Saturday, September 19, 2009

My Take On Never Slow Dance with a Zombie by E. Van Lowe

 Jinkies! If you're looking for a laugh-out-loud good time with zombie hijinks and capers, then look no farther my friend!

Principal Taft's 3 Simple Rules for Surviving a Zombie Uprising:
Rule #1: While in the halls, walk slowly and wear a vacant expression on your face. Zombies won't attack other zombies.
Rule #2: Never travel alone. Move in packs. Follow the crowd. Zombies detest blatant displays of individuality.
Rule #3: If a zombie should attack, do not run. Instead, throw raw steak at to him. Zombies love raw meat. This display of kindness will go a long way.
 On the night of her middle school graduation, Margot Jean Johnson wrote a high school manifesto detailing her goals for what she was sure would be a most excellent high school career. She and her best friend, Sybil, would be popular and, most important, have boyfriends. Three years later, they haven't accomplished a thing!
 Then Margot and Sybil arrive at school one day to find that most of the student body has been turned into flesh-eating zombies. When kooky Principal Taft asks the girls to coexist with the zombies until the end of the semester, they realize that this is the perfect opportunity to live out their high school dreams. All they have to do is stay alive....

 A nefarious plot is afoot. The entire student body has been turned into zombies, and it's up to four meddling kids to solve the who, why, and how!
 Margot, our completely self-obsessed protagonist, along with her BFF since 8th grade (and all around better person) Sybil, set out to have the best semester ever. With their peers turned into zombies, they have free reign of the school. They wear what they want without fear of retribution from the it-girls, plan dances with a strict NO ZOMBIE policy so the honor of Queen is in the bag, and (in Sybil's case) try to make a difference by bringing down the cliques and uniting the student body.
 Along with a couple fortunate geeks, the task of saving their peers from a life of flesh eating monotony falls to them alone. But does Margot really want to return the school to its prior state where she was a nobody? Or would it really be so bad to let them remain zombies, so she can be the popular girl who sets the trends and calls all the shots?
 This was a fun read that had me laughing out loud with its zombie antics. The methods employed in order to make living with the zombies easier were hi-larious. You could toss them scraps of meat, wear fish oil to ward them off, or, in case of emergency, wop 'em on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper with side-splitting results.
 Van Lowe also broached the subject of classism in schools and bullying in its most subtle forms. The book wasn't weighed down by it though, it got the message across without losing its fun vibe.
 At times I just wanted to throttle Margot, she was sooo self-centered. It was like all Margot, all the time! Sybil, on the other hand, was a much nicer character. She was a steady friend that anyone would be lucky to have. The cast featured the usual suspects; heart throb jock, witchy cheerio and posse, pining geek, socially conscious BFF, and of course, flawed protagonist who learns a valuable lesson about life, friendship, and self.
 I give Never Slow Dance with a Zombie...

...Three and a half Zombies.
This was a fun story with a Scooby Doo-esque mystery and lots of laughs. A great debut into the world of YA for E. Van Lowe.

Happy Reading,
Zombie Girrrl

3 comments:

vvb32 reads said...

yahooo! love the scooby-doo reference!

Zombie Girrrl said...

Zoinks!

Heather G. said...

I always have loved Scooby-Doo! Can't wait to start this one up!

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