Because You Love To Hate Me by Various Authors

Publication Date: 24 July 2017

Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens

Genre: Young Adult

Pages: 368

Rating: 

Overall, I enjoyed reading this anthology. I decided to read one a day and this made the experience really fun, so I would definitely recommend reading it that way.

This book is a collection of short stories by various young adult authors. There is commentary at the end of each story by a BookTuber who gave the author a prompt. The prompts all have something to do with villains. Here is a short review of each story:

The Blood of Imuriv by Renee Ahdieh and prompt from Christine Riccio/PolandbananasBOOKS

Rating: 

The beginning of this story is very slow and builds up the world in a way that is unnecessary. That being said, I really enjoyed the end of the book, and the message behind it hit me in an impactful way.

Jack by Ameriie and prompt from Tina Burke/The Lushables

Rating: 

I found this short story to be too confusing. I didn’t understand what I was reading as I read it, and thought the retelling was done strangely.

Gwen and Art and Lance by Soman Chainani and prompt from Samantha Lane/Thoughts on Tomes

Rating: 

This story is told completely in texts. I really liked reading it. I just don’t understand the prompt that was given, which also happened with Jack.

Shirley & Jim by Susan Dennard and prompt from Sasha Alsberg/Abookutopia

Rating: 

This story is a romance set in a boarding school. There are some interesting themes explored, and it is easy and enjoyable to follow. Sasha is my favourite BookTuber, and I liked her commentary. Again, I did not understand the prompt.

The Blessing of Little Wants by Sarah Enni and prompt from Sophia Lee/Thebookbasement

Rating: 

There is an adventure/magical aspect to this story that I couldn’t get into. Perhaps it was the way that it is explained that confused me. The contribution from Sophia Lee made me understand it a little bit more, but it was the type of story that I would forget by the next day.

The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer and prompt from Zoe Herdt/ReadbyZoe

Rating: 

I loved this story! It has exciting action and a really unique premise. It is about a mermaid who is shunned by the kingdom that she lives in. The prompt was something I actually understood, and many others would also understand. The commentary from Zoe is easy to follow and fun.

Beautiful Venom by Cindy Pon and prompt from Benjamin Alderson/BenjaminofTomes 

Rating: 

This story is really unique and tackles an important topic. I liked how it made me feel connected to the main character, and I was surprised by what happenes.

Death Knell by Victoria Schwab and prompt from Jesse George/JessetheReader

Rating: 

I thought this story was okay. It is easy to follow, but it just made me a little bored. I did not really connect with the style of writing, as I think it did not explain things very well. I liked Jesse’s contribution, as I feel the same way he does.

Marigold by Samantha Shannon and prompt from Regan Perusse/PeruseProject

DNF

I just couldn’t get through this one! There’s bound to be a DNF in a collection of short stories.

You, You, It’s All About You by Adam Silvera and prompt from Catriona Feeney/LittleBookOwl

DNF

I also couldn’t finish this one! It was really confusing.

Julian Breaks Every Rule by Andrew Smith and prompt from Raeleen Lemay/Padfootandrongs07 

Rating: 

I liked this story but not the villain. I don’t think it portrayed what the villain was supposed to be very well.

Indigo and Shade by April Genevieve Tucholke and prompt from Whitney Atkinson/WhittyNovels

Rating: 

This story was so strange, but it wasn’t too bad. I liked the premise. It just didn’t reel me in that much and has the strangest ending ever! I also could sense all of the plot twists that happened.

Sera by Nicola Yoon and prompt from Steph Sinclair and Kat Kennedy/Cuddlebuggery

Rating: 

This story reminded me of the kind of stuff I like to write. It’s very weird and experimental, which I thought was great about it. I think it could have been better if the writing was improved.

Favourite Short Story 

The Sea Witch by Marissa Meyer

I adored this story! It is crafted so well and the main character is fleshed out fantastically for a short story. I have never read anything by Marissa Meyer before, so I was wondering: Should I start with Cinder or Heartless?

I’ve read a lot of reviews of this book on Goodreads, and everyone’s opinion on each short story is different. I think it is great that I may think a story is 2 stars, but you may think it is 4 stars! If you have been interested in reading this but disheartened by the negativity surrounding it, you should definitely still give it a go. I read one short story per day (which you may have seen in real-time on my Instagram stories but I gave up quickly), and this was the perfect way to read this anthology.

Many of the prompts used a villain or idea that is obscure, and I think they should have just thought of something original so it was less confusing for the reader. I also thought the contributions from the BookTubers were quite boring and unnecessary.

I have rated Because You Love to Hate Me 3 stars. The average of what I rated each story is more like 2.5 stars, but I thought I would be nice and round it up. I would recommend this book to fans of any of these authors/BookTubers, or if you enjoy reading Young Adult.

See Because You Love to Hate Me by various authors on Goodreads and purchase through Book Depository.

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