Zombie Blondes

I read a few reviews on here and I beg to differ with the negative comments. I was hooked instantly to this book, and pretty bummed when I got close to the end and knew that soon it would be over. The book realistically depicts the way it is to move with parents who are gone a lot. It also was really descriptive and exciting. Not predictable at all either. It was really about cliques, how far you would go to fit in, and the Zombie thing was not overdone, I think it was made for girls with the thought that we want to read about love and school issues more than zombie chases and guts. I appreciated that. A wonderful read, I checked it out at the library but it was so good I bought a copy, in case I want to read it again.

"I can usually pick out the popular kids soon after setting foot into a new school. The girls, anyway. They wear popularity like a uniform for everyone to see. From their hairstyles to their expensive shoes. Everything about them is torn from the glossy pages of the latest teen fashion magazines. Everything about them is perfect. At least on the outside, anyway." And so begins Zombie Blondes. It is clear from the opening line that this book has a message and it was sent in a really cool way that wasn't preachy. Brian James did a great job of mixing a "Twilight-Zone" style zombie story with a lesson for today's youth that is obsessed with looking like the perfect images in magazines and being like the popular kids in school! I liked this book. It was a different story than what I've been reading lately and that was a needed change. Hannah wasn't the most likeable character but the situation for her at home with her Dad and their money issues was very realistic even though it was set in an unreal setting. And, the main theme of changing who you are to fit in with the "popular crowd" hits home for many young adults (I know it did for me at least). I'm not gonna lie...this story doesn't have a happy ending. In fact I wanted to throw the book across the room (which I've been known to do) when I finished the last sentence. But it was a spooky, poetic ending that left the reader wondering. As this book shows us, in the end when you sacrifice who you really are to be a part of the crowd, you are basically killing your true self...and becoming zombie-like.

If running away from your problems was an Olympic sport, Hannah's dad would be a champion. Always switching towns to avoid their creditors, Hannah and her dad end up at Maplecrest, a small town with lots of For Sale signs and plenty of odd citizens. Like the cheerleaders. Blonde, blue-eyed, and perfect, they're all zombies, and they have everyone in town in their control. And Hannah wants to be just like them, despite outcast Lukas's insistence that there is more to them than their spotless looks... Zombie Blondes is an entertaining and innovative read with a magnetic voice that does a superb job at latching on to the reader. It's a mesmerizing and quick read that you'll want to read in one sitting. Hannah's insecurities, a result of her father constantly shuffling them from town to town, are believable and relatable, and her growing fears and uncertainties make for a suspenseful novel. Though readers will be willing to believe in zombies much more quickly than Hannah, but Zombie Blondes is never boring. The novel finishes with a bang and will leave readers hanging in suspense, wondering what really happened, and what will become of Hannah. Zombie Blondes is the perfect blend of creepy, gripping, and heart pounding action!