The BIG List of Zombie Books

Young Adult Zombie Books

 

The Forest of Hands and Teeth Click here to read a review

The Dead-Tossed Waves Click here to read a review

Undead Much

You Are So Undead to Me

I Kissed a Zombie, and I Liked It

Zombie Blondes

Never Slow Dance with a Zombie

Zombie Queen of Newbury High

Generation Dead

Generation Dead: Kiss of Life

Generation Dead: Passing Strange

Soulless

The Abhorsen Trilogy 3 Volume Boxed Set *Guru Recommended*

 

Adult Zombie Books

 

Feed (Newsflesh, Book 1)

The New Dead: A Zombie Anthology

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

I Am Legend *Guru Recommended*

Guilty Pleasures *Book 1 in the Anita Blake Series *Zombies are not the main topic of the novel *Guru Recommended*

The Mammoth Book of Zombie Apocalypse!

Zombie Csu

After Twilight: Walking with the Dead

Dying to Live: Life Sentence

Eden

Autumn

Cell: A Novel

Dead Bitch Army

Pet Sematary *Guru Recommended*

Infected: A Novel

30 Days Of Night

Boneshaker

Review: The Reckoning by: Kelley Armstrong

Title: The Reckoning
Series: Darkest Powers
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Published: April 6, 2010
Format: Trade Paperback ($17.95 CDN)
Age Group: Young Adult
Other Titles In The Series: The Summoning & The Awakening



From the publisher: 

Only two weeks ago, life was all too predictable. But that was before I saw my first ghost. Now along with my supernatural friends Tori, Derek, and Simon, I'm on the run from the Edison Group, which genetically altered us as part of their sinister experiment. We're hiding in a safe house that might not be as safe as it seems. We'll be gone soon anyway, back to rescue those we'd left behind and take out the Edison Group . . . or so we hope.

My Review: 

Kelley Armstrong is one of my favorite authors and I am a devoted fan of her Otherworld novels.  I have enjoyed reading all three books in her young adult Darkest Powers series immensely as Kelley Armstrong can always be counted upon to combine interesting, believable characters, with entertaining and spooky plot lines.  As the protagonist, Chloe is extremely likable and through Kelley Armstrong's well written descriptions I have been able to imagine Chloe in vivid detail as she grows and develops as a character through each novel.  In The Reckoning, Chloe is beginning to show more confidence in her abilities as a Necromancer, despite the myriad of unanswered questions regarding the genetic tampering that was done to her and the mystery of her mothers involvement with the Edison Group. Numerous times throughout this novel I had goosebumps appearing on my arms and shivers running down my spine as Kelley Armstrong describes Chloe's encounters with the ghosts and zombies that she knowingly and purposefully brings back from the dead to protect herself and those she cares for.  A few questions raised in the previous novel were answered in this one while leaving many more unanswered.  The death toll in this novel is rather large and I felt the novel was over far to soon for my liking. Kelley Armstrong reveals a little more information about the background of the Edison group throughout the novel and the mystery of it all really sucked me in and left me wanting more.  A love interest that began to develop in the previous novel is a major focus throughout The Reckoning and I was pleased to see how it progressed in a sweet and age appropriate way.  As an adult reading a novel targeted for young adults I was very aware of the age group it was written for and despite it being slightly young for me I was able to connect with the characters and be entertained by the story.  In all my years reading novels by Kelley Armstrong I have never been disappointed by her.  Readers who have read the previous novels can expect the same level of excellence in the newest addition and those who have yet to read the book should give it a chance. 

My rating falls somewhere between:

and 

for a novel written for a young adult audience who enjoy books with a focus on the paranormal.

Review: The Dead Tossed Waves by: Carrie Ryan

Title: The Dead-Tossed Waves
Author: Carrie Ryan
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: March 9, 2010
Format: Hardcover ($22.99 CDN)
ISBN - 10:0385736843
ISBN - 13:9780385736848

From the Publisher:

Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.

My Review:

I had very high expectations for this novel and they were met, for the most part.  Carrie Ryan's descriptive writing style once again got it's hooks into subconscious turning every meow of my cat, creek of my house, and and hum of my furnace into the moan of the undead.  Having left Mary still a teenager at the end of the first book, The Forest Of Hands And Teeth, I found it hard to re-connect with the grown up Mary in the beginning of the novel.  I found the new protagonist, Mary's daughter Gabry, likable despite her insecurities and indecisiveness and I really enjoyed reading as Gabry made choices and worked through difficult life-altering decisions.  I felt that this was a bit of a coming of age story set in a horrific world of oppression, desperation, and isolation where humans cling to hope, love, and companionship in unimaginable circumstances.  I found the first half of the novel to be satisfying but I wasn't as engrossed as I was with the first novel.  In the latter half of the book when Gabry enters the same forest her mother fought to get out of in the first novel things really began to heat up.  I found myself reading well into the night despite how tired I was and I was constantly rewarded with suspense and action as the plot began to truly unfold.  Entwined in this dystopic tale is a story of young love in all its passion, intensity, and angst.  At times I was slightly impatient with Gabry's indecisiveness and yet I can remember experiencing similar emotions when I was at the same stage as Gabry.  I think young readers will find her relatable, likable, genuine, and flawed, which in my opinion is a good recipe for well rounded protagonist.  The supporting cast was well written and I really enjoyed how Carrie Ryan connected characters from the first novel into the plot of The Dead Tossed Waves.  The ending felt like a mad dash to the finish line (in a good way) that had my heart racing alongside Gabry as she fought for survival.  The choices she makes in the end show how much Gabry has matured from the beginning of the novel.  Overall I was very impressed with The Dead Tossed Waves and with the open ended conclusion I hope to read about a forthcoming novel soon.

My Rating

Review: The Forest Of Hands And Teeth

Book Details

Title: The Forest Of Hands And Teeth
Author: Carrie Ryan
Genre: YA Fiction
Publisher: Random House Children’s Books
Published: March 10, 2009
Price: $22.99
ISBN: 0385906315, 9780385906319

From the Publisher:

In Mary''s world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future-between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

Carrie Ryan lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can visit Carrie at http://www.carrieryan.com/

My Review:

Before sitting down with a cuppa tea to write a review on, The Forest Of Hands And Teeth, by Carrie Ryan, I had an impulse to check the windows and doors to be sure they were locked up tight against a possible invasion of “Unconsecrated.” I devoured this book in one sitting while spending time at my cottage on a little island in Lake Simcoe, in Ontario Canada, where just outside my door is my own little forest of hands and teeth…minus the hands and teeth (hopefully). From the very first sentence and for every one thereafter, I was completely engrossed in the atmosphere, plot, and characters of the novel. Set generations in the future in a post apocalyptic world overrun with the zombies known as, “The Unconsecrated,” the main character, a young woman named Mary, faces a reality filled with heartache, terror, secrets, and the unknown. Carrie Ryan’s descriptions of a small village surrounded by guarded fences with hundreds of Unconsecrated pushing against them from all sides was made so real and vivid by her descriptive language that I was on the edge of my seat from chapter to chapter. As a character Mary is believable, likeable, and relatable for young adult and adult readers alike. It is truly a coming of age story filled with the disillusionment of the world created for her by, The Sisterhood and The Guardians, the heartache of a tragic love triangle, and the impossibility of making life altering choices in the midst of terror and confusion when the fence protecting her village is breached and Mary must flee the village and face The Forest Of Hands And Teeth. This is one of the most genuine and heartfelt stories I have ever read in the YA genre and I felt as though I was running for my life alongside Mary and feeling the confusion, terror, uncertainty, conflict, love, heartache, tragedy, and simple joys of life right along with her. I would recommend this novel to all young adult and adult readers who love the fiction genre and are looking for something new. I eagerly anticipate the release of the second novel in the trilogy, The Dead Tossed Waves, coming out in March 2010.

My Rating

Ohhhh Chapters...your calling to me strongly

Chapters is calling very strongly.  I finished reading Beautiful Creatures a few weeks ago (it was like a book sunday with a fat, red, jucy cherry on top and extra sprinkles) and since then I have not had much to read.  I have a few books on the go but nothing that has me in "book fever."  In anticipation for my next trip to Chapters or Manticore (my local book store) I have compiled a list of books I want to read. 

First up is The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan.  I keep walking by this book at the store but keep not buying it as other authors I read have released books more reciently. After snooping around on Carrie Ryans web site I became more and more interested in the plot line of this book because more then anything (ok almost more then anything) I love books who's main characters are young women on the cusp of adulthood.  I am so intrigued by how the events in our lives shape us and sometimes you find an author who captures that on paper.  I think its great to have fictional role models who demonstrate how to be honest with yourself, how to have courage and resilience when challenged by unfortunate life circumstances, and to be true and have respect for yourself.  I am hoping (and I have a feeling it will) this book lives up to that expectation.  Click here to read a indepth excerpt from the novel, it got my attention, I hope it gets yours to.

Coming out in March 2010 is the companion book to The Forest of Hands and Teeth.  Below is a quick excerpt from the book however if you would like to know more about Carrie Ryan and her novels click here.

Gabry lives a quiet life, secure in her town next to the sea and behind the Barrier. She's content to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. Home is all she's ever known, and all she needs for happiness.



But life after the Return is never safe, and there are threats even the Barrier can't hold back.

Gabry's mother thought she left her secrets behind in the Forest of Hands and Teeth, but like the dead in their world, secrets don't stay buried. And now, Gabry's world is crumbling.
One night beyond the Barrier...
One boy Gabry's known forever and one veiled in mystery...
One reckless moment, and half of Gabry's generation is dead, the other half imprisoned.
Gabry knows only one thing: if she is to have any hope of a future, she must face the forest of her mother's past.

I have lots more on my reading list which i'll be happy to add tomorrow.  For now I need to do less typing and more reading so i'll say,

Good Night and Happy Reading!