Odds Are Good: An Oddly Enough and Odder Than Ever Omnibus by Bruce Coville is an entertaining collection of eighteen short stories (most of which are supernatural, horror, or fantastical in nature. Coville covers a wide range of mature topics in this work and as such it should be targeted at those on the older end of the young adult scale. Coville explores those issues facing young adults such as self-acceptance, sexuality, belonging to a group, family issues, and even death. Overall the work is fairly dark in tone although several of the stories are darkly humorous. One such story is "Duffy's Jacket" in which a boy and his cousins are tracked by a monstrous creature after leaving his jacket in the woods. The monster finally corners them only to return the jacket and says "You forgot your jacket, stupid." before stomping off into the woods.

Though some of the stories and topics are more suitable for an older audience I did find the writing style to be a little simplistic at times. Proficient readers will make their way through this work very quickly and had I encountered this book as a 14-15 year old I would have enjoyed it immensely. I would recommend this book for those looking for a spooky and entertaining read, but those readers looking for profoundness or deep substance would be better served elsewhere. ( )