Dead High Yearbook

McVeigh and Velez's collection of nine stories by various writers and illustrators crosses the line between macabre and tasteless, but horror movie–addicted teens will likely devour it for that very reason. A line-up of teenagers meet horrific fates in stories of varying quality. A story about zombie grandmothers raises the "ick" factor, while one about a hate crime gone horribly wrong seems to be heading toward a cautionary tale but ultimately comes off as preachy. "Have a Nicey Icee Last Day" is a surprisingly meanspirited revenge tale involving two girls and one guy; "Who Are You Having for Dinner?" is the standout of the bunch, a tongue-in-cheek and teeth-in-neck yarn with an interesting visual style and more than a little bit of humor. Striking a mood reminiscent of the classic EC Comics horror titles, the volume ties the stories together with a clever conceit (the padded paper-over-cover book's design simulates a high school yearbook, and the premise involves the editing team trying to get photos together to go to press). Ages 12-up. (Mar.)