I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It

First I have to say that since I've been tackling the YA Zombie bookshelf, I've been very disappointed with the lack of blood and guts. I'm not sure if this is because authors and publishers are hesitant to publish those types of books for teens or if there isn't the demand for them. I can only speak for myself when I say that as a teen I would have loved a good bloody Zombie book!

As for I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It, there's zero blood and guts. There's the suggestion of it, but no description, no battle that the reader gets to read, just one character telling another that it's not a pretty scene.

Lack of gore aside, I actually enjoyed this book. It had a strong female character who even though she initially waivers in her beliefs, ultimately figures out that life is worth living to the fullest. There was a predictability to parts of the plot, but I was never exactly sure what would happen in the end. Alley's character really does struggle with her decisions about love, life and death. It doesn't seem forced and the ending, despite the tears I shed (Yes, I cried while reading a seemingly humorous zombie book), didn't leave me feeling sad. I thought that Selzer handled Alley and Doug's choices well, and Alley shows actual growth of character, an aspect that seems to be missing from so many popular YA books.

This was definitely an enjoyable book and I'm hoping to find more from Adam Selzer. ( )

Alley (Algonquin) Rhodes is known as an ice queen that verbally cuts down anyone in her path. She writes cutting concert reviews for the school paper. Unlike everyone else, she isn't interested in dating the undead or anyone at all. The undead have revealed themselves to the world because Megamart raised zombie workers from the grave to be exploited for slave labor. Obviously, vampires wouldn't stand for that sort of treatment, so they rose and up and fought for their rights. Unfortunately it's created this widespread enamor of vampires throughout Alley's school, much to her chagrin. On assignment for the school paper, Alley goes to a club to tear down a vampire band that really sucks. She is suddenly enamored by a guest singer, Doug, that steps in and sings one of her favorite songs with just the right feeling. Falling head over heels with each other, Alley and Doug start to date. They have so much in common, but it's kind of strange that Doug always wears the same clothes and has this weird disease...

I honestly wasn't expecting much from this book with the Katy Perry inspired title (I really hate that song), but it surprised me. It's a fun, tongue-in-cheek satire with biting humor and cute characters. If you are looking for super hardcore and serious zombies, you won't find them here. There was a pretty cool ravenous zombie scene, but it mostly takes place out of sight of Alley. I loved that Adam Selzer poked fun at pop culture and issues in our world today. Megamart and their shady business practices exploiting workers is a great stab at Walmart. If it were at all possible to raise free labor from the dead, I'm sure they would. The overall atmosphere of rabid vampire love skewered the ravenous and numerous Twilight fans. I'm sure there are many people tired of the fandom just like Alley. The overly dramatic and bossy demeanor of the vampire that has a crush on Alley really pinpointed just how creepy Edward in Twilight is, especially faced with skeptical Alley. The best thing that was portrayed through this supernatural world was the teenage experience, especially that special first love. Alley was willing to make huge life decisions based on her feelings for a guy she hadn't even known that long. The story did a great job showing how immature and crazy that is, unlike so many other teen books that glorify this ridiculous situation. The humor was pitch perfect and it made the book so much fun to read.

Alley, although at times annoying, was the star of the novel because she encompassed the teenage experience. She was a typical teenage girl: totally committed to being single until she meets the perfect guy and then ready to do crazy things to keep that love alive. She completely goes back on her convictions, but that's what teens do. It's easy to judge other people's relationships and dumb decisions, but it's different when it's your own. She started out treated practically everyone like garbage and put her ambitions over any relationship. Then she met Doug, the zombie, and was willing to throw it all away and become a zombie to be with him, the same thing she mocked the vampire groupies for before. I felt it was a good portrayal of a teen and how head vs. heart conflicts can change when they are faced with the situation themselves. Zombie Doug was pretty awesome too, providing Alley a kindred spirit. He had a good head on his shoulders and didn't encourage Alley to do anything irrevocably crazy to be with him.

I Kissed a Zombie and I Liked It was a fast, funny read. I loved the satirical elements and of course I love zombies, even if they are the romantic type. Zombie violence wasn't completely absent, but it wasn't the focus of the novel. I would recommend this to those zombie fans looking for a fun, light read. ( )

Alley (short for Algonquin) Rhodes lives in a world of post-humans, but that doesn’t matter to her. She’s the meanest girl in the Vicious Circle, her group of student newspaper reporter friends, and when she is asked to review one of her high school’s bands, her reputation as a mean girl is definitely not at stake. The band is absolutely horrible, right down to their name, the Sorry Marios, and Alley lets the band have it in her review. She sends it off mere minutes after the Marios come onstage, knowing there’s no way they could possibly outperform what she’s written. Then a guest singer ambles onstage, and begins throatily singing a Cole Porter song. Alley’s favorite. Doug, the singer, launches from Porter into a Leonard Cohen ballad, unwittingly ensuring that Alley is absolutely, positively head over heels in love with him.
Waiting for the catch?
Doug is a zombie.
After a discussion with her beloved, Alley soon realizes that she doesn’t care whether Doug is a zombie or if he’s got no limbs and a colostomy bag – because she loves him no matter what. Soon, a la Bella Swan, Alley begins to ponder becoming a zombie herself so she can stay with her man forever. If dating a zombie has perks she didn’t even know she wanted, like instant popularity, a shot at winning prom king/queen, what is keeping her from becoming a zombie herself?
First of all, there are her parents. They don’t want their daughter to throw her life away – though she thinks of it as the complete opposite of that, since she will be gaining immortality. In an argument with her parents, Alley likens her father’s conversion to Judaism to her desire to “convert to being dead” for Doug. Right. Secondly, there’s her mixed-relationships-hating vampire guidance counselor, who offers her the opportunity to become a vampire instead (Bella, be still your beating heart!) As Alley’s friend Peter says, “When your guidance counselor tells you to die, you really have problems!” Third, Doug hasn’t texted her back in almost 24 hours, and why die for someone who can’t even reply to a text in a timely manner? Fourth, a pamphlet from the nurse’s office reminds Alley that “the surgeon general has repeatedly warned against dying for any reason” – especially love.

Read Alikes:
Generation Dead, Zombie Blondes, Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, The Ghost and the Goth, Dead is the New Black.
Funnier, wittier, better written & more sophisticated than Twilight. ( )

I don't like paranormal fiction much, I respected Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, but I just don't get Twilight. I did, however, loved Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, but only because I thought it was brash, crude, and not at all romantic. Which is, in my opinion, everything that Twilight and most other paranormal fiction out there are. I've got nothing against that type of genre, it just does not appeal to my taste, and I think I'm one of those people who can't stand the fact that the undead are not scary anymore. They're now mystical and sentimental lovers out to conquer a special human's heart. So when I saw this book, I picked it up, knowing that it would be something that will make fun of this whole new rising genre. I read the blurb, and immediately, I was hooked!

If you are looking for an authentic zombie romantic fiction, stop in your tracks from getting this book. This is not something that will satisfy your zombie fix, nor is it something to include in those romantic paranormal romance lit out there. If anything, this is an entertaining, tongue-in-cheek, if a bit critical, parody of all things Twilight, Plants vs. Zombies, and whatever.

First off, the good things. Utilizing the author's background, this book is filled with great music, great snarky and witty jokes, and SOME really interesting characters. I would like to explain why I typed "some" that way, but I might forget that I'm only going to be talking about the good things first. I like the fact that there are no "old soul" thing going on and the teenagers all act their obnoxious, self-absorbed, naive age. The story is realistic, up until the point where the undead come in and begin their story. Then it becomes realistically unrealistic, but in a good way. The whole book starts off as a wisecracking, humor-filled take on the vampire craze and then suddenly churns out great insight, and ends with a mature, yet low-key ending. Mature in the sense that there is something to be learned here, a moral lesson if I may say so, that teens should seriously bear in mind: Yes the teenage years are quite overwhelming and unexciting at the same time, but never, ever look through your life with myopic eyes, never make hasty decisions. Otherwise, you might just turn out to be one brain-eating zombie idiot. The author never said it in those exact words, but when you read the whole novel, you'll understand. And no, there is no spoiler here.

Readers will find themselves laughing at the snarky comments Alley makes, and the jokes that the characters toss at each other. The dialogue is light, crisp, smart, and precise. Even those of Will's that sound, according to Alley, like a "German guy who just learned English from watching the BBC." It's only understandable if you find yourself commenting, "Hey that's my line!" on some of the things the characters say, because I did, and it only added to the fun I had while reading this.

Now onto the bad things: Typo, typo, typo! There aren't that many, but man, are they noticeable. Or maybe it's just me. Right now, let's go back why I typed SOME above. I like Alley and Doug and everyone, but they all seem to lack depth and perspective. But hey, this is just a fun, light story making fun of other stuff, so I guess I can forgive that. Another thing I notice is that there are a lot of questionable "answers" given in this story, and maybe the author really wanted to keep it short, but if he explored those answers, he might have done a better, if longer, rendering of the plot.

Those things said, I still can't get enough of the fun I had reading this book, and I think that's enough to forgive any flaws and provide allowances for this one. After all, I'm not really looking for an insightful view of the world. If it's a fun read you want, go get this one. ( )

Ally is stuck up. She thinks she's better than her town, than her parents, than everyone. Including boys. She has vowed never to date, that way it makes it easier to leave town and go to college.
Ally goes to a concert as a reporter for the newspaper and hears someone she's never heard before. A guest appearance by Doug. Doug is unlike any guy she's ever known, and soon they begin to start dating.
This book surprised me. I thought from the title alone it was going to be cheesy. But it really wasn't. It had a different perspective than most zombie stuff, Doug hurt all the time and hated being who he was. He had a car, he was a musician, a normal guy...sort of. With other zombie books/films the zombie is only after one thing. With Doug he just wanted a normal life again.
Ally transforms from a stuck up to an understanding gentle girl. Doug brings out the goodness in her, and in turn makes her likable.
The reason Doug became a zombie at all made me giggle, and I'm not sure that was the intention of the book at all. For that reason I gave it a little less.
It's short and can be read in one sitting. Cute, funny, romantic in a way, this is a great zombie book. ( )