This was a really cute young adult book. It was a fast read. Mia just wants to go to prom with her crush, but jealousy and a cheerleader seem to be getting in her way. So, what's a girl to do? A love spell of course. What was supposed to help her 'keep' her man turns her into the Zombie Queen of her high school. A pretty good book. ( )

I guess Zombie Queen Of Newbury High was a pretty cute book - along the lines of Prada & Prejudice cuteness. I think that I had higher hopes for this book, although I do not know what I had expected from it. More zombies? Better characters? I don't know. More something. I had read You're So Undead To Me earlier this year, and I think that probably set the bar for YA zombie reads as far as cute zombie love goes. I just didn't think Zombie Queen Of Newbury High had that special zombie magic that sparks my interest.

My favorite character is actually Mia's best friend Candace who seems to think everything is wrong with her and tries to self-medicate herself with weird powders and potions to ward off any unhealthy evils. Her progression into a zombie proved to be interesting and different from what I would typically expect. And most definitely humorous, to say the least!

The existence of zombies and how they are kept secret from the public was not properly explained in Zombie Queen Of Newbury High. Instead, I had many questions afterwards like "Were all the other zombie outbreaks due to a love potion gone wrong?" Somehow I doubt Mia's case was a common "zombie" story in this universe. It would have been nice to hear a little more of other instances. ( )

Mia Everett is content to spend her time watching her Buffy DVDs, hanging out with her best friend Candice, and waiting to go to college, which is when the real fun will start. When senior class hottie Rob Ziggerman asks her to prom, however, she thinks that maybe she can have the high school dream after all. Things start to go wrong for Mia when cheerleader Samantha Griffin sets her sights on Rob as a potential prom date, and a panicked Mia agrees to use a love spell to keep Rob interested in her. When the love spell turns out to actually be a zombie curse, only Mia and the "new guy", Chase Miller are unaffected. Can Mia and Chase stop the curse before and save the senior class in time for prom? If they can't, then Mia will be the first victim.

Zombie Queen of Newbury High is a fun, light, and quick read. Mia is a typical teen thrown into an incredible situation, and she handles it as most teens would. Chase is a zombie hunter, but the book doesn't get weighed down in mythology; the explanation is handled quickly and concisely. There's no great evil to fight here, just a selfish prom queen wanna-be and a troublesome curse. This book is perfect for teens who want paranormal without the weight and darkness that is in a lot of current titles, and the book is clean enough to make parents and teachers comfortable. I look forward to more YA titles from Amanda Ashby. ( )

Review: There comes a book every once in a while that you just happen to like, but can’t seem to pinpoint the exact details. Zombie Queen of Newbury High is one of those types of books. I just like it okay, plain and simple. What else do you want to know!? Fine, fine, I’ll try to squeeze the amazing-ness of this book out of me…

My favorite aspect of this book was definitely the character and character relationship. Mia was such a relatable person. She’s the type of person that everyone knows at one point in their lifetime, the type of person that everyone wants to sign her yearbook. Not Miss Head Cheerleader but the one that always lending out a hand to a fellow student. You just can’t help but adore her.

The friendship between Mia and Candice was also an honest one with no hidden daggers waiting to be plunged. After reading so many backstabbed friendships, it was quite refreshing to read this. The teasing tone and the concern they showed one other felt real. It wasn’t too overly the top or sugarcoated sweetness.

I also thought that it was fun that Amanda had us believing that the everyone was cured by half the book, I was shell-shocked that it was over that quick, but of course, there’s always a surprise. Keeping the readers on their toes is always a plus for me!

Overall: Zombie Queen of Newbury High was a fun and simple read. With small bits of humor mixed in between, this book will entertain the reader for hours. ( )

Mia Everett could not believe her luck! The cutest boy in school, Rob, went on SIX dates with her and asked her to the prom! All of her dreams come tumbling down when pretty, popular, cheerleader Samantha Griffin sets her sights on him to get the prom queen tiara. She always gets what she wants. So, Mia is completely desperate and enlists the aid of her faithful (and hypochondriac) friend, Candice. Together, they procure a love spell and perform it at a school assembly. Mia is convinced that it worked because everyone is suddenly nice to her and bringing her lots of tasty treats. Later, she finds out from Chase Miller, undercover agent of the Department of Paranormal Containment, that it did, but not in a way that was expected. She inadvertently turned the senior class in to zombies AND they want to fatten her up and eat her! Can she reverse the spell before it's too late or will Chase have to kill the entire senior class? Will she still have a date to the prom?

This book was really light and fun. I've owned it for a while and when I finally got to it, I read it easily in a day. The language was very fluid and the story flowed very well. The characters all had defined and unique personalities. I think with this type of novel, it's easy to fall back on flat stereotypes, but Amanda Ashby seizes this opportunity to create likable and memorable characters. Mia is my favorite character. Despite her irrational, shallow behavior, I really like her. I relate to her because I too have an obsession with everything Joss Whedon and I wasn't very popular in high school. I had a lot of fun reading her story with all the references to pop culture and her sense of humor. Candice is also a great character, with her hypochondriac tendencies and high intelligence. Her quirkiness is so endearing. I really liked seeing great, detailed characters that still have flaws, but remain likable.

This novel, much like E. Van Lowe's Never Slow Dance with a Zombie, is not just about zombies (although zombies are still awesome). It's really about standing up for your own convictions and being an individual. Mia had to admit to herself that she liked a boy that may not have been as popular as Rob, but has more in common with her, knows her, and loves her for who she is. When trying to solve the problem she created, Mia shows great maturity and even forgets about the petty conflict between her and Samantha until Samantha keeps persisting. Mia shows growth through the novel and learns some valuable lessons.

Zombie Queen of Newbury High by Amanda Ashby was very fun and entertaining to read. There wasn't any zombie carnage, but there was humor, fun, and heart. I would recommend this to anyone, but especially those who aren't into gory horror. ( )