MJA Ware

“Zack and Zoey’s Alien Apocalypse” by MJA Ware is the ideal book if you want to grin from ear to ear while reading something. This was a charming, delightful story of an alien invasion, with buffoonery by the adults and heroism by the children. There are some classic “3 Stooges” types of one-liners in here. First, the President of the United States greets the visiting aliens by saying “On behalf of the people of Earth I’d like to offer my hand…” to which one alien says show more “don’t mind if I do” as he bites off the President’s hand! Then, later, the children need to get to the “old folks home” known somewhat dubiously as “Shady Grave”. Not the place I’d wish to spend my declining years!

Zack and Zoey are two elementary or middle school students who have been best friends forever, but Zoey thinks they are “a couple” because of something that happened clear back in the second grade. Zack, on the other hand, does not agree with her assessment of their relationship. While alien ships are capturing school kids to eat, Zack, Zoey, Sunny and others try various methods to thwart them. In spite of their efforts, Zoey gets caught up in a blue bubble and beamed aboard a ship. Sunny tells Zack the aliens will be going to Shady Grave soon, so they steal the Principal’s car (and why not? He had locked all the kids outside so the aliens would eat them instead of the adults) and basically gave themselves an impromptu driving lesson en route to the retirement home. Once there, they saw the elders were also locked out to feed the aliens, while the staff remained locked inside, so Zack drove through the double doors to give the seniors access to safety. But one crusty old curmudgeon wanted to help defeat the aliens, and teamed up with the kids just as the space ships arrived overhead.

I won’t give away any more details. This book is just too darned enjoyable for me to ruin it for you. I recommend this book, but ONLY for readers between 8 and 80, give or take a couple years. By any means possible, you need to get Zack and Zoey’s Alien Apocalypse for the reading pleasure of yourself, your children, your grandchildren, your god-children, and any other youngsters you happen to know! You all will be grinning the whole way through the book. I give it 5 alien stars! show less

I wasn't sure about this book - I love George Romero zombie movies but the walking dead usually don't work so well in books, maybe because they aren't much in the way of conversationalists. But I gotta say I really enjoyed this story. It's cute and funny - not only would middle graders enjoy it but it worked pretty well for a middle ager like me, too.

And the illustrations are priceless. They made me giggle and what more can you ask from a graphic novel?

Why is it that zombies appeal to all ages?

And why, oh why, is Wal-Mart always the best place to stock up and hole up during a zombie invasion?

I had a lot of fun reading MJA Ware’s Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb. The book was relatively short (eBook version was about 96 pages) and illustrated with simple black and white stick figure drawings. I chuckled while reading this book, even giggle-snorted a few times.

SZJMB begins as our two young heroes Nate and Misty return from an show more “unauthorized” camping trip. They arrive to find the town deserted. Well, not exactly. The mayor is there to greet them, but he is behaving a little out of character. There are some zombies running around and they are looking for a quick bite.

I loved Nate and Misty. They were remarkably resourceful for two kids that found themselves all alone in their town. By accident, the kids discover how to neutralize zombies. They also rescue Kali the boy genius as zombies are chasing him down. Together they develop the Super Zombie Juice Mega Bomb and save their town from the zombie hoard and even from the zombie chickens. Yes, zombie chickens.

This book is not gory or bloody so even readers with weak stomachs could enjoy this. I don’t think it could frighten young readers as the pictures are quite funny. I’m guessing this will appeal to 12 year old boys, only because I have a 12 year old boy who really wants to read this. show less

This book was the perfect blend of 'B movie' humor and the zombie gore I love, and I say that with all the positive feeling I can. I loved this book! The characters were fun, and refreshing. The violence was necessary, bloody, and at times funny.

Obviously this was written for slightly younger audiences than the other Zombie books I've been reading, but it's probably the one that I had the most fun reading. It definitely doesn't fit the horror genre, but Ware has hit the nail on the humorous show more angle of zombies.

Parts of the plot are similar to what you would expect in any zombie movie, but Ware acknowledges this and has fun doing so. The best part is that he works with what he has. These are young teens, preteens really, and they don't have access to guns or other weapons, and they certainly don't start off with mature survival instincts. Their first idea is to go to the mall. Too bad it's a strip mall. Then they head for Walmart, which is a much better idea. But even then they do some silly things, the first night the get a TV, and then set up a generator inside. His concept for lemon juice to be lethal to zombies is great. It gives his characters something to work with that doesn't seem too obvious for them, especially since they discover it by accident.

I was surprised by the ending, and had thought it would end a bit differently, with a perfect happy ending that most lighthearted children/middle grade/YA novels do, but Ware gave us a happy ending that is still sad.

Overall, an awesomely fun read, and I would definitely recommend this for ages 9 and up, particularly boys. show less