Tori's Review: Donna of the Dead by Alison Kemper

Donna of the Dead by Alison Kemper
Series: None
Genre: Young Adult, Zombies, Romance
Rating: ♚♚½
Pages: 250
Published by Entangled Teen on March 4, 2014
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Donna Pierce might hear voices, but that doesn’t mean she’s crazy. Probably.

The voices do serve their purpose, though—whenever Donna hears them, she knows she’s in danger. So when they start yelling at the top of their proverbial lungs, it’s no surprise she and her best friend, Deke, end up narrowly escaping a zombie horde. Alone without their families, they take refuge at their high school with the super-helpful nerds, the bossy class president, and—best of all?—Liam, hottie extraordinaire and Donna’s long-time crush. When Liam is around, it’s easy to forget about the moaning zombies, her dad’s plight to reach them, and how weird Deke is suddenly acting toward her.

But as the teens’ numbers dwindle and their escape plans fall apart, Donna has to listen to the secrets those voices in her head have been hiding. It seems not all the zombies are shuffling idiots, and the half-undead aren’t really down with kids like Donna…

NOTE: I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

On one hand, this book was light and funny and easy to read. On the other hand, it wasn't what I expected from young adult, and it definitely wasn't what I expected from a zombie book. There were good aspects in Donna of the Dead—the humor that Deke brings to the table—and there were not-so-good aspects in Donna of the Dead—the writing.

Let me start off by saying that the writing wasn't bad; it was just young, to say the least. While reading Donna of the Dead, I felt like I was reading a first draft. Not because of mistakes, but because of Donna's lack of character arc and a few other things. I'm just going to leave it with, "The writing wasn't my favorite."

Donna was my next least favorite. She wasn't irritable, but she definitely wasn't a protagonist that I enjoyed. She was too much like myself. Saying humorous jokes in the midst of awkward situations. Being completely wrapped up in a guy where it's almost unhealthy. Donna's personality and how it was similar to my own was what made me not like her. I don't want to read about myself. And she didn't develop until about 80%, and it was pretty sudden.

The one character that I did love, though, was Deke, Donna's hilarious and hot best friend. He always knew the right thing to say, and I loved his relationship with Donna, because he always challenged her to do her best. The two of them just worked, in my opinion. The one thing I didn't like about Deke was how long it took him to admit his feelings for Donna. Like, dude, it's not that difficult. Just say you like her.

The thing about the supporting characters is that they're extremely forgettable. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I want to be able to remember a character months after reading the book and describe what I liked about them. I can't do that for the supporting characters in Donna of the Dead. I can barely remember their names.

The zombie science in this book was interesting and unique, which I enjoyed yet thought was weird all at the same time. For some reason, I really just don't want the zombie myth to be tampered with. Vampires? Okay. Werewolves? I don't care. But zombies? No, thank you. Although the way everything came together at the end was great, and I liked that a lot. The world building was a bit lacking in terms of Donna's voices, but in the end things are sort of explained, which I can deal with.

In conclusion, the part I liked the most in Donna of the Dead would be Deke. He's my favorite. And the ending was hilarious, too. I thought Kemper really knew how to end her book well. I would probably recommend this book for readers who don't read a lot of zombie books and for readers that enjoy funny apocalypse books.

Married With Zombies by Jesse Petersen

Series: Living with the Dead #1
Pages: 244
Release Date: September 1, 2010
Publisher: Orbit
Rating: ★★★

A heartwarming tale of terror in the middle of the zombie apocalypse.

Meet Sarah and David.

Once upon a time they met and fell in love. But now they're on the verge of divorce and going to couples' counseling. On a routine trip to their counselor, they notice a few odd things - the lack of cars on the highway, the missing security guard, and the fact that their counselor, Dr. Kelly, is ripping out her previous client's throat.

Meet the Zombies.

Now, Sarah and David are fighting for survival in the middle of the zombie apocalypse. But, just because there are zombies, doesn't mean your other problems go away. If the zombies don't eat their brains, they might just kill each other.

 

There are only three things that Married With Zombies has got going for it--humor, zombies, and David. Other than that the characters were pretty generic and the ending wasn't as great as it could've been. Everything leading up to the end was great, until the actual end. This book probably could've managed to get a four star rating out of me if it hadn't been for that ending. 

Married With Zombies was just action-packed and fun-filled. There was constant action, and zombies were popping up everywhere, and the time it took for the infection to spread was fairly reasonable. The other thing I absolutely adored about this book was its humor. Seriously. I would read an autobiography by this author (if she's as funny in real life as she is in this book) because there were just so many modern-day references, and I loved it. Usually I don't like references to modern stuff, but in this case it just made it all the more hilarious. The last thing that I absolutely loved was David. I loved his laid back attitude. He just wanted to go through life and make it the best he possibly could. His too-cool-for-you attitude added a splash of fun into the novel.

Now for the things I didn't like. Wow, this is going to be quite the list. Good thing the good things outshines the bad a lot otherwise this review would be a one star review. 

Firstly, I didn't like Sarah. At all. She was so annoying. She was a neurotic neat freak (until the zombie brains were splattered onto her white blouse for the third time) that constantly nagged David and was always on his case. Honestly, I didn't blame her one bit for wanting to divorce her. She was just too uptight. I also didn't like Sarah's relationship with David. At first, I understood why she wouldn't like David's sister. I didn't blame her for not liking David's sister. And once we met David's sister, I understood her feelings even more. But at the end, when all hell broke loose, I completely lost sight of my understanding of their (nonexistent) relationship. I have to side with David on this one and say that Sarah didn't seem to try too hard to be nice with his sister. 

Also, the way the beginning started off was great, but once it got into chapter two, I was like yeah, no. I have this problem with every zombie book that starts off with no zombies and then--BOOM--in chapter two there are three billion zombies. Literally. How in the world can Sarah and David (no forgetting Amanda and the Asian girl who saves their ass and then tries to spring a knife on Sarah) just jump into the zombie routine so quickly without fault? No offense, but it just seems like Sarah would end of dead. She's a neat freak and needs to keep things in order. In a zombie apocalypse, there is no order. Honestly, it just seems like she's sort of weak in the beginning, but then all of a sudden zombies start popping up and she becomes this hardass. David is more of the survivor type, you know? This wasn't a huge issue since this is basically in every book (and I can't exactly be mad at this and call it wrong, because I don't know what would happen in a real zombie apocalypse since we're all, in fact, human) but still. Sarah sure does learn how to use a gun pretty quick in one night, doesn't she? 

Most of my problems are with Sarah, you'll learn quickly. 

This wasn't really a huge issue for me either since this was a short read for me and I wasn't too serious about it, but the 2D characters. Seriously. The only two names I remembered were David and Amanda. I didn't even remember the protagonist's name. That's sad. Here's a summary of why I thought these characters were very 2D and cliched. 

Sarah - Had no soul
Amanda - Dumb as a brick then all of a sudden becomes as smart as ever. Like what.
Asian Girl Who's Name Escapes Me - Typical Asian girl that is all independent and shit. Like fuck no. If I was offered to go on a little road trip with adults and get away from my dead parent's and boyfriend's bodies, I'd say hell yes and wouldn't let them retract their offer. 
Conrad Or Whatever The Hell His Name Was - He was cool until the very end. 
David's Sister Or Whatever Her Name Was - Just didn't like her. Because seriously. Wow. She's the typical older sibling that had their life all figured out with the younger sibling that was a mess. Sorry. I just wasn't feeling it. And then the very last part before the very, very last part. Yeah, no. Again, not feeling it. 

Lastly, the ending. Like fuck no, okay. Just fuck no. Petersen just totally ruined her whole book with the ending. I don't know how to explain my anger at the ending with you guys without completely spoiling this book for you. I mean, it's not really a large spoiler, but you know. Let's just leave it with do not expect great things with the ending because nothing is great about it whatsoever. 

Nevertheless, I'm still going to read the second book, haha. Petersen's writing is hilarious, and I do want to see what the zombie apocalypse brings David. (I also hope that Sarah dies in the second book. That would be cool. Sorry, Petersen. I just didn't like her. But don't feel offended. Rarely do I ever like main female characters. I'm a h8r.)

Lindsay's Waiting On Wednesday: Through The Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter

Through The Zombie Glass by Gena Showalter
Series: White Rabbit Chronicals #2
Genre: Zombies, Young Adult, Paranormal
Pages: 480
Published by Harlequin Teen on September 24th

Inspired by the childhood classic Alice in Wonderland, this harrowing and romantic story features teen zombie slayer Alice Bell who has lost so much—family, friends, her home. After a strange new zombie attack, Alice fears she may be losing her mind as well. A terrible darkness blooms inside her, urging her to do wicked things. The whispers of the dead assault her ears and mirrors seem to come frighteningly to life. She’s never needed her team of zombie slayers more—including her boyfriend, Cole—than she does now. But as Cole strangely withdraws and the zombies gain new strength, Ali knows one false step may doom them all.

Tori's Review: World War Z by Max Brooks

World War Z by Max Brooks

Series: None
Genre: Horror, Zombies, Science Fiction
Rating: ★
Pages: 342Published by Crown in September 12, 2006
Date Finished: August 7, 2013
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The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.
Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War.

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, “By excluding the human factor, aren’t we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn’t the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as ‘the living dead’?”
Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission.

Lindsay's Review: Never Slow Dance With A Zombie

Never Slow Dance With a Zombie by E. Van Lowe

Series: None
Genre: Zombies, Young Adult, Fantasy
Rating: ★★½
Pages: 256Published by Tor Teens on August 18th, 2009
Date Finished: July 22, 2013
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Principal Taft's 3 Simple Rules for Surviving a Zombie Uprising:
Rule #1: While in the halls, walk slowly and wear a vacant expression on your face. Zombies won't attack other zombies.
Rule #2:  Never travel alone.  Move in packs.  Follow the crowd.  Zombies detest blatant displays of individuality.
Rule #3:  If a zombie should attack, do not run. Instead, throw raw steak at to him.  Zombies love raw meat. This display of kindness will go a long way.
On the night of her middle school graduation, Margot Jean Johnson wrote a high school manifesto detailing her goals for what she was sure would be a most excellent high school career. She and her best friend, Sybil, would be popular and, most important, have boyfriends. Three years later, they haven't accomplished a thing!
Then Margot and Sybil arrive at school one day to find that most of the student body has been turned into flesh-eating zombies. When kooky Principal Taft asks the girls to coexist with the zombies until the end of the semester, they realize that this is the perfect opportunity to live out their high school dreams. All they have to do is stay alive....