Thank you so much to Leif, Holiday House, and NetGalley for the chance to read this FANTASTIC book early.

I loved this book a lot, particularly what it had to say about being disabled and all of the ways that able bodied people fail us. Being a zombie was essentially an allegory for being disabled and I loved how Ian’s zombism in particular felt like an extension of his disabilities and not like a magical power up, or a way to fix his epilepsy. A lot of the things Angel and Monica had to say made me absolutely sob, so much of it hit incredibly close to home. And I loved how Ian’s understanding of each of them changed as he got to know them: he found a friend in Monica where before he saw only competition of the perfect disabled martyr, he saw past Angel’s affectations to see that she was just a little girl trying her best to get through the situation (the moment in particular when Ian goes from calling her an Alien to just a girl meant so much to me).

The zombies were also COOL AS HELL! I loved how viscerally and horrifically they were described, even them rotting as they were still walking around. The way they found comfort in just being near each other, even if they were all each in their own little worlds was so interesting! I know it was in part because of the way the zombies were formed and such, but it was still an interesting touch! As for how they zombies came to be,,, not sure how much I love that part. It was interesting for sure but other than Ian’s dreams and the big show down, we saw very little of it and it felt a little unexplored for such a neat concept.

The romance was interesting but I don’t know if I’d call it pure cute. I liked how Ian and Eric were together without any misunderstandings between them, but I don’t love that Eric was so down bad to mercy kill his disabled friend or that it was wrapped up so nicely. For the sake of it being a YA “monster” romance I’ll allow it, Eric is just a kid experiencing the worst day of his life, but it was the one point of the allegory that I think fell apart. 

 

The writing style was also phenomenal!! The prose was so gorgeous and Ian’s thought process felt so believably young, incredibly accurate to teenagers. There were a lot of run on sentences, lots of stream of consciousness that helped emphasize the sheer weight of everything Ian was going through. I can’t wait to get my physical copy so I can highlight all my favorite lines!!!

Overall this was SUCH a fantastic read and I’m so great full the youth of today have such amazingly diverse reads, and really have the opportunity to see themselves in stories whether you’re queer or disabled or a little bit dead!