Zombie Queen of Newbury High

Zombie Queen of Newbury High is where popularity can turn you undead (with an unsettling appetite) and Prom will be a little dangerous this year. Amanda Ashby moves into the YA world with snapping prose and an entertaining high school mix of teen crushes, popularity drama, and a zombie squad. Zombies beware--you'll love to follow the twists and turns of this fresh and fun novel!

This novel is fast-paced and funny, but the word that kept coming to my mind was "clever." The premise is stand-alone, the story takes usual turns, and the author's careful choices of character traits and situations makes every page fresh and interesting. I recommend you read this book!

I can honestly say I've never read a zombie book before this one and I was pleasantly surprised. I love how Amanda Ashby wove the zombie story into an everyday high school environment. Mia is afraid the hot football player who asked her to prom (to everyone's surprise)is going to ditch her for a more popular girl, so she decides to perform a love spell. Only the spell is actually one that gives their entire senior class and some teachers the dreaded zombie virus. It's a unique idea and a fun plot and I had many laugh-out-loud moments while reading it. As a plus, the cover is really cool.

Prom is a big deal, especially if you're asked by the football god himself. So, when Mia is asked by Rob to prom, she is ecstatic. That is until the super evil cheerleader, Samantha has a problem with her date and decides to swoop in on Rob. Mia feels that she needs to get Rob's attention back, but she just doesn't know what will do it. But, Mia's best friend, Candice has an idea. You see, Candice is a hypochondriac and she has to get all kinds of special vitamins and more to make sure that she stays healthy. Candice suggests that Mia goes with her and see if there's a love spell that the store can provide her with. When they get to the store, a weird witch looking lady waits on them. That should have been Mia's first clue to run out of there, but she doesn't. After the spell is done, things start to look up for Mia. Well, except people start to act a little funny around her, especially the new guy, Chase. He seems to think that her little love spell has turned the senior class into zombies. Mia is a huge Buffy fan, but isn't zombies a little far fetched? Well, apparently not. That means in about four days they will all be zombies and eat Mia, that is unless Mia and Chase can save the day. Now, let's see if Mia can fix what she did in time to save the senior prom and her skin. Zombies are in. Seriously. I'm loving that vampires are moving over for the new paranormal books! Zombie Queen is a great new and original story. I love Mia and her crazy friend Candice. They are very easy to relate to and you can't help but to feel for poor Mia, when Samantha steps in. Ashby keeps the story more on the realistic side of paranormal, so it's not as far fetched as you might imagine. Ashby keeps the story rolling with a lot of action in it and keeps you anticipating about the prom and how everything will turn out. A very fun and light read! re posted at http://writersblockreviews.blogspot.com

Mia Everett is just a normal teenage girl: she fears heights, she loves the Buffy series, she has a crush on the hottest guy in school, she's the neighbor of the popular cheerleader, her sister is a popular wannabe, and... She turned all of the seniors - and even some teachers - into flesh-eating zombies through a love potion gone wrong. That's when Chase comes into the picture. He's always been the quiet, anti-social guy in her Biology class, but when he comes to her saying that she didn't perform a love potion - that she really performed a spell that turned her classmates and best friend, Candice, into zombies - well, she immediately starts to fall for her knight in shining armor. And if all of this wasn't enough to take in, Mia also has to worry about her prom, which is just days away! Will she be able to cure her classmates, and her prom date, before the actual dance? And if not, what will happen to her friends and the students? Will they really become zombies? And why do all of them seem to salivate whenever she's around? Amanda Ashby writes a very entertaining and quick read about a teenage protagonist who has to fix the catastrophic problem she created - or else she'll never be able to enjoy the ball with Prince Charming. Many readers will be able to relate to Mia and her quirky ways, and others will simply fall in love with her witty humor. And if that doesn't work, there are always hunks Rob and Chase. ZOMBIE QUEEN OF NEWBURY HIGH deserves the five stars. This is a very original story that isn't too far-fetched that teenage readers can't relate at all - it's the perfect mix of reality and imagination. Reviewed by: Steph