Zombie in Love review

Zombie in Love
by Kelly DiPuccio, illustrated by Scott Campbell
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
August 2011

What's a lovelorn zombie to do? Mortimer tries all his best romantic moves on the ladies, gifting them with a maggoty box of chocolates, a shiny red (still beating?) heart, even a diamond ring (unfortunately, with decomposing finger still attached) all to no avail. Desperate, he finally puts out a personal ad, (to the tune of Escape, The Pina Colada Song) "If you like taking walks in the graveyard/and falling down in the rain. If you're not into cooking,/if you have half a brain./If you like waking up at midnight,/horror films, and voodoo,/then I'm the guy who you've looked for/and I'm dying to meet you!" Attending Cupid's Ball in hopes of scoring a date, he gives each of the attractive young ladies who approaches him a smile, "like this" (a close-up picture of Mortimer's gaping snaggle-toothed smile is featured.) Just as he's nearly about to give up, he finally meets the girl of his dreams - a zombie named Mildred.

Soft watercolor illustrations in a slightly muted palette of colors give what could be a genuinely scary or gross story an undeniably cute charm. The illustrations are chock-full of little details, like Mortimer's coffee cup emblazoned with the slogan, "I (brain) Brains" or his computer mouse that is actually a mouse. Mortimer's zombie dog manages to make a dangling eyeball and exposed ribcage seem adorable. Best of all, are Mortimer's constant companions, and first-rate wingmen, a family of busy worms that follow him wherever he goes. I also enjoyed the "brain cake" the Mortimer dishes up on his picnic date with Mildred. I guess it's easy to draw the conclusion that if you're unlucky in love, the surest way to happiness is to lower your standards. Or maybe the moral is, there's someone for everyone.

As a librarian, I love that this story will be equally appropriate for Halloween and Valentine's Day. Yay! Two holidays for the price of one! I'll recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the macabre and funny mash-up of holidays of Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and to first and second-graders with a sense of humor.

I borrowed this book from the library.

Enclave trailer

I hadn't been planning on reading this book Enclave by Ann Aguirre... but I think this trailer may have changed my mind. It sounds like just the thing for Hunger Games and Forest of Hands and Teeth fans.

The Big Stink review

Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie: The Big Stink

by David Lubar

Starscape

August 2010

Do you love reading about about terrible odors, copious amounts of farting, projectile vomit and belching? Man, have I got the book for you. The fourth book in Lubar's series catches up with poor Nathan, who's already been a zombie for while. He's been recruited by the Bureau of Useful Misadventures (or BUM, for short) where his professor mentor frequently sends him out on "Mission Impossible" style assignments for the government with the help of his two best friends Abigail and Moogie. After a few months of being undead, unfortunately, Nathan is starting to decompose.  Dealing with his stinkerrific-ness, hiding his rotten condition from his unsuspecting parents, and dodging the school bully takes up more time than running secret missions for the government. I won't ruin the ending, but luckily a solution is found for Nathan's B.O., which allows the series to carry on as per normal in it's next and final installment. I must say, this isn't at all the kind of book that I normally gravitate to, but I read it out of professional curiosity.  Who is the audience for this book? Reluctant readers, especially boys, who enjoyed Andy Griffiths Zombie Butts from Uranus, Dan Gutman's My Weird School series or other similarly juvenile humor will enjoy this grossly funny book.


I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Zombie Felties review

Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead

by Nicola Tedman and Sarah Skeate

Andrews McMeel Publishing

2010

Just in time for Halloween, Tedman and Skeate bring us this collection of creative crafts. Never in the history of ever have zombies looked quite so gosh-darn cute! Page after page of this attractive volume feature full-color photographs of mini-zombie felt creations, including a zombie bride, zombie vampire duck, a zombie pirate and many more.

Readers will find the clearly-labeled instructions and a preface including hints and tips on basic stitches extremely helpful for getting started. Each project is rated by difficulty level: one skull for the easiest projects, and up to four skulls for challenging zombies. Japanese-inspired design with tiny bodies and wobbly oblong heads gives each feltie a very kawaii look despite the pink beads representing brains spilling out, or the red embroidery floss for oozing guts... leaving one unsure if you'd rather run screaming or snuggle these little guys.

Tiny, simple to make, and easy to completely hand-sew, making the zombie dolls from this book will be much easier if you are already a crafter with lots of scraps and notions to choose from. Still, I see no reason why an enterprising YA librarian couldn't acquire a few sheets of felt, some embroidery floss and an assortment of beads and turn the book into inspiration for a Halloween craft library program. Teens with a twisted sense of humor will love these undead felt dolls.


I borrowed this book from the library.

I'm happy to be hosting Nonfiction Monday today.  Leave a comment, and I'll add you to the Round-Up!  I'll be checking in and updating through-out the day.

Thanks again, to Anastasia Suen for organizing Nonfiction Monday.  Be sure and check out her line-up for the next few months... there may still be a few upcoming hosting spots available.  And don't forget to check out Nonfiction Monday next week, hosted at Picture Book of the Day.

Comments seem to have gone all kerfluey.  If you want to be included in the list, and haven't been able to leave a comment, drop me a line at madiganreads (at) gmail.com.

And here's the line-up!  (So far.)

• Jeff Barger is reviewing Country Road ABC by Arthur Geisert.
• Travis Jonker is reviewing The Secret Cave: Discovering Lascaux by Emily Arnold McCully.
• Anastasia Suen is reviewing John Greenwood's Journey to Bunker Hill by Marty Rhodes Figley.
• Angela Craft is reviewing The Good, The Bad and the Barbie by Tanya Lee Stone.
• Lit Lass is reviewing Straight Hair, Curly Hair by Augusta Goldin and Ed Emberly.
• Kim Hutmacher is reviewing A Day on the Mountain by Kevin Kurtz.
• Doret is reviewing FDR's Alphabet Soup by Tanya Bolden.
• Abby is reviewing DragonArt Evolution: How to Draw Everything Dragon by J. "NeonDragon" Peffer.
• And it looks like Charlotte has reviewed the exact same book!
• The Fourth Musketeer is reviewing Dave the Potter: Artist, Poet, Slave by Laban Carrick Hill and illustrated by Bryan Collier.
• Roberta is reviewing A Kid’s Guide to Latino History: More than 50 Activities by Valerie Petrillo.
• Alex is reviewing Sweethearts of Rhythm by Marilyn Nelson.
• Jennifer is reviewing Case Closed? Nine Mysteries Unlocked by Modern Science by Susan Hughes, illustrated by Michael Wandelmaier.
• Becky is reviewing They Called Themselves the KKK by Susan Bartoletti.
• Tammy Flanders is reviewing a whole collection of books that use woven materials in their illustrations.
• Shelf-Employed is reviewing All Aboard! Elijah McCoy’s Steam Engine by Monica Kulling, illustrated by Bill Slavin.
• Wendie Old points our attention to two wonderful non-fiction review blogs, Nonfiction Matters and I.N.K.: Interesting Nonfiction for Kids.
• Janet Squires is reviewing Paper Crafts for Halloween by Randel McGee.
• Last, but definitely not least, Shirley Duke is reviewing WILD Alphabet by Mike Haines and Julia Frolich.

Dead-Tossed Waves review

The Dead-Tossed Waves
by Carrie Ryan
Delacorte Books for Young Readers

2010

This sequel to The Forest of Hands and Teeth takes place a generation after the events of the first novel. Timid Gabrielle has grown up in the lighthouse at the edge of town of Vista. Her mother Mary has always been an outsider. As teens are often wont to do, Gabry's friends Cira and Catcher like to tempt fate by slipping past the town's protective wall into the edge of the woods near an old abandoned amusement park. On the one night that Gabry finally gives in to peer pressure and breaks the rules, they are attacked by zombies called Mudo. Catcher is infected, and after a harrowing escape, Cira is taken in to face trial. Sentenced to join The Recruiters, the town's protective guard, with no possibility of emigrating to the larger city up the shore, Cira loses all hope. Gabry feels wracked with guilt.

In such a grim post-apocolyptic world, you have to wonder how people manage to go on. The book addresses that, with Cira becoming determinedly suicidal. The plot thickens when it turns out that Catcher has a super-rare immunity, allowing him to walk amongst the normally murderous Mudo with ease. In the meantime, Gabry meets Elias, a mysterious young man who has been living on the edge of what is left of civilization, with a bizarre religious cult of zombie-worshippers, people who believe that allowing themselves to become infected is their ticket to immortality.

Gabry struggles with her doubts, as she wonders if the infected retain any of their humanity, or if they can be cured. She is also stunned to learn that she's adopted -- a secret that her adoptive mother Mary has kept from her.  She's torn between Catcher and Elias, who each offer completely different opportunities for her.  A terrifying return to Mary's village raises the stakes (if that were possible!) with a buffalo-stampede horde of zombies in pursuit.

Scary, grim, and fast-paced, this is a solid return to the world of The Forest of Hands and Teeth, which unearths a few more tantalizing clues on how the post-apocolyptic world order came to be shaped after the devastating zombie invasion.


I borrowed this book from the library.

You Are So Undead to Me review

You Are So Undead to Me
by Stacey Jay
Razorbill
2009

Word on the street is that zombies are the new vampires. I dunno. I just don't know. Zombies don't have nearly half the sex-appeal that vampires do. The thing is, vampires dress great, sometimes are quite wealthy from their long-term (real long term!) investment schemes, and frequently have impeccable manners (when they're not overcome with bloodlust). Zombies, on the other hand, are kind of gross. They smell bad, they lurch and stumble and they like to eat brains. What's appealing about that?

Megan Berry is born into a Zombie Settler family, meaning she has been gifted/cursed with ability to put the undead to rest. Unlike the stereotype, these "Unsettled" don't eat brains, but are merely seeking out mediums with which to share their last wishes or mortal regrets. Once they've said their peace, they quickly make their way back to their graves. This doesn't make working with them any less unappealing, however, as they usually suffer from various states of decomposition. Megan borrows a page from Buffy's book as she desperately tries to keep the growing number of undead in her small Southern town under control; she wants nothing more than to be on the cheerleading squad, and enjoy homecoming dance. She hopes that by ignoring her gift, somehow, the gross and gory zombies will just leave her alone. Five years ago, she was party to an especially vicious zombie attack, and since then, her powers have waned considerably. She'd been hoping that she'd get to go back to being a completely ordinary girl, but a new rash of zombies have squelched her plans for a run-of-the-mill existence. An old childhood friend, and fellow Settler, Ethan, is around to give Megan catch-up lessons as she desperately tries to sort out who might be behind the increased numbers of Unsettled, including much more dangerous Reanimated Corpses. Megan struggles to keep a facade of normalcy with her best friend Jess and popular jock Josh (who she considers excellent boyfriend material) as she attempts to hold on to her popularity ranking at school. In the meantime, she has to cope with bitchy Monica, a fellow Settler, and her own growing crush on totally cute, now-that-he's-all-grown-up Ethan, now working for Settler Affairs. Interspersing disgusting battle scenes and smelly zombies with high school humor and flippant off the cuff remarks from Megan, You Are So Undead to Me definitely owes a debt to Buffy of Vampire Slayer fame.

There's quite a surprise ending to this book when the true villain is revealed, which I didn't see coming and really enjoyed. There's a sequel, Undead Much? released earlier this year. Anyone looking for a funnier, less moody take on zombies than Carrie Ryan's wonderful Forest of Hands and Teeth will want to take a look at this series.




I blogged this during the 48-Hour Reading Challenge.
I received a free copy of this book.

Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2010: YA Edition

Dead Beautiful
by Yvonne Woon
Hyperion
August 2010

I love the cover. I love the title. After the death of her parents, Renee Winters is sent to a remote boarding school in Maine, where she falls for mysterious Dante. Yes, this is my kind of book. A mystery, (maybe supernatural?) and a little bit of romance. I'll have to check this one out.

The DUFF
by Kody Keplin
Poppy
September 2010

Realistic fiction about a girl who thinks she's the "Designated Ugly Fat Friend" among the beautiful and popular crowd, and the guy she'd be embarrassed to admit to her friends that she's secretly dating.

The Replacement
by Brenna Yovanoff
Razorbill
September 2010

I'm digging this uber-creepy cover. The story sounds a little complicated... but it's basically about a fairy changeling boy, who's fighting to survive.

Zombies vs. Unicorns

edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier

Simon & Schuster

September 2010

I'm not normally one for short story anthologies, but this I will have to see.  Zombies!  Versus Unicorns!  If that doesn't offer excitement, I don't know what does.  I should think it would be perfectly obvious that unicorns would win this battle... they've got lightning-fast speed, a razor sharp horn, and that delicate, yet deadly hoof-stomping thing going on.  Zombies can't do much except shamble and groan.  Maybe zombies would have a fighting chance if they were able to overpower the admittedly scarce unicorn forces with their sheer numbers, as zombies do tend to move in hordes. Plus, zombies do have that whole undead, difficult to kill, single-minded determination that's definitely in their favor.  Hmm... maybe this match-up isn't so easy to call as I thought.

Nightshade
by Andrea Cremer
Philomel
October 2010

Yes! Werewolves! Need I say more? I like the looks of this book by first time author Cremer.

Matched
by Allie Condie
Dutton
November 2010

In a dystopian future, Cassia starts to question if she wants to continue to live by the Society's rules. You had me at dystopian.

Hero

by Mike Lupica
Philomel
November 2010

I've only recently discovered Mike Lupica's sports fiction. How thoughtful of him to write something new, seemingly just to my taste, with a hint of paranormal, about a boy who discovers he's inherited superpowers.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Read-a-likes

Lately, it seems like everyone in the world has Diary of a Wimpy Kid fever. Every book in this hilariously funny series by Jeff Kinney are always checked out at my library. Rather than sending kids away empty-handed, I've been recommending these books instead. They all feature plenty of illustrations and quite a bit of humor.

Mercy Watson (series)

by Kate DiCamillo, illustrated by Chris Van Dusen

Candlewick

2005

Lots of full color pictures in this series about an irrepressible pig. The author of the award-winning Tale of Despereaux shares tales of this “porcine wonder” and Mercy’s endless quest for the better things in life, especially toast.

My Weird School (series)

by Dan Gutman, illustrated by Jim Paillot

Harper Collins

2004

A.J.’s school is very weird, no doubt about it. Each of his teachers at Ella Mentry School is more wacka-doodle than the next! Can he survive at his crazy school? There is a spin-off series, My Weird School Daze.

Prince of Underwhere

by Bruce Hale, illustrated by Shane Hillman

Harper Collins

2008

In this new fast-paced, silly and fun new series, Zeke manages to cope with school, annoying siblings, zombies and people who wear underwear on their heads.

Horrible Harry (series)

by Suzy Kline, illustrated by Frank Remkiewicz

Viking

1988

Don't forget this classic series. Good-kid Doug is constantly amazed and surprised by the unbelievable pranks his best friend “Horrible” Harry always seems to be getting away with in Miss Mackle’s second grade class.

Regarding the Fountain (series)

by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise

Avon Books

1998

What starts out as a simple project to replace a broken fountain, quickly gets out of hand in this epistolary novel composed of faxes, letters and drawings. There are more in the series, although none quite so enjoyable as the first.

Toothpaste Millionaire

by Jean Merrill

Bank Street

1972

Not a series, but this is still a terrific, stand-alone book. Rufus Mayflower’s head for business has landed him a million dollars. Learn the secrets of his financial success and find out how he decides to spend his money.

Amelia’s Notebooks (series)

by Marissa Moss

Tricycle Press

1995

Get a sneak peek into Amelia’s life by reading her handwritten diaries. Whether it’s about her friends, her school or her family, Amelia doesn’t hold back. Her notebook drawings and doodles leave plenty for readers to pore over.

Clementine (series)

by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Marla Frazee

Hyperion

2006

Creative and funny Clementine doesn’t mean to be a troublemaker! Expressive ink drawings by Marla Frazee keep the action humming right along. Similar to the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary and also appropriate for Junie B. Jones graduates.

Captain Underpants (series)

by Dav Pilkey

Blue Sky Press

1997

The one. The only. The original. Read the book that helped inspire Diary of a Wimpy Kid! Action, adventure, humor, cartoons, laughs; this series has it all. Fans of Captain Underpants will probably also enjoy all of Pilkey's books, including the Super Diaper Baby books and Ricky Ricotta's Giant Robot series.

Fred & Anthony (series)

by Elise Primavera

Hyperion

2007

Read about the hijinks of two best friends, interspersed with plenty of cartoons and humor. Scary and funny, these stories will keep you on the edge of your seat!

Time Warp Trio (series)

by Jon Scieszka & Lane Smith

Viking

1991

Joe, Sam and Fred use their magic book to travel through time, having wacky madcap adventures all the way. The author of The Stinky Cheese Man does not disappoint with this wonderful chapter book series. The books have also been released as graphic novels.

Ellie McDoodle (series)

by Ruth McNally Barshaw

Bloomsbury Children's Books

2007

Similar to the Amelia's Notebooks series, but geared for perhaps, just a bit of an older audience, this series features snarky, funny pre-teen Ellie, who in her first adventure is forced to go camping with her relatives in Michigan.

Dragonbreath (series)

by Ursula Vernon

Dial Books

2009

Danny is an underachieving dragon who can't breath fire. He and his best friend Wendell (an iguana) attempt to avoid bullies and get their research for an acceptable school paper on sea life done. With green and black illustrations, this series seems visually similar to Babymouse by Jennifer and Matthew Holm.

Forest of Hands and Teeth review

The Forest of Hands and Teeth
by Carrie Ryan
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
2009


Wow. Just, wow. This is zombie fiction, the way it should be written. The story starts out with a striking similarity to M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, but quickly morphs into something else entirely. Mary hasn’t known any other world than her small village. The secretive religious order of the Sisterhood tightly circumscribes every detail of the villager’s lives in this last outpost of humanity. The villagers are told that only their obedience to the Sisterhood and their constant vigilance will keep them from being overrun by the Unconsecrated zombie hordes, just beyond the chain link fence.

When Mary loses both of her parents, and Travis, the boy she’s crushing on, doesn’t speak for her, her fate seems sealed. She’s forced to join the Sisterhood, whose only interest seems to be in quashing her dreams of rediscovering the ocean. It’s a grim world. As Mary says, “There are no second chances for the women of my village.”

As is the case in any good horror movie, tension mounts as the action telescopes down to a smaller and smaller cast of characters. When the village finally falls, only Mary and a small rag-tag crew manage to escape. One by one, they succumb to undead, forcing the friends to lay arms against each other before all are turned.

I’m not sure what the takeaway on all of this is, except that a world lousy with zombies doesn’t have room in it for a boy with a bum knee (not even a really cute boy.) And aside from being hunky (and bravely sacrificing himself towards the end) Travis isn’t really good for much. He’s pretty wishy-washy! He’s attracted to her friend, Cass, yet seems content to snuggle up with Mary when they end up isolated together. She could do a lot better. Mary is the one with the determination and the initiative to keep on struggling, no matter what.

There are a lot of unanswered questions by the end of the story… not quite in the same vein as Lois Lowry's The Giver, but enough for Ryan to mine for several more sequels at least. The sequel, The Dead-Tossed Waves is being released in Spring of 2010. I can hardly wait.