An excellent offbeat start to a gory new series.
Connecticut suburbanites try to survive against an undead horde in this hilarious YA debut.
Thirteen-year-old Luke can’t stand showering, gym class or his older brother, Cody. He’s also short for his age, making him the prime target for a bully named Brian. But, except when it comes to homework, Luke is no delinquent—his mom, raising two boys alone, is a police officer. One day, while she’s on duty, there are news reports that people in nearby Hartford have gone crazy. Could it be from sniffing hallucinogenic bath salts, like Luke heard about in health class? Possibly, which keeps Mom at work for another shift. Later that night, zombies break into their home, and Luke and Cody escape to Mr. Crawford’s house. Their neighbor, a veteran of the first Iraq war, shoots at the flesh eaters, but when this tactic fails to hold back the horde, the brothers head through their besieged neighborhood and end up meeting Luke’s best friend, Travis, and his sister Michelle. From here, the foursome travel toward the center of town, meeting plenty of unlikely allies (and enemies) while trying to reunite with Mom. Authors Grasis and Duffy bring irresistible personality to the undying zombie genre. Luke’s daffy, self-deprecating narration is consistently amusing: “Even from this distance I could tell the [zombies] had a variety of bite marks, ripped skin, and blood all over them. That can’t be sanitary.” Early set pieces are equally flavorful, including a run-in with zombie cows and even a brawl against the undead elderly (dentures play a part). But Grasis and Duffy don’t revel too long in cartoonish mayhem; their survival tale eventually grows serious, and dramatic implications are explored: “I could see that underneath she was somebody’s grandmother. I was killing people—humans!” As readers see the boyish hero grow into a young man, the adventure’s second half more closely follows tales like The Walking Dead, in which a ragtag group slowly expands.
An excellent offbeat start to a gory new series.Pub Date: Sept. 18, 2013
ISBN: 978-1484886366
Page Count: 168
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: Nov. 29, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind.
In this companion novel to 2013’s If He Had Been With Me, three characters tell their sides of the story.
Finn’s narrative starts three days before his death. He explores the progress of his unrequited love for best friend Autumn up until the day he finally expresses his feelings. Finn’s story ends with his tragic death, which leaves his close friends devastated, unmoored, and uncertain how to go on. Jack’s section follows, offering a heartbreaking look at what it’s like to live with grief. Jack works to overcome the anger he feels toward Sylvie, the girlfriend Finn was breaking up with when he died, and Autumn, the girl he was preparing to build his life around (but whom Jack believed wasn’t good enough for Finn). But when Jack sees how Autumn’s grief matches his own, it changes their understanding of one another. Autumn’s chapters trace her life without Finn as readers follow her struggles with mental health and balancing love and loss. Those who have read the earlier book will better connect with and feel for these characters, particularly since they’ll have a more well-rounded impression of Finn. The pain and anger is well written, and the novel highlights the most troublesome aspects of young adulthood: overconfidence sprinkled with heavy insecurities, fear-fueled decisions, bad communication, and brash judgments. Characters are cued white.
A heavy read about the harsh realities of tragedy and their effects on those left behind. (author’s note, content warning) (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781728276229
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
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