THROUGH THE ZOMBIE GLASS

In this follow-up to Alice in Zombieland (2012), Ali Bell and her friends, fellow hunters of invisible spirit zombies, confront internal threats and endless relationship drama.

Just when Ali’s getting into a comfortable rhythm with her new zombie-fighting life, everything falls apart. Romantically, things are great with her boyfriend, Cole, right up until two out-of-state zombie slayers arrive. One is Cole’s gorgeous ex, and the other, a handsome “he-slut,” shares visions with Ali when he meets her eyes—just like the visions that kick-started Ali and Cole’s romance. Before Ali can figure things out, Cole has already dumped her, leading to pages of misery for everyone involved. Meanwhile, Ali is bitten during a zombie hunt and has a strange reaction, even after being given the antidote. In the mirror, she sees a sinister zombie version of herself that wants to take over, forcing Ali to struggle against her zombie counterpart’s hungers. Additional storylines feature relationship struggles for Ali’s best friends and a spy among the slayers feeding information back to the evil corporation that wishes to use zombies. The slow-paced story is plagued by tension-stealing tropes—the paranormal-romance-sequel formula in which the hero abruptly dumps the heroine and the zombie-movie cliché in which a victim conceals an infection. However, Ali’s female friendships are endearing.

The unbalanced plot stretches too far, over too long.