queen. It leaned more towards an adult audience, offering a dark, satisfying twist that left a strong impression.

Overall, Wink contains some truly enjoyable stories, but the inconsistency in tone and target age range was a bit off-putting. While some stories delivered the dark and creepy retellings I was hoping for, others didn’t quite hit the mark. My overall rating would be around three and a half stars, rounded down due to the unevenness. Nonetheless, there are definitely some gems in this collection that made the reading experience worthwhile.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (3.5 stars, rounded down to 3)

This is actually more like 2.5 stars, but I rounded up. There were a couple stories I enjoyed, particularly Maggie Stiefvater's, but most of the stories were juvenile or boring at best, potentially harmful at worst. Honestly, this convinced me that I'm done reading full anthologies.

"The Fastest Horse in the World" by Kendare Blake — This is one of the ones I enjoyed. It was a great imagining of where companies' obsession with AI could potentially take us.

"Precious Treasure" by Wulf Moon — This one had a good ending, but the "wink" at a classic tale (The Hobbit) felt more on-the-nose and the story took an unnecessarily long time to get where it was going.

"The Scent of Cotton Candy" by Leah Cypress — This one felt like it ended before the actual story began.

"Waii-Chan and Sparklepony" by Nancy Holder — I really enjoyed this one aside from the contradictory resolution that doesn't quite make sense if you think about it too hard.

"The Monster at the End of this Story" by Alethea Kontis — This one felt a little preachy to me. Like "what lesson did we learn today, kids?"

"My Science Project" by Henry Herz — This was one of the most juvenile, imo. The writing and the story. It honestly felt very condescending to the reader. Also, no one just casually gets "a ticket" to San Diego Comic Con in May.

"Tabula" by Henry Neff — This one had a really cool concept! One of my favorites from this anthology.

"Special" by Seanan McGuire — Here's the potentially harmful one. Basically, it promotes the harmful message that people who are neurodivergent could easily and "reasonably" follow a line of thought that leads them to be really gruesome, heartless murderers. I worry about the stereotypes and fear this story could perpetuate.

"Final Ella" by James Aquilone — This is one where I feel the sparse content warnings (in the back) failed. I read this one as part of it being an allegory for grooming, kidnapping, and maybe even attempted SA of a minor. The content warnings claim there are no warnings for this one.

"Other Earth" by Stacia Deutsch — This one was pretty good. It required some extra suspension of disbelief, but it was good overall.

"Chloe's Cabin" by Tara Gilboy — This one was actually pretty sweet. I liked it.

"Doc's Lucky Day at the Dump" by Alex Shvartsman — I know it says the "wink" is at Doctor Doolittle, but at times it felt more like Pinocchio. This one was interesting in the moral questions it brought up about AI.

"Follow the Shattered-Brick Road" by Jonathan Maberry — This one mostly dragged and read like a kid just complaining for many pages. Then, near the end, it switched to being heartwarming. It's like it didn't know what it wanted to be.

"State of Mind" by Maggie Stiefvater — My favorite, and not just because I'm biased and love the author's work. The concept was really cool, and it was extra fun reading it while knowing the real-life story that inspired it.

"Best Served Cold" by David Gerrold — This is the other one where I believe the content warnings failed. All they say is "murder." I would at least add infanticide to the content warning list.

Okay, I'm really and truly done reading full anthologies from now on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press for the ARC.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press for the ARC copy they provided.

Unfortunately, I did not finish this book in time to leave a review before the publication date, and though a review after publication is no less welcome or useful, I feel I do not have the time or space to give this book the attention it deserves.

Wink has a gorgeous cover and a truly intriguing concept. I’m sure I will enjoy it in the future.

I LOVED these stories! Each one was so unique and I love the little drawings at the start of them, and how different they are from one another. I would definitely recommend this to others and honestly really want to get my own copy soon! <3

[Apologies for late submission - reviewed on Goodreads and forgot to do Netgalley]
This was a mixed bag for me; I was lured in by the cover, but with some exceptions, I don't typically enjoy revisiting mainstream "children's" stories or movies. These retellings at least put their inspirations through a modern or more magical lens, improving some of them. The tones range from eerie to quirky, and the voices range from a Goosebumps-level, middle grade vibe, to higher YA. I think the inconsistency in these aspects kind of put me off more; the cover kind of makes you think they'll all be dark and creepy.

My favorite was "The Scent of Cotton Candy", the Mary Poppins retelling by Leah Cypess, who has written some good YA fantasy I also enjoyed. Its eerie, unsettling mood evoked almost a Turn of the Screw vibe, but it also enunciated the Brownie, fae-like aspects of Mary Poppins that I never realized until now. It was one of the more grave, eerie stories so I definitely gravitated towards it.

The Velveteen Rabbit-inspired "Waii-Chan and Sparklepony" by Nancy Holder was a strange tale that you'll probably enjoy if, like me, you assigned feelings and sentience to your stuffed animals and toys.

The final story, "Best Served Cold" by David Gerold, was an excellent, vengefully feminist take on "The Snow Queen", definitely on the more adult and dark end of these stories.

I really enjoyed some of these stories, and my rating is about three and a half, rounded down for what I didn't.

I thoroughly enjoyed this anthology of fairytale retellings. Each writer brought a fresh perspective to familiar tales. It was fun trying to guess the original story each retelling was based on. Some I guessed instantly, while others surprised me when I reached the end of the story. The stories are well-written, and the accompanying illustrations are stunning. It's a collection worth recommending to others who appreciate good storytelling.

Thank you to Brigids Gate Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy. All opinions of this ARC are honest, unfiltered and solely my own.

As a lifelong fairytale lover, I was both excited and skeptical to start reading Wink. The book is a compilation of fantasy/sci-fi stories written with a glimmer of traditional children’s stories woven through. I gotta say I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t what I got. The reality was much better! I won’t spoil the party, but these were so imaginative and fun. And with a mix of 7 different authors, including the beloved Seanan McGuire, you get a ton of different writing styles and “flavors.” Some of the stories are very dark and thought provoking, some are sweet, some are scary, all were enjoyable. I also had a great time playing the game of trying to guess what book each story “winked” to. Admittedly, sometimes I got it and sometimes I didn’t, but every time, it made me remember reading as a child and that made me smile.

Publishing date: 25.06.2024
Thank you to Netgalley and Brigids Gate Press for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

The book as a meal: A bag of nuts, and I am picking out my favorites first
The book left me: Longing for "darker" retellings

Negatives:
Some stories don't feel close enough to their inspiration
The targeted age group can differ a lot between stories
Trigger warnings are located in the back, should have been in the beginning

Positives:
Very well written
A wide array of genres
Fresh takes on well-oved stories

Features:
A small illustration to kick off each story, 15 short stories written by 15 great authors, a trigger warning list

Why did I choose this one?
This year I have discovered that I am very much a retelling and short story girlie, so this was automatically added to my request list. I was drawn in by the illustration on the cover too (absolutely judged a book by its cover). Then I noticed some very recognizable authors and knew I had chosen the right collection.

Pick-up-able? Put-down-able?
Right in the middle. There are some stories that are easy to read and pull you in, and others that maybe drag a little. Some of the stories I might have skimmed a little. Those that slapped, really slapped.

What was the vibe and mood?
Since the stories are widely different from each other there is no singular vibe. Some of the stories captures the vibe of their original counterparts nicely, others flip it up-side-down. It can range from uncanny to sweet to horrific.

Final ranking and star rating?
4 stars, A tier. This is a very well-one collection and I greatly enjoyed it. Although the quality of the stories varied, they came together to create a good collection. There is something here for almost everyone. I think there are a few standout stories that will be more liked than others. Will recommend and might buy a trophy copy when it is out.

Favorite stories:
The Fastest Horse in the World
Special
Doc's Lucky Day at the Dump
State of Mind

Maggie Stiefvater has a short story out and the library didn't have this book!! In desperation, I was googling this book and saw a listing for NetGalley. Lo and behold, it was still available for request. So THANK YOU, NetGalley and publishers, for a copy for review. All opinions are my own.

I was actually surprised to see bigger names like Seanan McGuire and Maggie Stiefvater attached to this, since the cover looks amateurish. In general, YA short stories don't work for me - I feel like a lot of authors don't include enough depth and instead focus on hitting the typical YA beats. This, however, was a cool concept with the 'wink' at popular kids stories. Some stories are better than others, of course, but there are certain stories I'd highly recommend.

It was fun to try to guess what they were based on! I list them in my review so if you want to be surprised, maybe skip the individual reviews.

(Question: why is Jane Yolen listed in the about the author section tho??)

The Fastest Horse in the World by Kendare Blake - 3 stars

Based on Black Beauty

I generally dislike horse stories, because I don’t like reading about horses being sad. From a technical standpoint, I think this could have been longer with more try/fail cycles, and the way it ended felt too soon - it seemed to undercut the point by not resolving the new element introduced.

But, griping aside, it was a sweet story about a girl and her horse.

Precious Treasure by Wulf Moon - 2 stars

Based on The Hobbit

This feels younger, which makes sense for the source material. Very moralistic: friendship is important! I think a short story was the wrong way to get this across - there wasn’t space for anything to make this more complex or subtle.

The Scent of Cotton Candy by Leah Cypess - 4 stars

Based on Mary Poppins

Oh HO now this is what I wanted from this book!

It shows how what other people say about people can become your own impression of that person (what with Julia thinking Matt is lazy, just like the nanny and parents said), it's what happens to kids who have a magical experience and return to real life, it's creepiness hidden as something sweet as cotton candy. It also adds and twists the mythology of a magical nanny into something fae, and it's very YA in its themes of not leaning on other people's perceptions of people.

Waii-Chan and Sparklepony by Nancy Holder - 3 stars

Based on The Velveteen Rabbit

This was fine. I liked the twist of how the animals had to love, instead of be loved, to be real, but also, they left right when Rocio needed them for comfort? I liked Rocio's storyline, but it didn't actually matter to the toys' storyline/arc.

The Monster at the End of this Story by Alethea Kontis - 2.5

Inspired by The Monster At the End of this Book (with Grover)

This was fine. It was very much a Wink instead of Inspired By, which was kinda fun (I was thinking of the right story because of the similar titles, but I didn’t really see many similarities). Maybe I'm too old to just enjoy this type of story for what it is, but it didn’t stand out to me.

My Science Project by Henry Herz - 2.5 stars

Inspired by Frog and Toad

Hahaha I did NOT catch that wink! Okay I'm kinda obsessed with the idea of setting up a zoom call with aliens as first contact. This was fun, if nothing else.

Tabula by Henry Neff - 3.5 stars

Inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon

Oo this was really cool. I liked the idea a LOT.

Special by Seanan McGuire - 4 stars

Inspired by The Rainbow Fish

HAHAHAHAHA YESS. My absolute DELIGHT when I realized halfway through what this was based on. This is about a slightly younger child, but definitely is for an older audience. I loved the thought process, the repetative arguments throughout. I guess I just like the creepy stories :)

Final Ella by James Aquilone - 4 stars

Inspired by Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

Damn this was cool. I liked how it leaned into the Alice theme, and put a really creepy spin on it. I do think this would be an EXCELLENT novella to give it room to breath!

Other Earth by Stacia Deutsch - 3 stars

Inspired by The Lorax

Oh my goodness when I realized the inspiration...

Chloe's Cabin by Tara Gilboy - 3.5 stars

Inspired by Little House on the Prairie

I don't really see the connection but oh well. This was cute, with a decent character arc.

Doc's Lucky Day at the Dump by Alex Shvartman - 2.5 stars

Inspired by Pinocchio - apparently it was inspired by Doctor Dolittle, which I don't know, but I def got Pinocchio vibes

This was interesting - it covers the very very basic questions of "what is humanity" that cyborgs/ai/synthesized life raises, and it's surprisingly short. It works well as baby's first intro to the topic. As a YA story, that's good enough.

Follow the Shattered-Brick Road by Jonathan Maberry - 3 stars

Inspired by The Wizard of Oz

This at least has a bit more heart than some of the other stories, but this sort of theme of grief and loss and moving on fits better in a larger story.

State of Mind by Maggie Stiefvater - 4 stars

Inspired by The Cat in the Hat

Ah, the reason I read this book! It was funny in a way that really worked for me, and is SUCH a great spin on the cat in the hat. Not as meaningful as some of her other short stories, but plenty fun and perfect for this type of collection.

Interloper by Henry Herz

Hahaha this was State of Mind told in Dr. Seuss style - only like a page long and quite delightful.

Best Served Cold by David Gerrold -4 stars

Inspired by The Snow Queen

Oh WHAT. This doesn't feel like a teen story at all (which I like, but, uh, I'm not exactly the target audience here)

I didn't expect to like this book as much I as I did (wink, wink) - I am serious, because I always find short story and poetry anthologies, any anthology for that matter, to be a bit of a mixed bag, hence I lower my expectations prior to reading.
This is a collection of 15 stories reimagined.
The stories are written by writers who are masters at their craft.
I enjoyed the reimagining/retelling of Mary Poppins, Grover and Alice in Wonderland, and the modern themes and takes overall made this book even more enjoyable.
This book is more suitable for older children, YA and adults because of the layering and themes, in my opinion.
Thank you #netgalley for the ARC. This is my cup of tea.

Wink is an interesting take on various children's books. I did enjoy some of them, but others were less enjoyable as their main characters are either arrogant, or so concerned with current day philosophy that you wouldn't recognize the tale they supposedly "wink" at. A few of the tales feel like the author named a story because it was the only children's story that came to mind, and then they told the story they wanted to tell with nothing more than perhaps a throwaway line as a nod to their original inspiration.

That said, there are a few tales there worth enjoying. Kendare Blake's "The Fastest Horse In The World" (Black Beauty), Seanan McGuire's "Special" (The Rainbow Fish), Wulf Moon's "Precious Treasure" (an interesting take on "The Hobbit") and Maggie Stiefvater's "State of Mind" (a clever take on "The Cat in The Hat", followed by the delightful, Seuss-esque poem "Inerloper" by Henry Herz) are all well worth the read. The rest can be read or not. In my opinion, you won't be missing much if you don't. 2.5 out of 5 stars, but since that isn't an available option, 3 stars will have to do.

Thank you to Netgalley and Brigid's Gate Press for the advance reader's copy. This review is voluntary and all views and opinions expressed are my own.

Wink: Young Adult Tales that Wink at Classic Children's Books is a fantastic YA book containing fifteen short stories by well loved authors:
James Aquilone
Kendare Blake
Leah Cypess
Stacia Deutsch
David Gerrold
Tara Gilboy
Henry Herz
Nancy Holder
Alethea Kontis
Jonathan Maberry
Seanan McGuire
Wulf Moon
Henry Neff
Alex Shvartsman
Maggie Stiefvater
Each story is unique and individual, just like the authors who wrote them. The genres all differ, too, from fantasy and horror to sci-fi and romance. The stories each one gives a 'wink' too are easily recognised and many have a moral woven into them for the reader too. The cover is what drew me to this book to begin with, and it's a real gem of a book for anyone who loves old fairytales with a fresh vibe.

You know the classic stories of your childhood? Like Frog and Toad or Harold and his magic crayon. Well, be prepared to find these stories turned upside down and inside out.

I was so excited about this collection! I was familiar with some of the authors, and I was raised on a lot of the classics referenced.

And this lived up to my expectations. It’s a delightful & fascinating anthology of short stories. It’s rare that I find a theology where I enjoy so many of the stories, but I loved most of them, and didn’t actually dislike any of them, So many good stories! Some are definitely stronger than others, and for me the last one was the weakest by far, but all really fun. All sorts of genres, all sorts of authors, & really inspired me to go back to my own writing! And a new list of authors to further explore!

Thank you to both NetGalley and Brigids Gate Press for this ARC.

This is a pretty good collection of stories. I absolutely loved The Fastest Horse in the world. Goldy's live for his rider is just so pure. Wai-chan and Sparklepony for me too. Both gave the same vibes as the stories they were based on. Special was rather disturbing haha. Almost seems like it belongs in a different collection.

15 stories in one book! SCORE!! the stories are all written with a "wink" at somme classical fairy tales. It's up to teh reader to identify the original tale. Short stories are true tests of an author's skills. The stories, while short, must contain all of the elements of a full length book in fewer pages than most chapters. WINK showcases some excellent authors, some I''d read before, some I hadn't, but will now add to my search for TBR. As in all antholgoies, some of the stories are better than others, but all of them together make an excellent reading experience.

I should say that so far I have not found a book by Brigid’s Gate Press I didn’t like and that is continued in this anthology. While anthologies can sometimes have a mixture of stories in sense of some being great, some good and some not so great. I can honestly say that, for me, this is not the case with Wink. I adored all the reimagining tales and ‘winks’ back to classics. Of course I had some ultimate favourites, particularly Precious Treasures by wulf Moon and Waii-Chan and Sparklepony by Nancy Holder. That said everyone of the stories left their mark and I most definitely will be re-reading and getting a physical copy.

Each author’s style and choice of story are perfect for them. I loved the difference in voices and pace but the overarching theme of seeing classic children’s and fairy tales reimagined. Some were a little darker some lighter and all in all it’s a perfect balance.

I want go into great detail of each story since I don’t like spoilers. I will say if you love fairytales and classics reimagined this is for you. You honestly won’t be disappointed.

Truth is, I am not used to reading anthologies, short stories? Yeah, but this was my first time reading an anthology. Maybe that's why I am a bit disappointed.

The stories at first seemed interesting. I loved the criticism embebed in the authors' words and how they make it work alongside the narration, and I also liked how the majority of them twisted the retellings but even so, sometimes the stories were boring and thought I wanted to keep reading I must confess that I had to skip a few.

This was fun !
I tried hard to work out which story was being linked at during each tale but a few defeated me. On the whole, I enjoyed each of the short stories , a good anthology.