What Would You Sacrifice?

Life in London hasn't been easy, but with strongholds going up to protect the kids who survived, everyone stops thinking about not getting eaten on a daily basis and starts thinking about how to put their lives back together. In the fourth book of Charlie Higson's Enemy series, The Sacrifice, the kids of London have to remember, danger is all around them. 

Little Sam survived being kept by an adult for a future snack, but now all he can think about is finding his sister. It is so hard to get from one place to another that friends and family members are scattered in strongholds all over the city. Jordan won't let him leave, but Sam is determined to get to his sister. Even Ed, the nicest guy around, thinks the idea of traipsing across the badlands to find a girl who might already be dead is a bad idea. When the group saves a strange girl named Tish from a horde of sickos, Sam and The Kid get the opportunity they were looking for: a girl with the gumption and determination to leave the Tower of London and help Sam and The Kid find Sam's sister, Ella. 

Meanwhile, Shadowman has been doing some traveling of his own. He has been following the nasty father, Saint George, and George's crew. He is the only on who knows the scary new potential of the mothers and fathers. No longer the stupid, shambling, mindless eaters, they have started to hunt and plot against the surviving kids. Something even more dangerous is happening- they are also beginning to congregate and Saint George's group is getting larger and larger. Soon, they will have the numbers and power to overthrow even the most secure stronghold in London. The problem? The kids Shadowman comes into contact with don't believe the adults are changing... until it is too late. 

My pet peeves with this series continue to be frustrating, but at least one has been mitigated. I still struggle to pick up one of these books and get right into it because there isn't a good recap in the beginning. I find myself looking up a plot summary for the previous book and reading reviews to remind myself what happened in the book I read more than a year ago. Not ideal. I really wish Higson did a better job of taking a moment to catch you up before jumping right into the insanity, just so I knew what was bloody happening! However, it seems the last two books have gone in chronological order, which I appreciate. At first, the books bounced around, but lately, one follows the next, which makes it far easier for the reader to understand exactly when and where things are happening. 

As a story, this series just never lets up. Even though it is a long series, every book is packed with mystery and excitement (or terror). I find myself sucked right in and reluctant to let go. The idea of the adults learning to reason again and plot against the kids is a thought so creepy it gave me actual nightmares! I think this series continues to be a strong plot, writing, and entertainment form the first book to the last, and I think that is a testament to Higson's writing. It just doesn't get old with this series! I think my favorite part of this story is Sam and The Kid, as they are so sweet and innocent yet left to fend for themselves in this ugly world where the flesh-eating adults are the least of your worries. Still, the Shadowman story line is fascinating as well. I can't imagine having all this important knowledge and no one listening to you. He warns kids over and over again not to underestimate Saint George and his crew, but they just won't listen to him, and his guilt over watching the result is palpable. 

This series can certainly be gruesome at times, but if you have a kid who watches "The Walking Dead," or any other zombie stories, they should be fine with this series. The interesting part is the complete lack of sexy times so far. I find more parents and teachers find the sexy times to be more objectionable than the violence, so this story would make a great, captivating story that is relatively unobjectionable for readers craving more mature material. Even though the book is long, it reads really fast, which makes it perfect for a struggling reader who wants mature material. Higson sure knows his stuff!

It All Happens in the End

Everyone knows the zombie craze has hit big time, and with the success of The Walking Dead, it isn't going anywhere. So how do you make a story with maniacal, people eating creatures new and fresh? If you are Demitria Lunetta, you make them greenish-yellow with creepy fangs... but their origins aren't so different. In the End is the conclusion of Amy's tale in a world where arrogance and experimentation led to a completely new species of people, who are contagious and who want to eat you. 

Amy and Baby survived together in silence, avoiding the Florae wherever possible. They thought New Hope, and the realization that Amy's mother was still alive, would allow them to live in peace finally, but it was clear the crazy scientists in the compound had different ideas. Amy escaped, but she left Baby behind in what she thought was relative safety. Unfortunately, when Kay, a guardian who helped save Amy, contacts her, Kay tells Amy that Baby is now being bled dry for Dr. Reynolds' experiments. Amy can't save her alone, so Kay sends Amy to Fort Black where her brother Ken is working on a cure. She thinks Ken can request to work directly with Baby and get her out of New Hope, but from the moment Amy enters Fort Black, it is clear nothing is going to go as planned. 

Fort Black is basically a lawless prison that is only preferable over becoming Florae food. The guards who are protected by the Warden are fed well and everyone else must use whatever methods possible to feed themselves. Luckily, Amy stumbles across Jacks, the Warden's nephew who, while protected and living a life of leisure thanks to the Warden's influence, is still a pretty good guy. Amy explains why she is looking for Ken, and Jacks agrees to help her, but to protect her, he must also "claim" her. Unclaimed ladies are unprotected ladies, so, despite Amy's protests at being thought of as property, she allows the rumor to spread that she is now Jacks' girl. The problem, though, is no one has ever heard of or seen Ken. Just when Amy starts to think she will never find him or save Baby, she realizes the truth depths of the darkness in Fort Black. And it's ugly. 

The only think I can complain about with this book is that I am pretty sure this is it for the series. I thought there was going to be a trilogy, but the sequel ended with quite a bit of finality. I am sad to see it go, because this was a really great series! The story is fast-paced and exciting, every character is dynamic and interesting, and there really were no complaints I had about anything! Even the new and supporting characters like Brenna and Jacks were fabulous! I hope someone can convince Lunetta to do a book that comes later, because I don't want to be done with Amy and the group!

The story behind the Florae is just downright disturbing. Almost all of it came out in the end of the first book, but you get a really full back story with this sequel. In addition, the series of experiments to find a cure is downright unethical, but in a post-apocalyptic world, where people will eat you, is there room for ethics? I found myself asking that a lot throughout this book. I am currently reading Watchmen with my juniors, and we talk a lot about the ethicality of sacrificing a few to save the money. Still, it is hard to imagine how anyone could dehumanize their subjects enough to inject a child with the Florae virus! I found the moral questions in this story were just as strong as the entertainment factor of this crazy story. And somehow, Lunetta figured out a way to make new, scarier versions of zombies! Holy Florae, Batman!

Floating and Desperate

It has been a long time since the fabulous Forest of Hands and Teeth series ended, but that doesn't mean we don't miss it. While we spent a lot of time in the world after the zombie plague ravaged civilization, what happened to the people who survived those first few weeks? Carrie Ryan gives us a snapshot of two such guys. 

Together, alone, floating on the ocean. He wished Nancy, his crush, had made it onto the boat, but all he got was Jeremy. They know they should try for land, but they can't bring themselves to leave the cruise ship they abandoned. That cruise ship holds their friends, no matter what state they might be in. To make things even worse, Jeremy is hiding a bite. 

This was a super short little story- maybe 20 pages or so, but it was fun. I really liked this story, and haven't seen much from Carrie Ryan since its conclusion. I wish she would come back and add more companion novels set in that world. She had such a knack for a really beautiful zombie stories, if there is such a thing! 

Hell Froze Over and its Ugly!

Melissa de la Cruz is no newcomer to the world of the magical and supernatural. In her new series with her husband, Michael Johnston, however, she brings a whole new level to the Heart of Dread series with the first book Frozen. In this new series, you will see every manner of supernatural or post-apocalyptic element. It could have been like a literary version of a clown car, but instead, de la Cruz and Johnston knocked it out of the park. 

Nat escaped. She got away, but now she must hide in plain sight. As a dealer in New Vegas, it is easy to blend right into the woodwork while still standing in a busy casino day after day. In a world covered with ice, everything will do almost anything for heat credits to stay alive. But Nat has more to hide. She wears lenses to cover her eyes and never reveals her Mark because people aren't comfortable around the Marked and their powers. But when a guy comes to her table and clearly tries to run a con, she takes advantage of the situation and snags the life-changing heat credits off the table he was trying to scam. Now she has the opportunity to use the map she "acquired" not long ago. This map could lead her to the Blue, a place untouched by the pollution and chemicals that surround them all in this disgusting, frozen world. Now all she needs is someone to get her there. 

Wes had his chance. He almost had those credits, but the dealer had him captivated and he lost his chance. When he looked back, the credits were gone. Now he had to go back to his hungry crew empty handed and face the angry kids he was responsible for. He is getting desperate, but when a big job comes through to take some girl into the poisoned, polluted ocean, he agrees to take the job. Now he just has to get his boat back. What he doesn't expect is to see the dealer in front of him ready for her ride. There is something mysterious about this girl, something dangerous, but he doesn't scare easily, and he doesn't have much of a choice. His crew needs to eat. So they all head off into the ocean full of Trashbergs and dead of any life filled with water that will kill you on a mission that seems impossible. In a world full of magical folks, however, nothing is impossible. 

This book easily could have been "too much," easily, but somehow, by the end, the myriad of different elements seemed to work quite well.  In the beginning I struggled a little to make sense of Cruz and Johnston's world, but once I understood where all the different pieces fit together, it was quite an enjoyable story. For instance, this is a world that suffered environmental catastrophe, is covered with polluted ice, has no means to support itself through agriculture, and survives off synthetic food. That is enough for one whole book on its own. Then you add the magical folk who came out of the ice as it took hold of the world. First people were suspicious of the Sylph or the Smallmen, but then they realized the benefits of using these magical people. Quickly, however, paranoia grabbed hold and they began to imprison or do away with anyone magical, including the Marked, people born with a Mark and a gift. Then you add this magical place that has somehow avoided the environmental disaster that took down the rest of the world. And there is more, but I don't want to give it all away. Clown car? Yeah. Clown car that eventually worked? Yep!

I did struggle with this book at first, because it is so hard to figure out where all the wildly different pieces fit together. After I got about  100 pages into the book, it started to all pull together and then I got hooked. I have to admit I read the Blue Bloods series and loved it at first, but by the end I wanted to scream "enough already!" and that was directly tied to the path de la Cruz took that led her so far away from the original premise of the book. She does tend to overcomplicate her plots and then they lose their way quickly (can't have a story about witches- gotta through some Norse Mythology in there!). It has always been her downfall for me. Perhaps this series will be more successful because the 1001 elements are already out there and won't muddy the story later on, but I fear she is going to think, "Book 2? We need something new... how about evil, murderous pagan gods! Book 3? Where do we go with this one... I've got it! Animals who can walk and talk. Book 4? The Knights Templar!" and before you know it, you've got one big ole hot mess like the Blue Bloods. So, my biggest hope for this series is she knows how to edit properly and doesn't get carried away with trying to make it "exciting" by stuffing in entire kitchen pantry. This is a decent adventure series for both young adults and high-skilled middle readers. If they can figure out the complex beginning, they will really enjoy the adventure at the end. But remember, Melissa and Michael! Less is More!

More Left Behind than Just Fire and Ash

Benny, Nix, Chong, Lilah, and Riot have been in our lives for three years now. They have loved, lost and survived. But most of all, they have grown into strong, fabulous individuals who aren't ready to lose their world to the zombies or the evil people who still live and breath but bring just as much death as the zombies. In Jonathan Maberry's conclusion, Fire and Ash, we see a bunch of kids who are no longer children. They have accepted the responsibility of their world and are not about to give up like so many of the world's adults have. 

When they found the plane, Benny and the others thought they had found all the answers to saving the world. They were wrong. They almost died. They were saved by Joe Ledger. Brought to Sanctuary where the monks believe the zoms are the meek who shall inherit the earth and the scientists who don't leave their bunker, the group hoped a cure would be on its way, but things are more complicated than that. The material collected from the plane is incomplete, and without the final documents, it is impossible to see where the original doctors were going with their experiments. But there are bigger problems afoot than the lack of a cure. The zoms are changing. They have evolved. Something has happened and now there are zoms who are really fast, really strong, and scariest of all, those who can think, reason, plan, and even use tools to get what they want: fresh meat. 

While the people at Sanctuary are hoping for a cure, Saint John and the reapers are hoping to play out their final leg of armageddon. They want to kill every living person on earth and final rejoice in the death of all. Saint John doesn't have to rely on faithful followers joining his ranks. When faced with slow, painful death or joining the reapers, the choice usually isn't that difficult to make. Now with tens of thousands of reapers and at least twice as many zoms controlled by the reapers, they are marching from civilization to civilization to exact their final plan. What Saint John and his followers didn't expect, however, were a group of kids who might be underestimated frequently, but are never underestimated twice. 

Loving a series is a special experience. You grow to count on the next book being released for another connection to the characters you love. You wait with baited breath to find out the conclusion to the world you have loved for so long. And when that conclusion comes, it is terribly bittersweet. You know it is the end, but you are so happy to see how it ends. This was my relationship with Maberry's Rot and Ruin series. I absolutely loved this series, and for me, this was the most perfect conclusion. I find myself stunned by the conclusion and yet so happy with it that I feel the need to thank Maberry for bringing such an amazing ending into such a hopeless world. As with the rest of the series, you will have some heartache and people you love will be sacrificed to the Ruin, but overall, you know that this is the way it has to be. We grieved with the loss of Tom Imura, but we also knew the rest would carry on his legacy. In Fire and Ash, we experienced triumph and loss simultaneously. 

The transformation of the characters from start to finish of the series is one of the more dramatic and more realistic of the YA series out there. What was most interesting to me was how over the execution of the series, the zombies essentially became the backdrop to an incredibly rich, well-developed character driven story with deeper rooted evils than just the walking dead. This is the work of a master who knows there is more to the story than just the obvious. I have had great success in giving this series to students who are reluctant readers because there is more to it than just mindless chomp and chew. So, in all, I couldn't think of a better execution of Benny's story. I am incredibly sad to see this series go, (and I am not afraid to beg to see it continue!) but I loved the way Maberry ended the world I grew to love. And if you are an overall Maberry friend, you will be very excited to see an old friend, Mr. Joe Ledger!

Can You Outrun the Fear?

The kids of London have survived a lot since the sickness changed all the mothers and fathers into sickos, but they have no idea about the other horrors waiting for them outside their strongholds. In Charlie Higson's third book in the Enemy series, The Fear, the kids are about to learn just how ugly things can get.

DogNut is determined to find Brooke. He isn't the only one who has lost friends or family in the fray of battle. A number of other kids are willing to leave the safety of the Tower to hike across the city and find those they lost. But traveling in London isn't as easy as it used to be. In addition to the dumb, mindless, shambling sickos, there are new kinds who have grown stronger thanks to all the kids they ate, who are growing accustomed to the sun, and who are smarter than anyone could have anticipated. DogNut and the others manage to make their way up the river, but when they get to Buckingham Palace, they find that not all groups of surviving kids are welcoming visitors out of the kindness of their hearts. Some have bigger aspirations.

For David, the ruler of the Palace, ruling all of London is all he can think about. With plenty of other kids to do his dirty work, he has plenty of time to plot against those who spurned him and those who refused to join his group.  The girl DogNut is searching for, Brooke, was the one who started it all by taking the truck full of supplies she promised him for his protection and driving off to the Natural History museum to start her own group. While David doesn't want DogNut and the others to know about the group at the museum, DogNut didn't make it this far by being stupid. In fact, he was built for this world, not for holing up in some fortress pretending the world wasn't being devoured by sickos. Unwilling to remain a virtual prisoner, DogNut and his group manages to escape the Palace and David, but what they find outside might be worse than what was hidden inside. 

Higson really has a great series going here. My only qualm about it all is that the stories aren't released in chronological order. They jump all around and each book seems to start earlier than the last, but end up later. It can be really confusing, especially when you are reading about something you know already happened, but can't quite fit the puzzle piece into the whole equation. I struggled with this a bit, but I have just allowed myself to sink into each book and enjoy it. It's a shame about the order of the books, because otherwise, this is a near perfect series. It has excitement, twists, action, and some terribly tough, butt-kicking kids! 

Even though the sickos aren't true zombies, they still love to eat little kiddies. In fact, they are learning to think and plot and hunt, which, in my opinion, makes then all the more scary. Obviously, this makes the book pretty violent at times, but all the different kids' stories come together to make a true masterpiece. While DogNut was the focus, Courtney, Brooke, Shadowman, Jester, etc. are all fabulous characters, for better or for worse, and you want to hear more and more about them. As a chapter jumps to a new character, you find yourself wanting more from the one you just finished and still dying to dive into the next story. If you can get a student into this series, you will watch them plow through every book, they are really just that good!

A Chronicle of Post-Contaminated Life

In a world obsessed with appearance and weight, it isn't a stretch to imagine a diet drink that really worked would become an instant phenomenon. In Em Garner's Contaminated, we see the unexpected outcomes of this obsession, and it ain't pretty!

Velvet bears the burden of her parents' relationship with ThinPro, the diet water everyone was obsessed with. When people around the country started going crazy, destroying and murdering at will, uncontrollable rage, an inability to feel or understand pain, everyone immediately thought the zombie apocalypse had begun. Kill at will was the standard reaction as the Contaminated began to attack. What they didn't realize until later was that the Contaminated, or Connies, weren't zombies. They were victims of something like Mad Cow disease after ThinPro illegally and unethically changed the source of its protein to animal discards from butchers and factories. They couldn't keep up with the demand for their product and it is better to mislead the public than lose money, right?! Well, that decision was catastrophic as those who drank the liquid became Connies and ravaged the country. Even the President wasn't spared.

Now Velvet takes care of her little sister, Opal, and works to support them, and scours the Connie Kennels each week in search of her mother. Her mother turned later than her father, so Velvet hopes she was spared the fate he most likely succumbed to- a bullet to the head. Once they figured out the source of the Contamination, labs were able to devise collars that would keep the Connies calm and able to be taken home to their families. Unfortunately, most families weren't interested in a rabid family member, so they left them to be shipped back to the labs from where they never returned. But Velvet wasn't going to let that happen to her mother, and when she finally located her, she was determined to bring her home. Unfortunately, the world wasn't ready for the Connies to be back amongst them. Velvet encounters more problems than she expected, not only with taking care of her mother, but also from the people around her. Velvet isn't someone to give in easily, though, and even though two years ago she couldn't picture herself doing the things she must do now, Velvet will do anything to keep the remainder of her family together. Anything.

The cover of this book looks pretty fierce, right? I'll bet you expect some serious "zombie" blood and gore scenes thanks to that cover. And the author praise on the jacket? "Relentlessly horrifying... a bone-chilling, riveting debut," says Ann Aguirre (who knows horrifying, and did it beautifully in the Enclave series). "Absolutely unputdownable" from Jennifer Armentrout. This all leads you to think of an action-packed story full of attacks, evasion, and survival. Sadly, that isn't what you are going to get from this book. Now, don't get me wrong, the book wasn't bad, but I was so confused by the complete lack of "zombies" or at least some wild Connies, that I found myself turned off by a book I might otherwise have liked had I not been misled. I am completely baffled by the billing that this book could at all compare to Jonathan Maberry's Rot and Ruin or Charlie Higson's The Enemy or even Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth (which was must less crazy than the first two, but still had some zombie action). Instead, this book was all about the reconstruction and how everyone is moving on with their lives. There was one attack and a few flashbacks of news stories or an attack or two, but they were only back story- nothing to lead the plot. Instead, this is a story of hardship, family, and love and devotion, which I love, don't get me wrong, but could have been better with a little more of the action I expected to find. In fact, I think my disappointment jaded my opinion of the book, and I struggled to finish it as a result. 

Had I known this was a reconstruction book, and not expected something "relentlessly horrifying", I would have probably really liked this book. In fact, I really loved Velvet's character. She was one tough cookie. Even when adults tried to push her around or take advantage of her, she wouldn't back down. She was only interested in taking care of her sister and her mother, even if it meant being evicted from their government assisted apartment and moving back to their previously quarantined and now empty (and dangerous) neighborhood. I really liked this girl. She not only had guts, she was totally unapologetic about it. I only wished I wasn't swirling in disappointment when I started this book so I could have focused more on the pretty good story hidden inside. One complaint is that the story just ENDS! No real conclusion, no wrap-up, just done. I wonder if Garner expects to write a sequel, because there was no closure here. So if you are going to give this to a student, be sure to take the book jacket off- maybe then they would enjoy it. But this won't catch the attention of those action-craving boys, so I think the target audience is a little narrow. 

Anything but Dead and Gone

Before Benny and the others finally left to fend for themselves in the Rot and Ruin, there were bad things happening that didn't even involve zombies. Unbeknownst to them, bad, bad people had survived and even thrived in a world where the dead rose to eat the living. In Dead and Gone, a story Jonathan Maberry wrote to precede Flesh and Bone, the third book in the series, we get to see just how our new character, Riot, came to find the group. 

The Night Church is the epitome of terror, established by a serial killer who anoints his followers as Reapers, meant to quiet the living and bring them back as the walking dead. But the daughter of his second in command doesn't want to live the life of a Reaper anymore.  She manages to get away, but Sister Margaret is too valuable for the Night Church to let her go. Now she is on the run, fighting through the gray people to escape the Reapers, but they forgot one thing. She isn't Sister Margaret anymore. She is Riot, and Riot is in control of her own life. 

First of all, if you have read anything by Jonathan Maberry, you know what a fabulous writer he is. Whether his adult or young adult stories, they are equally as enthralling and exciting, so it is no surprise this simple, short little story would be jut as fabulous. Riot is a butt-kicken girl and the people she encounters out in the Rot and Ruin are just as awesome. If you have read the Rot and Ruin series, pick this up, but even if you haven't, maybe reading this short story will convince you to read more!

Not Totally Infectious

It's bad enough to be labeled a juvenile delinquent over an accident and sent to a wilderness program with other criminals, but watching everyone around you turn into flesh eating zombies just makes it that much worse. In Sean Beaudoin's Infects, Nero is trapped in his own worst nightmare... but at least there is a cute girl there too!

Nick Soul couldn't have imagined a freak accident on the chicken "disassembly" line would have him labeled an ecoterrorist or a criminal, but then again there isn't much in his life that goes his way. As he is on his way to the wilderness program that is supposed to "straighten him out", he realizes there are worse things in this world than the genocide of chickens that happens everyday in the chicken factory. Once he chooses his wilderness name, Nero, he is immersed into a ride that no one world have expected.

Not 24 hours in the woods and Nero wakes up to a sight he can't believe is real despite looking at it with his own two eyes: one of his counselors is bent over the other counselor... eating him. It is that very moment that all hell breaks loose. The few other delinquents who aren't crazy cannibals take off with Nero headed away from the campsite- they don't know where they plan to go, but they know they can't stay there! On the way, the boys encounter all manner of zombies, but what is even scarier than their desire for human flesh is the fact that they seem able to think, reason, and solve problems. Those are never good qualities to find in a zombie. You never want a zombie to be smart enough to find even more ways to eat you. If life wasn't hell for Nick before he became Nero, its about to be worse than any hell he could imagine.

Well, I think it is important to know that this zombie novel isn't really your classic zombie novel. It is more like "Shawn of the Dead" in novel form, a farce, a spoof, if you will. I thought it was a real zombie novel, so when I delved in and started to notice some quirks and odd characters, I became suspicious. By the end it was clear this was a goofy book playing off the subgenre. That isn't to say it isn't funny, because it is, but if you were looking for a real zombie novel, try Jonathan Maberry's Rot and Ruin series. 

That being said, this was a pretty entertaining, albeit goofy, book. The descriptions and dialogue will leave you chuckling, and even the zombies themselves are ridiculous (even with gory bits of human gristle hanging out of their mouths). Even though the story is funny, it is also pretty bloody. I would suggest this book for those students who like a good horror movie but have a sarcastic streak. Those are the kids who will appreciate this story the most. While it wasn't my favorite book, this story gave me a few chuckles and definitely has a niche audience. I can see myself passing it off to my older students (some pretty vulgar language on top of gore and sexual content). But, it would definitely have to be the exactly perfect audience for this story to work for one of my students.

They Will Fight Down to Flesh and Bone

In a world where zombies may not be the apex predator in all cases, they certainly become the most persistent predator. But Benny Imura and his friends aren't giving up hope, even if it means traipsing across the zombie eaten landscape. In Flesh and Bone, the third book in Jonathan Maberry's Benny Imura series, you get to the real heart of humanity, or lack thereof.

Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong are still reeling from the death of Tom Imura, Benny's older brother who kept them all safe. And what makes it worse is that he was murdered by a breathing human being, not a zom. But none could stay in that town with the ghosts of their family haunting them, so they decided to head off to find the source of the jet they saw flying overhead when they were in the Rot and Ruin. Only what they encounter makes the zombies look like kittens.

In a real doomsday situation, humans can often become the biggest threat, and the Rot and Ruin is no exception. When the kids are split up, they all find themselves facing insurmountable odds. Lions, escaped from zoos, now hunt through the country. People they come across, even ones who they save, aren't always grateful (and some even threaten to kill them). But worst of all is the death cult hell-bent on ridding the world of its biggest parasite: living, breathing human beings. When Saint John encountered Mother Rose, a cult was born and their reapers have "spread the word" ever since. But Saint John (a former serial killer before the First Night) has very different intentions from Mother Rose. And Benny, Nix, Lilah, and Chong are all caught in the middle of a turf war they know nothing about.

You wouldn't be reading this book if you hadn't read the first book, so you know Tom Imura died. I am not going to comment on that decision, because while I see how it drove the plot forward, it still devastated me when I read it. But this book deals with grief, and healing, and hope, all wrapped up in a crazy apocalyptic world. And what that does is show this really human side of your main characters, making you love them even more, flaws and grief and all, but it also gives you that terrifying glimpse into those people you wish hadn't made it through the First Night. I always love when an apocalyptic story is realistic, and a huge part of that is acknowledging that a lot of really horrible people will not only make it through the apocalypse in tact, they will thrive. Scary thought, but totally accurate. So Saint John being a former (well, current, to be exact) serial killer is so terrifying but so true. And this installment of the series really shakes you to the core with that realization.

I think it was hard to write this story coming off the supreme grief of losing Tom, but I think Maberry has a clear plan for the series and new how to pivot from that traumatic event and recover. It was done very well and kept me enthralled with each page. This is a phenomenal series and while I am anxiously awaiting the final book, I am also dreading its release and therefore the conclusion of the story. This series doesn't disappoint, and I promise, you will be more scared of the people in it than the zoms.

A Story of Thimble and Stone

When you read the first book in Ann Aguirre's Enclave series, you were happy to follow the story of Deuce, but you wondered about Stone and Thimble, the friends she left behind as she went Topside. Underground, in a world of darkness and monsters, we finally learned what became of Stone and Thimble as the only world they had ever known crashed down around them.

Stone is just a breeder, but he is a big, strong man. He might not have a specific purpose in the Enclave other than making more brats, but he wants to have a purpose. Thimble narrowly escaped being thrown to the freaks outside the walls to become a Builder, and while most people see her as deformed, Stone has always thought she was perfect. As the Enclave erupts into a civil war with the monsters just waiting for the blood to spill, Stone, Thimble, and Boy 23, Stone's brat, know that if they stay together, they can survive... in one way or another.

This was a fantastic short story attached to this series. It isn't necessary to carry on with the story, but it is really interesting and a fabulous companion to the story currently going on in the first two books. I suggest anyone who liked Enclave to read this companion for more insight into the world of the underground Enclaves. It will leave you wanting more from Aguirre!

Thrilling Sequel Takes a Bite Out of My Summer!

When Enclave by Ann Aguirre ended, we found Deuce and Fade Topside- aboveground after living underground in the Enclave all their lives. It was a change that sent the series into a completely different direction, and it injected more surprises and excitement into Outpost than you can imagine!

Deuce, Fade, Tegan, and Stalker were taken in by the people of Sanctuary, but they certainly weren't accepted by everyone immediately. Given to different foster parents, they found themselves suddenly immersed in a society that had survived within tall walls and relatively removed from the Freaks who roamed the countryside. They almost never came face to face with the Freaks, animal-like humanoids with terrifying teeth and claws, and they certainly couldn't defend themselves against them. Deuce and the others were well-trained in Freak combat, but Sanctuary saw them as children, not the lethal hunters they actually were. Forced to go to school and act like proper boys and girls, Deuce and the others struggle to fit into Sanctuary. 

When the crops are destroyed by the Freaks, it becomes clear they are no longer mindless roaming monsters with no intellect. After a couple of calculated attacks, Sanctuary is forced to acknowledge that the Freaks are getting smarter and Sanctuary is in danger. When Deuce, Fade, and Stalker offer to set up an outpost to protect the crops, the rest of the town is shamed into sending adults with them. Leaving the walls is terrifying for the people of Sanctuary, but so is starving through the winter with no crops to eat. Once they establish the outpost, however, it becomes clear the situation with the Freaks has escalated to a point that leaves Sanctuary vulnerable. But if the only people willing to do anything about it are the outsiders, how will Sanctuary survive this new threat?

I know it is difficult, sometimes, when a series takes a whole new spin, like Enclave did by throwing the kids Topside, but when done well, it can transform a series and make the sequel just as exciting as the original novel. That was certainly the case with Outpost, which extended the first story, but gave this book a whole new purpose all its own. I thought it was brilliant on Aguirre's part to do so, and it made me just as thrilled for the third book to come. We also get to see a whole new side of the characters we loved from the first book. Most transformative for me was the path Deuce traveled. Having never had a family in the Enclave, she couldn't get used to Momma Oaks, her foster mother. But when it became clear Momma Oaks really loved her, allowing herself to be the child of caring parents was an experience that made Deuce want to save Sanctuary. There were also times when you saw the ugly side of Sanctuary, which was very realistic for any community living so close together, and it made me like and believe the story even more. 

I really liked this sequel, and I think Aguirre did a great job of keeping a story going without just repeating what worked in the first book (a common mistake). The journey these characters traveled not only changed them, it changes you as a reader. You see them differently and cannot help but transform with them. The story was exciting and terrifying at times, but it keeps you wondering what is going to happen next. You will want to protect these kids, but you will also be proud of their bravery, even when the adults from Sanctuary are unwilling to take the same risks to save their own home. This was a fantastic follow-up, and I am dying to get ahold of the next book!

An Isle of Blood Can't Be Good?!

With so many myths and stories of hairy beastlies and mysterious creepers, we all rest a little easier thinking there is a monster hunter (hunt in the biological sense, not the skin and eat sense) out there keeping things together. But when that Monstrumologist is Pellinore Warthrop, you know being his apprentice is going to be adventurous, and seriously dangerous. In Rick Yancey's The Isle of Blood, the third book in the Monstrumologist series, you get to see just how far Warthrop will take his young apprentice, Will Henry.

When a "wild card" colleague of Warthrop's tricks a man into delivering an artifact, a nest made out of human bits, Warthrop realizes he now possesses evidence of the great white whale of Monstrumology. Unfortunately, the highly contagious nature of this nest causes the distraught messenger to succumb to the illness and attack Will Henry. In order to prevent the same fate for Will Henry, Warthrop must do something unthinkable. While he saves Will Henry's life, he can't get past the fact that he has put Will Henry in danger, and as he goes off in search of the greatest monster that ever lived, the Faceless One, he leave Will Henry behind and takes the eager new apprentice who arrived conveniently before this big adventure.

But when the apprentice returns and claims Warthrop is dead, Will Henry refuses to accept the news. He knows his master is alive, and he is willing to go to great lengths to find him. Unfortunately, no one wants to believe a young kid when chances are the Monstrumologist finally succumbed to the very monsters he focuses his life around. Of course, monstrumologists are used to believing in the long shot, and one Will Henry pokes holes through the new apprentice's claims, they are able to get a lead on Warthrop. Where that lead takes them and what they have to do to get there, of course, are the stuff of nightmares. But then again, isn't that the world of Monstrumology?

It amazes me how Yancey can take such a small wisp of an idea and create such a story. A rumor of a beastlie can lead you down a road of visceral trauma and imagination like you never thought you could experience. And the characters? I continue to love them more and more with each passing book. In particular, I love the relationship between Will Henry and Warthrop. Where I could never put my finger on who Warthrop reminded me of, I finally realized it as I was describing the story to my sister... he is Sheldon from "Big Bang Theory"! He is not heartless or uncaring, but rather very clinical and devoted to his work. But when his work poses a threat to Will Henry, he cannot being himself to lose the boy and you get to see glimpses of how much this man truly does love his "adopted" son. He may call Will Henry his apprentice, but the love between father and son is obvious to those of us on the outside looking in, which makes their story even better, in my opinion.

This is truly a magnificent series, and it is perfect for those quirky students who have grown out of typical YA stories. It has a gothic feel to it, but the story transcends anything you have read before. I am excited to hear the publisher was bullied into letting Yancey write a fourth book after trying to stop him at three, and I can't wait to read the final book in the series. Yancey has an imagination that will only twist and warp your own imagination in ways you didn't think possible, so I say, "Let him have it!"

One Big Paranormal Motley Crew!

Life is hard for any teenager. But if your father is an evil, sadistic jerk serving time and your mom is a stripper, life is downright miserable. In the first book of The Chronicles of Nick, Infinity, Sherrilyn Kenyon tells the story of a normal boy who is anything but normal.

Nick lives among thug football players, crazy voodoo hunters, and some real New Orleans characters, but he just can't seem to stay out of trouble. His mother tells him on a daily basis how hard she works to take care of him, and he wants nothing more than to make her happy, but things around him always fall apart. When another football jerk taunts him into reacting (by mentioning his mother's profession, of course), he gets suspended from school. What he didn't realize was he was safer being out of school than in it that week. 

When one football player attacks another and tries to eat him, people start to wonder what on earth they have been doing. When a whole rash of "zombies" start running around trying to kill people, they start to get worried. In New Orleans, of course, nothing surprises people. When the "zombies" (who aren't really zombies, but just kids who are under a voodoo trance) get out of hand, it's crazy Bubba and his clan who know exactly what to do. What Nick doesn't know, though, is everyone around him, including his classmates and his new employer, are not what they seem. But can all these paranormal beings stop brainwashed zombies from trying to eat their way through the city?

OK. So there was every kind of paranormal creature stuffed into one book. Sometimes that is fun, sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. In this book, I teetered on the edge of both sentiments. I found myself confused sometimes and others I had to laugh at how everyone just accepted werewolves and shapeshifters as something they figured existed anyway, and just hadn't seen for themselves yet. Sometimes, the addition of yet another paranormal creature made the story feel a little anticlimactic. I asked myself, "Really? No one thinks this is strange?" Maybe that is just the interpretation of the New Orleans culture coming through in this story, but it struck me as odd. 

Another struggle I had with this story is all the added angles flying in and out of the story. Sometimes there was so much going on it seemed confusing, especially when a new angle (like Nick's dad) was introduced, but never fully developed or explained. Since this is an ongoing series, I assume those things are being addressed later, but it makes the first book more difficult to digest at this point. Other than that, this was a fun book. I think the maturity level and reading level make it a decent middler reader book for your older middle school students through less mature young adult readers. I am anxious to read the next book in order to find a little resolution for my many many questions. At least I hope there is a little resolution!

A Vampire Book Immortalized

Sometimes they are elegant but ruthless. At times they are shimmery, but murderous. They can act like rabid animals or the most gentle of gentlemen. But they are everywhere. Vampires are in every culture, every literary tradition, every contemporary culture, and certainly all over the young adult genre. So why should you read yet another young adult vampire book? Because The Immortal Rules: Book One of Blood of Eden by Julie Kagawa is a vampire book like you have never seen before!

Allie refuses to become registered and have blood taken twice a month to feed the bloodsuckers who run her city, even if it means getting a food ration. She and the other Unregistereds scavenge for food even though stealing is a crime punishable by more than just death. Out on a food mission beyond the city wall that protects the humans from the rabids (people turned into zombie-like, mindless vampires who live like animals and would rip a human to shreds), Allie finds a food haul in a house that can't be passed up, even if it is risky. She and her crew go back for the food, but the rabids do what they do best, leaving Allie torn apart and dying. When a passing vampire offers her a choice to die from her injuries or die and become an immortal vampire, everything she despises, she chooses life, even if it is a life as the undead. 

After a brief period of lessons and education into the life of a vampire by her sire, Kanin, Allie is forced to flee the only city she has ever known. She doesn't want to hunt or hurt people, but Kanin warned her that denying the Hunger that can only be sated by human blood will slowly devolve Allie into a furious beast with no control over her own body. She can last about two weeks without human blood, but alone in the desert has left her desperate. Luckily the first people she stumbles upon are ruthless raiders, but shortly thereafter, she rescues a little boy who became separated from his traveling group. Allie is uncertain of the group, but she still hasn't lost her human side. She craves the company of others and is willing to fight the urge to feed in order to protect this rag tag group of travelers who are in search of Eden, a land with no vampires and no rabids. But Allie isn't the only predator out there, and she may have assumed a position she can never succeed at. 

Wow. Just Wow. Kagawa created a vampire world like you have never seen before. This post-apocalyptic wasteland combines the desolate PA world with terrifying dystopic societies, and rabid, mindless creatures hunting where you least suspect it. This is an EPIC read that will cut you off from everything you should be doing just so you can plow through the story page by page. Vampires may be old hat for most authors, but Kagawa makes them new and fresh and terrifying again. I loved this story and can NOT wait for the next installment. There is a sense of closure at the end of this story, but it is only a temporary conclusion, with the story open for more of Allie's story. You will be content with the ending but dying for the next book, a perfect conclusion in my opinion!

And Allie is a fantastic main character. She knows what she has to do to survive, but her inability to let go of everything that makes her human is what keeps her going. But her presence in the lives of the ones she wants to protect not only keeps them alive, it also puts them in harms way. This is an inner conflict Allie cannot deny and one that rips her apart. She knows the right thing to do, but she cannot give up her one attachment to her humanity she has left. It is a transformation you will feel right along with Allie from page to page. This is a complex, long novel that would appeal to anyone who likes an exciting story. It is probably best for high school students, but adults would enjoy this vampire tale as well. Kagawa knocked it out of the park with this one!

This is Not Just a Zombie Novel

They say "Don't judge a book by its cover," but they should also say, "Don't just a book by its blurb". With publishing houses trying so hard to sell their books, they jump to use anything from the book they think will catch people's attention, but sometimes in doing so, they alter the focus of book, maybe even mislead people. This can be very frustrating sometimes, but other times it can give you a chance to experience the book with a clean slate. Since your preconceived notions don't match up, you have to just let the book do work its magic. This is a pretty rare occurrence these days, but I treasure the experience. And experience I did with Courtney Summers' This is Not a Test. 


Sloane's idea of hope disappeared when her sister left her to suffer their father's abuse alone. She has never felt so helpless... until the world turns upside down. When the dead begin to rise, no place is safe and hope is a luxury of the past. But somehow Sloane and 5 other kids make it to the only place they could think to close off and fortify, the one place no teenager would want to make their final home... the high school.


Now that they have gotten to the school and barricaded themselves inside, the illusion of safety begins to shatter. The zombies are outside the building eager to get in and the kids inside are all too painfully aware that nothing can keep them out forever. They also know their resources won't last forever, but for the time being, they are eager to accept the relative safety of the school and hope for someone to rescue them. Unfortunately, they can't know whether there are people alive out there or whether they are all alone. But things inside the school are not all peaches and cream, either. The kids' emotions are running high, but for Sloane, the apocalypse has provided the perfect opportunity she needs: the opportunity to end it all.


While this started out like your typical zombie novel, scared people running for shelter, escaping the dead, it quickly became something else entirely for me. While there were zombies outside and the kids were clearly afraid of the world crashing down around them, this was a story of past and present and all too painfully slim future. The kids each had their own baggage and sacrifices they carried into the school building that ate away at them after weeks of hiding from the walking dead. But Sloane's is the worst. While the other kids remember the monsters their friends, family, and even parents became after the apocalypse started, Sloane remembers the monster her father was before the dead started walking. She is a deeply troubled girl whose biggest betrayal was when her sister, the same sister who always swore they were together until the end, left and abandoned Sloane to her father. I loved this character because it really resonated that no matter what happens in your future, it is near impossible to lose the memories of what happened in the past. All too often we read (OK, I read!) apocalyptic books with strong leading characters who also, conveniently, have lovely survival skills. But what about the other people? The less McGuyver-esque people? Do they make it? Or are they the first to get eaten? This book really delved into the fact that survivors will most likely be a motley crew of people, some useful, some not, some cutthroat, some willing to accept the inevitable. 


This was a real testament to the characters Summers' created. All too often in "action" type books, the characters become second string to the main character: the action. Summers remembered that the human aspect of any story is what really affects people, and so she created a story you will think about for a long time after finishing, not a book for cheap thrills. Even though this is a zombie story, the zombies are almost an afterthought or background noise, not the central conflict of the story. With so little zombie influence, this would be a book that could appeal to a variety of readers, even those not into the zombie stories. I might not give it to a really young or naive student because they would lose the subtle intricacies of the characters that make this book so interesting. So even if you aren't a zombie-phile, give this book a chance- there is more out there than just flesh eating and zombie hordes!

Team Fight the Cheese!

Imagine a world with humans and vampires living side by side. The vampires aren't allowed to turn people without a consensual license, they aren't allowed to eat people, but they still have the potential to do all the things that made them feared throughout history. In that world, where does one passionate, meddling teen find herself? Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan tell you in Team Human.

The city of New Whitby was created as a haven for vampires who may have been persecuted elsewhere, but that doesn't mean everyone is happy to have the vampires nearby. For the most part they stick to the Shade, the vampire part of town, but when a vampire comes to Mel's high school, he brings mixed opinions. Some kids are obsessed with Francis, others hate him with a passion, but the scariest reaction is Mel's best friend Cathy who falls madly in love with him.

Mel takes it upon herself to blackmail Francis into leaving Cathy alone, but there was a misunderstanding about her source of blackmail. When Cathy runs away to the Shade to find Francis, Mel figures it out and tracks her down, but not before she breaks into a vampires lair (properly called a shade in such politically correct vampire times!). While there, they meet Francis's "nephew", a human named Kit who was raised by a group of vampires. Kit's "mother" is a vampire cop who isn't too thrilled about their entry into her house, but once Mel takes a minute to get to know them all, she may realize the vampires in the equation aren't always the bad guys.

So, let's get this out in the open. This looks like a ChhEEEsy book, right?! Well, yeah, sort of. But it is also surprisingly good with some strong allusions to racism and Civil Rights in our own not-alternate history. Mel's emphatic dislike for vampires is said to be based on her friend Anna's father's abandonment of his family for a vampire patient, but that kind of hatred and prejudice doesn't happen easily. It was something that was clearly societal and ran much deeper than just one or two instances. And Mel wasn't afraid to show it. When Francis arrived, despite being totally polite (albeit a bit of a stuffy pants), Mel made comments that were considered highly insulting in the vampire world. Her friends even called her on it on more than one occasion. The other interesting thing about Mel is how darn much that girl meddles into other people's business. At first you think she is being protective, but there are points where you want to tell her to just back off and let people make their own decisions. In fact, a couple of characters flat out tell her to lay off. In the end, of course, she ended up helping some of her friends and learning valuable lessons from the others. It was a nice transition and it made me like her more even though she had moments of supreme grating and annoying-ness.

So, my advice is don't let the Cheese factor keep you from reading this one of many vampire books- it was actually a pretty good one. If for no other reason than the fact that when a person undergoes a "turning" into a vampire, they have a 1/10 chance of dying, and worse, a 1/10 chance of becoming a zombie! And the Zombie Disposal Units can tell you the horrors of those transformations gone wrong! Oh, I almost forgot. Another reason to really like this story was Kit. Oh, laughing, fun, adorable, sometimes snarky Kit. FINALLY! A main character and/or love interest with a little bit of fight in him! I love it! I am going to vote here and now that we shall no longer have lead men who always wear the "broody face". I hate broody face. I want snarky guys with some saucy retorts that keep me laughing!

This is a very clean book for a variety of ages. It might look too young for older students, but the cover doesn't do the story justice. If you have read it and can speak from experience to recommend it to otherwise skeptical teens, you might find they will really enjoy it. I know I enjoyed it once I got past the cheese-tastic title and cover!

Society as the Cause of its Own Demise

We have weapons we don't completely understand. When the Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, no one really understood the long-lasting consequences or the full range of destruction. Now, we have EMP bursts and sneaky ways of taking down a civilization that aren't even close to conventional weapons. How can we create and use something we know nothing about? In Ashes, by Ilsa Bick, you will see first hand how much damage we can do to our own species.

Alex has an inoperable brain tumor. She gave the treatments one last go with tiny nanotech beads of chemo that are supposed to travel through her bloodstream and cluster around the tumor to be activated later by a laser. When those beads fail, she decides to let the monster in her head have her. She takes her parents' ashes and travels to the expansive park to hike and make some important decisions. What she doesn't expect is run into a very nice gentleman and his orphaned granddaughter and then watch him die. With a pain in her head and body like she was being squeezed from all ends, Alex assumes she is dying. The old man is clearly gone, and now Alex is left with Ellie, the little girl. They have no idea what has happened, but all their electronics are fried. On their way down the mountain, they get a first hand show of just how crazy things have become- they find three teenagers eating a woman at a campsite.

Alex and Ellie get away undetected, but it is clear something is wrong. When they are attacked by a pack of dogs and another cannibalistic man, they are saved in the nick of time by Tom, a former soldier hunting the cannibal who used to be his friend. It seems some people survived, but not all are OK. Middle aged people dropped dead, older people and young children were spared, and young adults turned into zombie-like cannibals. They aren't exactly zombies- they can still feel pain, think (although only limited thought processes), are very strong, and die from normal fatal wounds, but they have lost all connection to humanity and eat anything they come across that still pumps warm blood.

Tom explains he was in the woods at the time the EMP burst and watched his friend Jim turn. Together they decide to find their way out of the woods to the ranger station. The station is abandoned, and while they stay their for a while, they know things will only get worse for the survivors. They decide to travel north to find a place to live and survive where there won't be many people (or crazy zombie-like teens who want to eat them). On the journey, they encounter what society has devolved into- looters who will do anything to stay alive. They take Ellie and wound Tom, leaving him and Alex to survive with no supplies and an infection gun shot wound. But Alex won't let Tom die and can't give up on Ellie. Will she be able to save them? Or will she lose everything... again.

Oh good grief, this book was intense! You will pick it up and won't be able to stop. I started reading, looked up about 140 pages later and realized it was almost midnight (way past my bedtime on a school night!). It was absolutely fantastic and I can't believe how it ended... Darn you Ilsa Bick! Leave me hanging with those last two sentences and just STOP! I know there are tow more books coming, but you want me to wait a whole YEAR for the next one! ARRGGHH! I call foul on that! But in all seriousness, this was an amazing, exciting, fast-paced book you won't be able to put down.

The reading level is fairly average, but there is some obvious violence you might not be comfortable giving some younger students. The violence isn't too graphic, but there is cannibalism, so you can make the judgment. The story line will keep anyone hooked, and I was one of its first victims! The characters are complex and deep, which makes you want to know more, but continue to question your feelings for them. My one critique was the strange make-up of age groups and what happened to them from the EMP. It seemed a little too random and not explained in any great depth (they assume brain chemistry had something to do with why certain age groups died, some recovered, and others turned). I hope it is explained better in the next books, because it left me a little skeptical about the premise with this book. Still, skepticism aside, this book was a crazy whirlwind that picked me up and spat me out the other side! Awesome! Simply Awesome!

The Zombies are Back in Town

Unwilling heroes are probably my favorite characters. They don't want the fame and honor of being people's heroes, but people naturally trust them, look up to them, and expect to be led by them. Tom Imura is that kind of man. He is the bounty hunter who has kept the peace in the Rot and Ruin, even though he wasn't trying. His very presence made people behave and stopped the lawlessness. But when he packs up to leave, people get worried. Death and Decay is Jonathan Maberry's amazing portrayal of an unwilling hero and the people who would put their lives in his hands.

Benny Imura used to resent his brother for abandoning their parents on the First Night, the night the dead began to walk again. When he found out his parents were actually infected and Tom saved him, it made him see Tom in a new light. Then when Tom saved his best friend, Nix, and put an end to Gameland- the place where evil men kidnap kids and have gladiator-esque fights between them and zombies- Benny knew Tom was a man to look up to. Now, after seeing a jet fly above them, Tom is determined to leave the Rot and Ruin to find the jet and secure a better life with his brother and their motley crew of friends.

Despite training them, not all are ready to leave Sanctuary. Nix, after seeing her mother murdered by an evil bounty hunter and being thrown in Gameland, is ready to go. So is Lilah, the mythical Lost Girl who lived in the Rot and Ruin and turned out to not be such a myth after all. But Benny, Chong and Morgie aren't so sure. Morgie decides to stay home, and Chong's mother finally agrees to let him go as long as it is only for a few nights and he comes right back instead of going on the full journey. Unfortunately, she couldn't have known the trouble brewing in the Rot and Ruin.

The trip is immediately off on the wrong foot as strange things start to happen. They come across some weird characters, a man who was executed by way of zombie, and the monk and sisters at their first stop are missing. When Chong disappears, Tom goes to find him and leaves Benny, Nix and Lilah to wait for them to return. What he couldn't have known was that things have gotten very dangerous out there and someone doesn't want them to make it out of town. When thousands of zombies overrun the building they are hiding in, Nix, Benny, Lilah barely make it out alive, but they are separated. Now everyone is trying to make it to the next stop- the old hotel and trading post- alive. What they don't know is there are lots of people out there looking for them- some to warn them and some to kill or kidnap them. Can they find each other without falling prey to the zombies... or worse?

This was a phenomenal follow-up to the first book. I simply could not get enough of this story and stayed up way past my bedtime reading it. I absolutely love the characters, all of them. The good characters make you want to scream every time they are in danger and the bad characters make you want to find a sword and take them on yourself. The story is exciting and non-stop action. There are even some unexpected twists that I won't ruin for you, but I will hint that one involves a very surprising animal.

The writing is appropriate for a wide range of ages with no sexual content or inappropriate language. There is a good deal of violence, as one would expect in any zombie story, but it isn't overdone and it isn't the focus of the story- the characters are. I have read Maberry's adult fiction as well, and he tends to follow the same rules- the characters are your biggest investment, not the gore. He wants you to love them or hate them, but either way, you are invested in their lives. The other stuff is just icing on the cake. So even though the premise is violent, the story isn't too much so. Bring the Rot and Ruin into your life and you will never be the same... even if it means you are now a zombie!

Short Story from Forest of Hands and Teeth

Hare Moon by Carrie Ryan is a small novella that is part of the Forest of Hands and Teeth series. It takes place before the first book, giving fans of the series a little insight into one of the supporting characters, Sister Tabitha. In the previous book, Sister Tabitha was a stern woman who tried to stifle Mary's desire to live outside the small village surrounded by fences and the Unconsecrated (zombies). Now we know why she was so hard on Mary.

Tabitha didn't marry, so she was sent o spend her life with the sisters in Sanctuary, taking over the responsibility of running the village and keeping everyone safe. She doesn't mind because she spends her days dreaming of life outside the fences. She starts slipping out the first gate and wandering into the fenced paths when the daydreams are no longer enough. After a few excursions, she finds a second gate a ways down the path. At the gate, she hears someone call to her and meets Patrick, a man from another village. Tabitha, like the rest of her village, has been brought up believing there were no other villages, so Patrick is a surprise, to say the least.

Patrick and Tabitha meet once a month on the path. Slowly they begin to fall in love. When Patrick doesn't meet her on the designated day, she worries something is wrong. The whole next month she spends exploring the Sanctuary until she finds a hidden tunnel in the basement. It leads her to a room and a book. The book gives her the history of the village, and it shows why the village decided to cut themselves off from the rest of the world- to protect themselves from infect refugees, raiders, and a host of other problems. When Tabitha goes back to meet Patrick, she is surprised when he shows up with his little brother claiming his village fell to the infection. Now she must decide between her true love and protecting the village. Which is more important? Life or living?

This was a really interesting little story that explains so much about Sister Tabitha. It won't make much sense to someone who hasn't read the other stories, as it doesn't spend a lot of time on background knowledge, but it would be good for someone who loved the trilogy. My biggest concern is that it is only available as an ebook. I don't like this trend. I have a Kindle, which I love, but some people I share YA books with don't, and that makes it hard to share this story with them. While I understand the reason so many authors publish electronically these days, I wish authors with previously paper published books would also publish this type of thing with paper and binding. Still, if you have and e-reader, you will enjoy this little tale!