Words, Worlds, Whorls

I think you have to go into this book expecting a lot of repetition, and that's why a lot of people reacted so poorly to it. It's not really the sort of book that it's necessary to read cover-to-cover, and that's okay. The point of the book is to benefit 826nyc, and kudos to all these authors for chipping in for a good cause. You can pick out your favourite authors and only read their alibis. You can read most or some or a few or all of the alibis and then skip to the end and it would not make any difference. Does that make it a bad book though? I guess if you're looking for a cohesive, novel-like story, then yes. But this is really more like a collection of short stories with a common theme.I mean, take for instance the fact that in the introduction, it is said that one leg of lamb was found amongst the items confiscated from the suspects. That leg of lamb in then used in three different author's alibis. How can three different authors possess one leg of lamb? Well, because continuity was not exactly the most important aspect in putting together this collection. Once I realized that, I took everything with a grain of salt.Some of the authors and illustrators got really creative with their alibis, which was pretty cool. Some of my favorites actually included John Green's and Libba Bray's, which were about one page each. Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown's art-based alibi is also pretty nifty. I wasn't going to write a review but then I saw all the one- and two-star reviews here and started rolling my eyes. Too repetitive for you? I'll admit I skipped the last five or so authors because I was starting to get bored and I didn't recognize their names. Some stood out more starkly than others.If you look at this book as some grand mystery masterpiece-wannabe that fell short, then I guess I can understand your one-star rating. I don't agree with it, but I do understand it. But if you take this book as it is meant to be taken, I think you will find it a quirky and fun read.