Zombies Don't Cry: A Living Dead Love Story (edition 2011)

I picked this book up expecting it to be a funny read, with a little bit of horror and romance tossed in. What I got was a pretty flat book with a sudden and abrupt turn at the end of the novel. And sadly, despite what the subject matter might lead you to expect, there's very little horror in the book at all.

First, the good: the zombie explanation. In this world, zombies are created through electrical currents. If you get electrocuted and die, the electrical current can bring you back as a zombie. Consequently, you crave brains as a source of electricity. As a zombie, you're stronger than normal, more difficult to kill, and basically live forever, unless somebody chops your head off or electrocutes you. It's not really an explanation you want to look at too closely, but it's a unique take on things. Good zombies can get by on animal brains and the like, while bad zombies ("zerkers", short for "berserkers") are more of your traditional zombie: mindless and violent. Not surprisingly, our protagonist is a good zombie. The method in which she becomes one is pretty random and coincidental, but hey, this is a list of good things, so whatever.

I also found the protagonist, Maddy, to be very clear-headed and focused. Unlike a lot of female protagonists who tend to get distracted at the drop of a hat (forget the bloodthirsty vampires chasing after her, she's got a boy to make out with!), Maddy is consistently focused on tackling the problems at hand.

Now, the not good: Maddy. I said I liked her clear-headedness, but she's MUCH too accepting. When she becomes a zombieafter being randomly STRUCK BY LIGHTNING, might I add, she only takes about 24 hours or so to come to terms with things. No crying, no hysterical screaming, nada. It was nice not to have a protagonist in constant denial, but it also pulled me out of the story a lot.

The other not-so-good thing in this book: the love story. To be fair, the title clearly labels the book, but here's the catch: THERE IS NO LOVE STORY. Throughout the book, Maddy is (justifiably) fixated on killing the bad zombies, to the point where everything else is underdeveloped. Again, understandable, because things that bite always take priority. Yet at the end of the book, out of NOWHERE, comes the love triangle. After killing the bad zombies (and losing her supposed zombie-best-friend, though she's not too hung up on it), Maddy abruptly throws herself into the arms of a guy she kind of knows, kisses him passionately, only to declare that she absolutely MUST be with this other guy she almost went on a date with once, because he needs her.

Imagine you spend an hour and a half watching a surprisingly boring zombie film, only to have your significant other switch it to an overly dramatic soap opera when you aren't looking. Baffled, you ending up rocking back and forth on the couch, shouting, "WTF IS GOING ON?"

It's that kind of feeling.

In summary: this is not a terrible book, which is why I gave in two stars instead of one. It honestly just comes across as a book that's desperately trying to fit into the current paranormal romance craze, but doesn't really fit. Had the author gone more for the horror and left the romance behind completely, I think it could have worked.
( )

Before I started Reading:
My reaction from the first page? What is it that I just read? It was so bad that even though I hate having my picture taken, I wish I had a camera just to record the expression I had through the first ten pages. Oh, and for the record you may blame any, and all vitriol that comes from this review on Kori, who recommended this to me. I think she just wanted to see what kind of review I would come up with for the lulz. Thanks Kori.

Real Review:
This one is coming up sooner or later.

This was my first YA Zombie book. I will never look at lightening the same way again. Or pale people. Or animal brains. :D This is also the first book I've read where the MC is female and the author is male. It was interesting to see this MC's inner thoughts and perceptions. I can see some female cliches but I think it's more noticeable to me since I went in reading wondering what this male author's idea of female thoughts or actions would be.

Overall I enjoyed the zombie-fied world Fischer creates. The supporting characters are great additions with good guys and bad guys. In case you were wondering if there was romance? Yes, there is zombie romance. Their hearts may not beat but that doesn't stop them one bit. ( )

I, too, was pretty much blown away by this book. Didn't think I'd like it at all...oh, but then there was that addiction to playing Plants vs. Zombies during Christmas break. But, but, but, this book is SO MUCH FUN! And sweet and romantic. My librarian friends are convinced (I convinced them) that this is the most fun they'd have since, well, I don't know...since Stephanie Plum without the zombies? I don't know, I just know it was rip roaring fun and I can't wait for the sequel!!!!!

Maddy Swift is pretty much a nerd girl living a quiet life in Barracuda Bay, when a hot, new guy comes on the scene. In order to hook up with this guy, find love, and be cool, she sneaks out her bedroom window on her way to a party. Things turn sour when a thunderstorm lights the sky and soaks her shoes. Worse than that, she wakes up in a mud puddle. On her return to home, she discovers she has a huge black hole in her head, no heartbeat, and no breath. Yup, she is one of the newly undead.

While becoming acquainted with her new "lifestyle," Maddy stumbles upon two unexpected undead chaperones, fellow students Dane and Chloe, who begin to teach her the ways of zombie life, including defending the populace from Zerkers—the bad zombies. Together, on prom night, the three teens must ultimately defend Barracuda Bay High from an all-out zombie Armageddon. ( )

After months looking this book in my pile I decided to put aside all the other books and finally read it. And you know what? Rusty didn't disappoint me. At all.

Maddy, after doing a very stupid thing like going out to a party in the middle of a storm, discovers that she is dead. Yep, there was no mistake specially after seeing the hole in the back of her head where a lightning had hit her.

So now she has this sudden desire to eat brains and she doesn't want to eat her dad's brain so she decides to buy fresh brains at market, of course, why not? And after a bizarre conversation with the guy at the counter she discovers that she is not the only teenager who buys brains. Two of her classmates are zombies too -and they take her to meet "The Elders" who, of course, look exactly like the zombies we see in the movies (gross!).
They tell her the rules, very simple rules: when turned report immediately to them -which she failed to do because, let's face it, we don't have a manual in case we became zombies, right?-, don't tell any human what you are and destroy all zerkers -read bad zombies-.

And, who knew? There are two zerkers in her town who happen to be in her Home Ec class and have already killed three of her classmates -which begins the rumors about a curse upon Home Ec-. To make things even more complicated there's a new boy who seems to like her (and was the main reason why she tried to go to that party in the middle of the storm) but now that she is a zombie it's kind of difficult to be with him... but Stamp doesn't give up and Dane, her zombie friend, doesn't look to happy about it.

But then Bones and Dahlia (the zerkers) develop a plan to turn their peaceful town into a nightmare...

Personal opinion:
Not only did Rusty managed to write a really funny, interesting and clever book from a zombie girl's point of view but he made it believable! I mean, if tomorrow I'm turned into a zombie I would pick up this book read it again and highlight the information I would need to survive.
The way Maddy thinks and they way she acts is completely natural in a girl of her age. The plot is interesting and what I liked the most were the dialogues and the sarcasm. For me it was like watching a movie, you know? It was that good!

And the cover? I love it! One of my favorite covers of this year.

The only thing that I would really like to know is if there's going to be a second book because the end is left open and I really want know what read more about Maddy. ( )