MADreads

Zombies are the new vampires

August 6th, 2009 Kylee

Now that vampires are everywhere, there’s a new trendy undead: zombies.  They may not be as romantic as vampires, with their sometimes sparkly skin, glamorous fangs, and insatiable thirst for blood, but there’s a lot to be said for the plain old corpse about town.  My first encounter with the zombie trend was in Carrie Ryan’s deliciously creepy The Forest of Hands and Teeth.  Mary is an orphan, which leaves her only two options in her strict, old-fashioned society: marry and have children, or join the mysterious Sisterhood that watches over the town.  When a mysterious outsider breaches the borders that keep the town safe from the Unconsecrated, the vicious, flesh-eating undead that surround them, Mary must fight to keep her loved ones alive.  The Forest of Hands and Teeth is fast-paced and filled with action and drama, but there are a few holes in the plot, and the writing didn’t knock my socks off.

Zombie Blondes by Brian James is more my style.  15 year old Hannah is used to being the new girl in school, since she and her father are constantly moving, due his problems with creditors and keeping a job.  Hannah usually has no problem spotting the popular group in school, and in Maplegrove, it’s pretty obvious: Maggie and her clan of blonde cheerleaders rule the school.  When Hannah is invited to join the group, she learns that the cheerleaders’ seeming perfection is anything but natural.

I liked Zombie Blondes, but Generation Dead by Daniel Waters is by far my favorite of these three.  Phoebe is a goth outsider with a keen interest in a new phenomenon: teenagers across America are dying and coming back to life.  Scientists are baffled as to why some teens come back and some don’t; they’ve considered mold spores in the brain, or the consumption of too many fast food preservatives.  Regardless of the cause of the undead, they are a fact of life.  Phoebe joins a group of students crusading for rights for the “differently biotic” and even meets a special someone with very cold hands.  I can’t wait to read the sequel, Kiss of Life.

Teens aren’t the only ones benefiting from the zombie trend.  For an adult perspective on the undead, give Breathers: a Zombie’s Lament by S.G. Browne a shot.  This darkly funny novel is narrated by a young man who wakes from the dead and finds himself stuck “living” in his parents’ basement, trying to control his hunger for flesh.  And of course, you may have heard of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which gives even Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy a chance to get in on the zombie action.

Entry Filed under: Recreational Fiction, Young Adult