Scan barcode
wyrmdog's review
3.0
This book really surprised me. I got 2 previous Shan series' for my son and I know he loved them both, so when I saw this, I figured on giving it a shot. I'm glad I did.
What's interesting about this book is that more than half of it is an exploration of how hate can seep into the hearts and actions of people that don't really believe that way, how we can become monsters without realizing it, how we can be utterly convinced that we are good people and behave in utterly inhuman fashion.
I don't know if these themes will continue, and I saw that there are 12 books in the series, which is interesting given how this book ended. But it's clear that to make this go, there will have to be many twists and turns.
I don't normally think to read YA books (funny, given I so recently read a Lloyd Alexander book, and have plans to read more). Most of them are utter garbage, full of inanity and idiocy and authorial hypocrisy and forgetting that teenaged readers have the capacity for far more nuance than most YA authors give them credit for. But then I read reviews and realize that yes, indeed, most people in general have difficulty with complex topics.
I didn't expect to find the depth I discovered in this book. While most of the characters are disposable and treated with more than a little narrative contempt, there is also a clear and complex portrayal of the value of self-examination, for the greater need to see beyond ourselves, to understand the way our actions and beliefs and fears and ideas of identity can make the world better or worse.
Make no mistake, the main character is contemptible, but also more than a bit relatable to any of us because even though B struggles with a very specific set of issues, we all have similar ones, regardless of our backgrounds and the situations we find ourselves in. No one is completely villainous and no one is completely virtuous, but our beliefs and our identities and our determination to embrace or reject those troublesome parts of ourselves make a big difference in who and what we become, and Zom-B leans right into it.
I think maybe I'll give this series a go because there's obviously more here than I suspected before starting.
What's interesting about this book is that more than half of it is an exploration of how hate can seep into the hearts and actions of people that don't really believe that way, how we can become monsters without realizing it, how we can be utterly convinced that we are good people and behave in utterly inhuman fashion.
I don't know if these themes will continue, and I saw that there are 12 books in the series, which is interesting given how this book ended. But it's clear that to make this go, there will have to be many twists and turns.
I don't normally think to read YA books (funny, given I so recently read a Lloyd Alexander book, and have plans to read more). Most of them are utter garbage, full of inanity and idiocy and authorial hypocrisy and forgetting that teenaged readers have the capacity for far more nuance than most YA authors give them credit for. But then I read reviews and realize that yes, indeed, most people in general have difficulty with complex topics.
I didn't expect to find the depth I discovered in this book. While most of the characters are disposable and treated with more than a little narrative contempt, there is also a clear and complex portrayal of the value of self-examination, for the greater need to see beyond ourselves, to understand the way our actions and beliefs and fears and ideas of identity can make the world better or worse.
Make no mistake, the main character is contemptible, but also more than a bit relatable to any of us because even though B struggles with a very specific set of issues, we all have similar ones, regardless of our backgrounds and the situations we find ourselves in. No one is completely villainous and no one is completely virtuous, but our beliefs and our identities and our determination to embrace or reject those troublesome parts of ourselves make a big difference in who and what we become, and Zom-B leans right into it.
I think maybe I'll give this series a go because there's obviously more here than I suspected before starting.
buggieop's review
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
shonaningyo's review
3.0
I read this book for the zombies.
Guess what I didn't expect?
Racist. British people.
Seriously, 75% of this book was on racist thinking or the main character defending the father for his racism while at the same time being all "confused" and stuff on how someone could love their Father when he's such an asshole.
And then I learned that the main character is a GIRL.
Seriously. I had no goddamn idea until her father came to rescue her at the school and said, "Becky!"
Was this SUPPOSED to be a secret or something?
Seriously...seriously...!
This B character is someone I would like to punch in the face.
What is with you British people being all racist? I'm sure that it's not all of you, but Jesus Christ...!
It's one thing to still be racist in America: We've grown up with all these races living and working and harmonizing (most of the time, I hope), so any excuses we Americans may have for being racist are retarded..
But at the same time..you people are so intolerant of anyone who isn't white! What the hell, man?! "Taking your jobs" oh suck it up! Go work abroad then! Why anyone would want to study and work in the UK I do not know. Oh yeah, it's because you colonized their lands and their people! Why do you think European nations have so many non-Europeans? Because of colonization.
Algerians --> France
Indians, Africans from various parts of Africa --> Britain
Turks --> Germany (well that's more of an immigration kind of thing, I guess like Mexicans into US, but less hated..I think)
You just thank your ancestors for enslaving them and putting them under your thumb. I couldn't stop the attempt to colonize the Philippines in the late 1800s and the stupid embargo we had on Cuba..we really need to change that..
But JESUS.
I wanted to punch B in the throat. Little shits like her should be burned at the stake, because she's a bad egg via her father's toxic mouth.
"We want a white Britain..waaah", well then you should've done like the Chinese and Japanese did and completely close yourselves off from the rest of the world. It's really the only way you can. But you can't do that now, because you'd all look retarded.
Guess what I didn't expect?
Racist. British people.
Seriously, 75% of this book was on racist thinking or the main character defending the father for his racism while at the same time being all "confused" and stuff on how someone could love their Father when he's such an asshole.
And then I learned that the main character is a GIRL.
Seriously. I had no goddamn idea until her father came to rescue her at the school and said, "Becky!"
Was this SUPPOSED to be a secret or something?
Seriously...seriously...!
This B character is someone I would like to punch in the face.
What is with you British people being all racist? I'm sure that it's not all of you, but Jesus Christ...!
It's one thing to still be racist in America: We've grown up with all these races living and working and harmonizing (most of the time, I hope), so any excuses we Americans may have for being racist are retarded..
But at the same time..you people are so intolerant of anyone who isn't white! What the hell, man?! "Taking your jobs" oh suck it up! Go work abroad then! Why anyone would want to study and work in the UK I do not know. Oh yeah, it's because you colonized their lands and their people! Why do you think European nations have so many non-Europeans? Because of colonization.
Algerians --> France
Indians, Africans from various parts of Africa --> Britain
Turks --> Germany (well that's more of an immigration kind of thing, I guess like Mexicans into US, but less hated..I think)
You just thank your ancestors for enslaving them and putting them under your thumb. I couldn't stop the attempt to colonize the Philippines in the late 1800s and the stupid embargo we had on Cuba..we really need to change that..
But JESUS.
I wanted to punch B in the throat. Little shits like her should be burned at the stake, because she's a bad egg via her father's toxic mouth.
"We want a white Britain..waaah", well then you should've done like the Chinese and Japanese did and completely close yourselves off from the rest of the world. It's really the only way you can. But you can't do that now, because you'd all look retarded.
pageboi31's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Wow. This was a rough one for me, luckily it was a quick read once I finally decided I needed to finish is and move on. Lots of people mentioned being disappointed after the prologue, so I reread that and it was very dark, but...ok, I guess? For being a zombie book, there was less talk of zombies compared to the topic of racism. B's father is a full-blown racist, a wife-beater, and there's really nothing more to his character than that. You'd think this would allow for some empathy towards B the protagonist, but despite their struggles with being racist and being scared of their dad and not trying to rock the boat, B is hella racist throughout and constant acts as if they're different from their father because their actions aren't due to "racism". Zombies finally come around towards the second half of the book, where characters at this point are being brutally killed by zombies left and right, with no time in between to grow tension or care about the losses (not that any characters were worth caring about, except Cass and Tyler). The revelation that B is actually short for Becky, and that the protagonist is not a dude was spoiled when I went to look at reviews to see if other had the same issues with this book that I did. It really doesn't change B as a character in my eyes, and the whole "I can't believe you made me push Tyler dad" is complete BS and is obviously Becky's fault. Her blaming her dad and then running away from their imminent escape was stupid. Her dying to Tyler at the end with him literally eating her heart was...shocking? I should of assumed that with the title of Zom-B that B would become a zombie (or perhaps a mutant?), but it still felt like it came out of left field. Also, what's up with Owl man? Perhaps I'll spark note it since I'm curious, but I'm definitely not reading more of these books... the pictures were a nice touch, but all in all, this book wasn't good, and left me annoyed and disappointed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mass/school shootings, Racism, Domestic abuse, Body horror, Bullying, and Xenophobia
I feel like the discussion around racism in this book was done poorly, and true lack of character growth despite what the book was leading you to believe was frustrating and sadsoph1768's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
don't be a pussy with trigger warnings
melli80's review
2.0
It was interesting enough to hold my interest, but not something I would normally read. There are along of trigger points. Racism, child abuse violence and spousal abuse. At least these are the ones I have come across. I have a bind up of the first 3 stories. But I think I'll put it away for now.
kate_brauning's review against another edition
I loved the cover and graphic-novel style illustrations in this one. A solid read with several great twists I didn't expect. Not what I want from a zombie book myself, but I'd recommend it to classic horror fans.
drawmejay5233's review
4.0
He is a master of horror. This is a great book is jam-packed zombie gore, but also with great depth with the story. And with a twist at the end too great to even describe. Both me and my english teacher both enjoyed reading this so give it a try and if you like horror i promise you, you WILL want more.
haylisreading's review
2.0
**Spoilers ahead!**
Honestly, from one of my favorite authors, I was hoping for more. First of all, the actual zombies did not appear until halfway through the book. And by then I was already becoming bored. From the beginning to about halfway through the book, all it talked about was how racist B's father was and how he himself was denying that he was like his father. Although, B did nasty things to the kids that his father dispised. I found it to be quite troublesome that even though that wasn't the person that B wanted to be, that is whom his character turned out to be anyway. Also, around page 154 when B's father magically appeared to save his son is when B became Becky, and B's father's daughter. Who is B? Is "he" a boy or was she a girl all along?
Honestly, from one of my favorite authors, I was hoping for more. First of all, the actual zombies did not appear until halfway through the book. And by then I was already becoming bored. From the beginning to about halfway through the book, all it talked about was how racist B's father was and how he himself was denying that he was like his father. Although, B did nasty things to the kids that his father dispised. I found it to be quite troublesome that even though that wasn't the person that B wanted to be, that is whom his character turned out to be anyway. Also, around page 154 when B's father magically appeared to save his son is when B became Becky, and B's father's daughter. Who is B? Is "he" a boy or was she a girl all along?