Undead with Benefits

Gr 9 Up—Jake Stephens and Amanda Blake have been on the run since they unexpectedly "necrotized" in their school cafeteria and consumed half of the senior class in Eat, Brains, Love (HarperCollins, 2013). Being tracked by Cass, a teen psychic, they narrowly escaped from the Necrotic Control Division, a top-secret military unit that unsuccessfully tried to control and conceal the zombie threat. Now the dynamic duo has an ally in Cass who has abandoned the misguided NCD in order to travel to Iowa where there are rumors of a zombie cure. But the obsessed Dr. Alastaire is not willing to let Cass just walk away. He also wants the cure and will do whatever it takes to get it. What ensues is a haphazard mission where the unlikely trio must learn to maneuver among the rational undead, the zombiefied undead, a zombie warlord and his minions, ex-NCD army dudes, and a truly psycho doctor. Hart's action-packed story unfolds through the alternating narratives of Cass, Amanda, and Jake. It is witty and full of plots twists and turns, suspense, and intrigue. Faced with difficult decisions, the protagonists must do some soul-searching while struggling to survive in an undead world. Readers will be anxiously awaiting the next installment of this out-of-control adventure.—Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY