Recent Reads Review: Zom-B by Darren Shan

Zom-B (Zom-B #1) by Darren Shan
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Available: Now!

 

Format: Hardback
Source: Bought, My Library

My Rating:

Background: Zombies have attacked a small town in Ireland and around the world populations are trying to determine if the outbreak is real or just a hoax of some to promote a new movie. Zom-B follows young protagonist B, through the time of the first outbreak to later attacks on London.

Review: Zom-B is an interesting book, while geared for horror and zombie lovers, it is also considered Young Adult.  The only issues I have with this classification are the complex topics that the book brings to light. So now you are wondering about those issues right?  Zom-B is wracked full of awkward racism, bullying, abusive parents, and then there are the zombies to boot. I know that a lot of contemporary YA deals with these issues but Shan uses them in almost a nonchalant fashion. B is racist, because B’s dad is racist…that is just how it is. I am not even sure if I liked or disliked the protagonist, one chapter was fine the next I wanted to pummel the character. I do admit it was thought-provoking the whole time.

The plot was a bit of a disappointment. After the first chapter I thought I was going to enjoy bloody, violent, zombies eating brains descriptions and mass terror – like your normal zombie apocalypse story – but no, I got to follow around a character that sometimes is/ sometimes isn’t racist and kind of a jerk. Let me just say that, if you are looking for zombies, skip to after the half way mark. 

I did have some redeeming qualities, there is a major twist in the last few chapters, you learn some interesting things about B (my husband read this book first and so I knew the twist  and I think it made me read the whole book more closely than he did—just sayin’).  It was also short and had awesome pictures. 

Review first published at The Nerd Cave