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The Monster Librarian Presents:
Reviews of Zombie Fiction
While zombies are popular in adult fiction and popular culture zombies are found in books, graphic novels, movies, and video games. There currently aren't many zombie young adult novels.
Zombie
Blondes by Brian James*New Review
Feiwel and Friends, 2008
ISBN 9780312372989
Available: New
When Hannah and her father move into the town of Maplecrest, Hannah finds herself into the familiar role of the “new girl”. Hannah notices that the popular group in her new school are a set of blonde, blue eyed cheerleaders. Lukas, a school misfit, warns Hannah that the cheerleaders are dangerous creatures that hold sway over the entire town. When Hannah is invited to join the cheerleading squad she jumps at the chance to enjoy the benefits of popularity, including the hunky boy friend. What lies underneath the surface, though, isn’t pretty, and once Hannah’s “in,” she may not have an out. Zombie Blondes is an effective little tale of terror that taps into the anxieties that go along with wanting to fit in successfully in high school. It should be noted that Zombie Blondes is much more of a horror tale than many of the other young adult “horror” books. Zombie Blonds is recommended for public and school libraries.
Contains: Violence, a little blood letting
Generation
Dead by Daniel Waters*New Review
Hyperion, 2008
ISBN: 143210921X
Available: New
Something is causing teenagers to return from the dead as zombies, or “living impaired.” Unlike traditional zombies, though, Daniel Waters’ “living impaired” creations are simply teens reanimated with varying levels of functionality and ability to communicate. The “living impaired” are not accepted by society at large. They have few rights and can even be killed without penalty. Against this backdrop, we are introduced to Phoebe and Adam, next door neighbors with very different backgrounds- Adam is a star football player and Phoebe is a goth girl. Phoebe develops an interest in a “living impaired” student, Tommy Williams. When Tommy joins the high school football team, he and his friends become targets of a group of football players called the “Pain Crew.” Adam must choose his loyalties and decide how far he will go for friendship.
The characters in Generation Dead are beautifully layered. Although it seems at first like Waters is depending on common stereotypes, as the book continues, the characters’ surfaces are peeled away, revealing much more complex personalities and motivations than a reader would initially expect. The plot is gripping and moves at a good pace. Readers will want to keep turning the pages to see what happens next, and the ending is extraordinarily powerful. Waters leaves enough plot threads dangling to easily write a sequel, but this book clearly stands alone. Daniel Waters has written an incredibly strong first book. He enters new territory by writing zombie fiction for young adults, but his work transcends categorization. Generation Dead will appeal to a wide audience of both horror readers and general readers in young adult fiction, and has strong enough writing that adult readers will want to pick it up as well.
It is still early in the year but Generation Dead is compelling and innovative enough that it has already earned itself a spot on our top picks for young adult horror fiction for 2008. Highly recommended for both public and school libraries.
Contains: violence, minor gore.