Black Juice (Michael L Printz Honor Book (Awards)) (ISBN 0060743905)

Overrated and Unimaginative:
Based on the jacket description, I thought this would be a book of short stories delving into different aspects of the human soul and psyche, both dark and light. That is not what I found and certainly not how I would sell this book. While I was impressed with the first story, and the level to which the author managed to draw the reader into the characters in a few short pages, it was the only one that I thought was worth reading. The rest were, for the most part, simplistic, unoriginal, woe-is-me pity the poor people drivel. While some of the stories, such as "Red Nose Day," may have benefited from more in-depth development and background information, most of the stories were simply lacking in every sense of the word, I didn't care about the characters, I was mostly bored by the plots, and I wasn't intrigued by the "worlds" the author created. As for this book being an exploration of the darker side of the human spirit, tame is the only word I can use to describe it. Perhaps I have more experience with dark literature than the average reader, but I would say light gray is about as dark as this book gets. For readers who are interested in exploring the range of the human psyche, from its best to its worst, I would recommend the Black Jewels series by Anne Bishop and the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey. Bottom Line: If you are looking to be intellectually stimulated or even truly entertained, look elsewhere. This collection will fall far short of your expectations.

No Small Feat:
I have nothing but praise to offer for the range and depth of Margo Lanagan's creativity. Her worlds stretch beyond, her characters beneath, her eerie tone deeper than any collection of short stories I've ever read. These ten short stories, touted as young adult, might pass as such to some, but not to me. These tales are older than young adult, despite their characters' ages. The tone and voice of these stories is not distinctly young adult, but something more vast. Community burial rituals, reeking wrestling angels, wandering hopeful brides, loyal escaping elephants, and other bizarre images litter this collection with a freshness that, when her worlds came to life, sang to my soul. Perhaps it was just this reader, but some of the stories lost me completely. Maybe I'm not as savvy a reader as I think myself to be, but I do expect myself to be able to understand what's happening in the story. There were a couple of the stories, I confess that I stuck through in hopes I would "get them" later on. But those were the exception. I enjoyed her fresh use of language, her frequent linguistic inventions that worked, her bold exploration of words. The young adult world needs more short story collections like Margo Lanagan's, which was one of the 5 finalists for Best of Young Adult at the 2006 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. To be named among such authors as Per Nilsson, John Green, Markus Zusak, and Andreas Steinhofel is no small feat. And neither are her stories. -- Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

Australian SF Reader:
Black Juice : Singing My Sister Down - Margo Lanagan Black Juice : My Lord's Man - Margo Lanagan Black Juice : Red Nose Day - Margo Lanagan Black Juice : Sweet Pippit - Margo Lanagan Black Juice : House of the Many - Margo Lanagan Black Juice : Wooden Bride - Margo Lanagan Black Juice : Earthly Uses - Margo Lanagan Black Juice : Perpetual Light - Margo Lanagan Black Juice : Yowlinin - Margo Lanagan Black Juice : Rite of Spring - Margo Lanagan Singing My Sister Down Execution by tar pit, with ceremony. 2.5 out of 5 My Lord's Man Not much to see here. Woman off with gypsies. 2.5 out of 5 Red Nose Day Well, actually a plot, how about that. Clowns can be creepy enough, but how about if all the rich people did the clown thing all the time? Going postal on them would certainly come to mind, and this is what happens here. 4 out of 5 Sweet Pippit Heffalump hegira. 3.5 out of 5 House of the Many Another dead sister. Doesn't like 'em much? 2 out of 5 Wooden Bride Bride school is serious. 3 out of 5 Earthly Uses An angel highlights a truth for a young man. 3.5 out of 5 Perpetual Light The country is a bit more toxic, and this time grandma is dead. 3 out of 5 Yowlinin Monkey skinners and the monsters that find them tasty. 3.5 out of 5 Rite of Spring Missing the mutt. 3 out of 5 A rather uneven collection, with a lot of it stuck in the middle and too wishy-washy to be one thing or the other. If you like style and atmosphere over plot and character this may well be your thing. Doesn't go together all that well.

One of the very best:
Absolutely superb. Don't read the book copy (it might give too much away), in fact - don't even read these reviews. Just buy the book and dig in. You won't regret it.

Haunting:
A dreamy affair, this book traverses the boundary between reality and the hyper-real with breathtaking skill. The storylines are often unimportant, taking a back seat to the prose, which flows and twists with great dexterity and poetry. This is a strongly visual book that would certainly appeal to readers of all ages. It would be of particular interest to those with a predilection towards fantasy. There is a strong thematic of family bonds throughout, and though no time period is mentioned, the nature of the writing and storytelling (strong family themes, the near absence of any technology) gives me the impression that most of the stories are set in the distant past, which only adds to the otherworldly qualities. I like the title as well because blackness is a strong image created throughout, almost like the book is an anthology of stories from the dark ages.