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Zombie
A zombie-obsessed teenager has his own way of navigating high school and family dysfunction in this “crazy, wicked, knockout of a book” (Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain). High school may be hell. But for fourteen-year-old Jeremy Barker, hell doesn’t end when the bell rings. His pill-addicted mother, sex-addicted brother, and mostly-absentee Vietnam-vet father aren’t much of an improvement over the bullies at his all-boys Catholic school. He stays sane by watching movies. Zombie movies, to be exact, that provide a useful code of avoid contact, keep quiet, forget the past, lock-and-load, and fight to survive. His father’s also a fan, and watching zombie flicks together is their one way of father-son bonding. But even the wildest movie can’t prepare Jeremy for the day his English teacher slips his dad a DVD in the school parking lot—a home DVD of a macabre, ritual surgery. Jeremy’s father won’t say why he has the movie, or whether the gruesome spectacle is real. When his father disappears from the house yet again, Jeremy decides to investigate. Twisted, fast-paced, and hilarious, this coming-of-age novel is a brand-new take on growing up in a world full of people who don’t understand you—whether those people are your ninth-grade classmates or a horde of slavering zombies.
381 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2012
33 people are currently reading
717 people want to read
About the author
J.R. Angelella
2 books25 followersJoseph Ross Angelella is the author of the irreverent and twisted coming-of-age debut Zombie: A Novel (2012).
His award-winning short fiction has appeared in Hunger Mountain, Sou’wester, Coachella Review, Southampton Review and elsewhere. His screenplay Nemesis won the award for Best Dark Comedy Short in the Houston Comedy Film Festival (Fall 2020).
He holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars at Bennington College. He teaches writing in both the English department at the University of Maryland, College Park and the Electronic Media & Film department at Towson University.
He lives in Baltimore with his wife, the novelist and editor Kate Angelella, and their dinosaur-obsessed son Geno. Find him on twitter: @jrangelella.
His award-winning short fiction has appeared in Hunger Mountain, Sou’wester, Coachella Review, Southampton Review and elsewhere. His screenplay Nemesis won the award for Best Dark Comedy Short in the Houston Comedy Film Festival (Fall 2020).
He holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Literature from the Bennington Writing Seminars at Bennington College. He teaches writing in both the English department at the University of Maryland, College Park and the Electronic Media & Film department at Towson University.
He lives in Baltimore with his wife, the novelist and editor Kate Angelella, and their dinosaur-obsessed son Geno. Find him on twitter: @jrangelella.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 139 reviews
August 20, 2012
Disappointment thy name is Zombie, what happened you sounded so interesting.
I really don't know what to say in this review, the book made me so livid. I was expecting sharp, witty, and entertaining, but what I got was so clearly not. I was embarrassed by this books lame attempts to be funny, and angry at it's base tries to be sharp.
The main character was just so cookie cutter, a perverted, outcast freshman in high school obsessed with zombie movies. His inner dialog just made me angry, I do not like the derogatory term for gay men. So unless you are British and asking for a cigarette I don't want to hear it, PERIOD. It didn't end there either, there was racist and sexist thoughts as well.
I expect he gets it from his father, I thought of him as Quagmire in a Windsor knot.
He disgusted me, he was a chauvinistic pig of a man. The more he talked the more I wanted to kick him in the nuts hard enough to make him vomit, then pass out in it face first. I have no doubt about why his wife left him. I just don't know why she married him, and I can't stand her for leaving her son with him.
At this point I started to get angry, and really just didn't care anymore so I skimmed to the end.
So pretty much the only enjoyment I got out of this book was googling images of tie knots.
Sorry for the cluster fuck review, this book just pissed me off so please feel free to add kryptonite and fire away.
Thank you Net Galley and Soho Press for letting me read and review this book.
I really don't know what to say in this review, the book made me so livid. I was expecting sharp, witty, and entertaining, but what I got was so clearly not. I was embarrassed by this books lame attempts to be funny, and angry at it's base tries to be sharp.
The main character was just so cookie cutter, a perverted, outcast freshman in high school obsessed with zombie movies. His inner dialog just made me angry, I do not like the derogatory term for gay men. So unless you are British and asking for a cigarette I don't want to hear it, PERIOD. It didn't end there either, there was racist and sexist thoughts as well.
I expect he gets it from his father, I thought of him as Quagmire in a Windsor knot.
He disgusted me, he was a chauvinistic pig of a man. The more he talked the more I wanted to kick him in the nuts hard enough to make him vomit, then pass out in it face first. I have no doubt about why his wife left him. I just don't know why she married him, and I can't stand her for leaving her son with him.
At this point I started to get angry, and really just didn't care anymore so I skimmed to the end.
So pretty much the only enjoyment I got out of this book was googling images of tie knots.
Sorry for the cluster fuck review, this book just pissed me off so please feel free to add kryptonite and fire away.
Thank you Net Galley and Soho Press for letting me read and review this book.
February 18, 2018
Received for free through a Goodreads giveaway.
This book is not actually about zombies; it's about a teenage boy who is obsessed with zombie movies and develops a sort of "zombie code" to live by in real life. The boy eventually encounters a hairy situation where his otherwise silly code actually helps him out, or something like that...I don't know, this book was so boring I found myself just reading and rereading passages without anything sinking in.
I disliked this book not only because it is misleading, but it just portrays teen boys (and even the father somewhat) as being obsessed with the male anatomy: either the boy is ogling girls, which leads to anatomy references, or making jokes and talking about how to tie a Windsor knot, which again leads to male anatomy references. Apparently everything can be turned into an anatomy reference if you try hard enough. The references are totally blunt and without finesse and comes across as crass, in my opinion.
Also, the code with which the character lives by is stupid, in my opinion. He uses it in his day to day life, and he never, ever makes eye contact with anyone? The kid comes across as spineless, not someone who could slay zombies.
Plus the kid's life is just boring to read about: go to school, ogle girls, go home, watch zombie movies, sleep, repeat. OK, my life isn't exactly interesting, but that's why I read. I don't want that boring stuff in my books!
Very few books ever get less than 3 stars because I'm mostly a positive thinker when it comes to books; I think any book that is interesting enough to make a person stick around to the end must speak for itself and be at least halfway decent. But this book wasn't halfway decent. I only finished it because it was a giveaway and I uphold my end of the bargain and always review these as I finish them. If I didn't feel obligated I would have just trashed and forgotten it, and not even bothered with a review, but here we are; so 1 star, not worth the time/effort, in my opinion.
This book is not actually about zombies; it's about a teenage boy who is obsessed with zombie movies and develops a sort of "zombie code" to live by in real life. The boy eventually encounters a hairy situation where his otherwise silly code actually helps him out, or something like that...I don't know, this book was so boring I found myself just reading and rereading passages without anything sinking in.
I disliked this book not only because it is misleading, but it just portrays teen boys (and even the father somewhat) as being obsessed with the male anatomy: either the boy is ogling girls, which leads to anatomy references, or making jokes and talking about how to tie a Windsor knot, which again leads to male anatomy references. Apparently everything can be turned into an anatomy reference if you try hard enough. The references are totally blunt and without finesse and comes across as crass, in my opinion.
Also, the code with which the character lives by is stupid, in my opinion. He uses it in his day to day life, and he never, ever makes eye contact with anyone? The kid comes across as spineless, not someone who could slay zombies.
Plus the kid's life is just boring to read about: go to school, ogle girls, go home, watch zombie movies, sleep, repeat. OK, my life isn't exactly interesting, but that's why I read. I don't want that boring stuff in my books!
Very few books ever get less than 3 stars because I'm mostly a positive thinker when it comes to books; I think any book that is interesting enough to make a person stick around to the end must speak for itself and be at least halfway decent. But this book wasn't halfway decent. I only finished it because it was a giveaway and I uphold my end of the bargain and always review these as I finish them. If I didn't feel obligated I would have just trashed and forgotten it, and not even bothered with a review, but here we are; so 1 star, not worth the time/effort, in my opinion.
January 16, 2012
Jeremy Barker lives by a personal zombie survival code.
The survival code:
#1 Avoid eye contact
#2 Keep quiet
#3 Forget the past
#4 Lock-and-load
#5 Fight to survive
An aficionado of zombie films, Jeremy understands the nuances of survival. The code guides him through the halls of his all boy private, Catholic high school. He relies on it to help him navigate life with his angry father, his absent mother, and his long-gone brother. It helps Jeremy with love, and in a shocking turn of events, it will help him with quite a bit more.
Part Lord of the Flies, part Catcher in the Rye and part Prayer for Owen Meany, this extraordinarily well-written coming-of-age story is pitch perfect, and will be particularly appealing to male teens. Fast paced and punctuated with the daily, casual brutality of boy-on-boy violence, Jeremy’s resourcefulness and intelligence glow on the page, even as he gets sucked deeper and deeper into a chilling and increasingly horrifying mystery.
I couldn’t put it down.
And when I finished it I was stunned.
This brilliant first novel by J.R. Angelella is a must read.
Pub. date June 2012 - buy this book.
The survival code:
#1 Avoid eye contact
#2 Keep quiet
#3 Forget the past
#4 Lock-and-load
#5 Fight to survive
An aficionado of zombie films, Jeremy understands the nuances of survival. The code guides him through the halls of his all boy private, Catholic high school. He relies on it to help him navigate life with his angry father, his absent mother, and his long-gone brother. It helps Jeremy with love, and in a shocking turn of events, it will help him with quite a bit more.
Part Lord of the Flies, part Catcher in the Rye and part Prayer for Owen Meany, this extraordinarily well-written coming-of-age story is pitch perfect, and will be particularly appealing to male teens. Fast paced and punctuated with the daily, casual brutality of boy-on-boy violence, Jeremy’s resourcefulness and intelligence glow on the page, even as he gets sucked deeper and deeper into a chilling and increasingly horrifying mystery.
I couldn’t put it down.
And when I finished it I was stunned.
This brilliant first novel by J.R. Angelella is a must read.
Pub. date June 2012 - buy this book.
February 9, 2012
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway.
The teaser for this book in the giveaway said that it would be something a fan of Jonathan Foer's would enjoy. I can definitely see where this comparison came from.
This book isn't a "zombie" book in the traditional sense despite it's title. It focuses on a boy named Jeremy starting at a new school and all the difficulties he faces there (bullies, a possible sociopathic 8 fingered teacher, hot girls...you know, the usual...). I actually enjoyed this.
I notice that the 'negative' reviews mainly center around the fact that the book has a sort of identity crisis. And I agree to an extent. The bits about the mysterious tape and the blood and gore cult seem out of place among the day-to-day life of an awkward teenager, but I think that was the point. I have never read a real zombie horror book; perhaps that is why this style appealed to me.
This was one that I was on the fence about for the majority of the novel and I look forward to seeing what more people think when it is published in June.
The teaser for this book in the giveaway said that it would be something a fan of Jonathan Foer's would enjoy. I can definitely see where this comparison came from.
This book isn't a "zombie" book in the traditional sense despite it's title. It focuses on a boy named Jeremy starting at a new school and all the difficulties he faces there (bullies, a possible sociopathic 8 fingered teacher, hot girls...you know, the usual...). I actually enjoyed this.
I notice that the 'negative' reviews mainly center around the fact that the book has a sort of identity crisis. And I agree to an extent. The bits about the mysterious tape and the blood and gore cult seem out of place among the day-to-day life of an awkward teenager, but I think that was the point. I have never read a real zombie horror book; perhaps that is why this style appealed to me.
This was one that I was on the fence about for the majority of the novel and I look forward to seeing what more people think when it is published in June.
April 16, 2012
I really wanted to like this book. The premise is amazing. Kid fixated on zombie movies with a set of rules based on them. Possible serial killer dad. Interesting combo and I was excited to get the arc. However, the voice does not lend itself to a female audience. The consistent referral to male appendages was offensive and really not needed. Once is fine, but twenty times later and I just put this book down never to try again. While I do realize this is from the point of view of a teenage boy, it does not have to have d**k in every other word. I wanted to find out if the dad was a serial killer but I can't get passed the first twenty pages. Very disappointed. :(
August 17, 2012
A dark, witty coming-of-age story with a few morbid twists. Similar in tone to stuff like The Basic Eight and Rotters. A few prudes have commented on the "foul language", but I thought the ribald verbal exchanges were a highlight. I loved this book.
June 20, 2012
I really enjoyed this, I'm just having trouble coming to grips with the ending.
August 17, 2012
Horrible. The writing is terrible. Some parts are disturbing.
This is a quote I don't get: "She smells like a unicorn". Who can relate to that?
I understand that I am a female reader and this is from the perspective of a male, but the language is too over the top. There are definitely too many sexist comments. The random side thoughts that had nothing to do with the story were annoying. For example, on page 1 there is a random paragraph about Jonah and the Whale. I was expecting the author to somehow relate this to something or use it as a metaphor or something. It is never brought up again; I didn't get it. I'm disappointed that I wasted my time finishing this book.
This is a quote I don't get: "She smells like a unicorn". Who can relate to that?
I understand that I am a female reader and this is from the perspective of a male, but the language is too over the top. There are definitely too many sexist comments. The random side thoughts that had nothing to do with the story were annoying. For example, on page 1 there is a random paragraph about Jonah and the Whale. I was expecting the author to somehow relate this to something or use it as a metaphor or something. It is never brought up again; I didn't get it. I'm disappointed that I wasted my time finishing this book.
May 7, 2012
Time Taken To Read - 6 *long* hours
Blurb From Goodreads
Fourteen-year-old Jeremy Barker is obsessed with zombie movies. He attends an all-boys Catholic High School where roving gangs in plaid make his days a living hell. His mother is an absentee pillhead, his older brother a self-diagnosed sex-addict, and his father an ex-Marine realtor who disappears night after night without explanation. Jeremy navigates it all with a code cobbled together from Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, Planet Terror, Zombieland and Dawn of the Dead:
• Avoid Contact
• Keep Quiet
• Forget the Past
• Lock-and-load
• Fight to Survive
The code is put to the test when he discovers in his father’s closet a bizarre homemade video of a man strapped to a bed, being prepped for some sort of surgical procedure. As Jeremy—troubled but ever-optimistic—attempts to trace the origin of the video, this remarkable debut moves from its sharp, precocious beginnings to a climax of almost unthinkable violence, testing him to the core.
My Review
I clearly thought with the title this was about zombies, there are references to zombie survival rules that Jeremy uses to survive his existence with the bullies at school, the shambles of his family life and every other situation he encounters. His mother is a pill popper, his brother is a sex addict and his father he suspects of being involved in something dark and dangerous as he disappears every night.
Oh dear this book was a struggle for me. Not only was the format only available to read on the computer which in itself was a nightmare (I have emailed the publisher about this), just about every line had a swear word or something crude. I have no problem reading bad language but this was just overkill, swearing for the sake of swearing. It was constantly following Jeremys life at school and the bullying and interaction with the other kids so teenage boys can and do swear but this was all the time.
Once you wade through all the bad language it is a tale of teenage angst, following a young boy through the trials and issues most teenage boys have likely experienced. The only thing I didn't mind was his zombie fixation and the snippets of tales about his favourite zombie movies. Maybe this will be a hit with teen boys as they might feel they can relate to the main character but I can't honestly say of all the readers I know (and thats a lot!) none of them would enjoy or relate to this. Had it not been a review book I would have given up a chapter or two in, 1/5 for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for providing me with a review copy, release date 5th of June 2012, published by Soho Press.
Blurb From Goodreads
Fourteen-year-old Jeremy Barker is obsessed with zombie movies. He attends an all-boys Catholic High School where roving gangs in plaid make his days a living hell. His mother is an absentee pillhead, his older brother a self-diagnosed sex-addict, and his father an ex-Marine realtor who disappears night after night without explanation. Jeremy navigates it all with a code cobbled together from Night of the Living Dead, 28 Days Later, Planet Terror, Zombieland and Dawn of the Dead:
• Avoid Contact
• Keep Quiet
• Forget the Past
• Lock-and-load
• Fight to Survive
The code is put to the test when he discovers in his father’s closet a bizarre homemade video of a man strapped to a bed, being prepped for some sort of surgical procedure. As Jeremy—troubled but ever-optimistic—attempts to trace the origin of the video, this remarkable debut moves from its sharp, precocious beginnings to a climax of almost unthinkable violence, testing him to the core.
My Review
I clearly thought with the title this was about zombies, there are references to zombie survival rules that Jeremy uses to survive his existence with the bullies at school, the shambles of his family life and every other situation he encounters. His mother is a pill popper, his brother is a sex addict and his father he suspects of being involved in something dark and dangerous as he disappears every night.
Oh dear this book was a struggle for me. Not only was the format only available to read on the computer which in itself was a nightmare (I have emailed the publisher about this), just about every line had a swear word or something crude. I have no problem reading bad language but this was just overkill, swearing for the sake of swearing. It was constantly following Jeremys life at school and the bullying and interaction with the other kids so teenage boys can and do swear but this was all the time.
Once you wade through all the bad language it is a tale of teenage angst, following a young boy through the trials and issues most teenage boys have likely experienced. The only thing I didn't mind was his zombie fixation and the snippets of tales about his favourite zombie movies. Maybe this will be a hit with teen boys as they might feel they can relate to the main character but I can't honestly say of all the readers I know (and thats a lot!) none of them would enjoy or relate to this. Had it not been a review book I would have given up a chapter or two in, 1/5 for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Soho Press for providing me with a review copy, release date 5th of June 2012, published by Soho Press.
March 29, 2012
I got this book through Goodreads First Reads.
I am not quite sure how I feel about this book. It starts out like your typical "coming of age" book about a 15/16 year old boy who attends Catholic school and is an outsider. He is obsessed with zombie films and applies zombie film rules to his everyday life. He comes from a very dysfunctional family and something weird is going on with his Vietnam Vet dad. Something VERY weird. There are moments when the book is very well written and engaging but then moments where I felt very disconnected from what was happening with the plot. It was a very strange feeling to have while reading the book.
There are some weird sentences and paragraph glitches but then it is an uncopyedited advance copy of the book so by release those should be gone.
I guess the best thing I can say is read it for yourself and see if it is your cup of tea. For me it was interesting but not one of my favorite books.
I am not quite sure how I feel about this book. It starts out like your typical "coming of age" book about a 15/16 year old boy who attends Catholic school and is an outsider. He is obsessed with zombie films and applies zombie film rules to his everyday life. He comes from a very dysfunctional family and something weird is going on with his Vietnam Vet dad. Something VERY weird. There are moments when the book is very well written and engaging but then moments where I felt very disconnected from what was happening with the plot. It was a very strange feeling to have while reading the book.
There are some weird sentences and paragraph glitches but then it is an uncopyedited advance copy of the book so by release those should be gone.
I guess the best thing I can say is read it for yourself and see if it is your cup of tea. For me it was interesting but not one of my favorite books.
November 6, 2013
J.R. Angelella’s purpose in writing the book, Zombie a Novel, is to show the reader that even though you get scared of something don’t let, the reader should not let that overcome them. The reader should stand with his head high and face the problem no matter what the cost.The book shows how scary things can get in a person’s way, but we have to fight it. The zombies in the story can represent the reader’s problems. When the main character, Jeremy, defeats the zombie, this can represent the reader overcoming his/her problem. Zombie a Novel is a really funny book too. All the jokes that are mentioned in the book will make the reader die laughing.
Zombie a Novel was well written. The author knew when to make a joke and when not to. The book levels the funniness, meaning that the book is not always jokes. The book gets tense sometimes. For example there is a point in the book where Jeremy mentions two boys “punching each other in the arm hard, screaming Dead Arm” (Angelella 27). Even though the book included curse words, it was still well written. The curse words make this book more for mature people that can handle it. The part that made me laugh the most was when the father of Jeremy, the main character said “the size of a man’s knot. His bastion of strength” (Angelella 3). The story knows know to entertain people.
The book was extremely captivating. There is no other book in the world that can make a person laugh as much as this one. This story knows how to make the reader laugh his butt off. I related to Jeremy so much. It’s we both had the same life. His father in the story is always trying to make jokes just like my mother. This book was not boring at all. There will never be a chapter where I would not laugh. This book was funny. The impact that this book can have on its audience is indescribable. This book will never be forgotten by any of its readers, that how much this book can impact the reader. This book will have a lasting value because it sticks in the readers like glue on paper. This book makes the reader feel like he is in a movie. The way the author wrote this book can be compared with the best movie out there.
This book is just so mind blowing that the reader will want to read it again and again. I would recommend this book to the whole world if I could. I would recommend it to the whole world because it just makes the reader laugh so much that it starts hurting their cheek bones. For example when Dirtbag Boy, one of the characters in the book, doesn’t know how to swim he tells his coach and his coach says “Don’t care. Show me that you’re not some artsy, fartsy, ballshwank. Show me you got a pair of stones. Now dive” (Angelella 191). This book is really one of a kind. I think the greatest strength of this story is that it never stops making the reader laugh. There is not one page that won’t make the reader laugh. This book makes a connection with the reader. I think that this book doesn’t really have a weakness unless the reader hates laughing. This story really doesn’t show any type of problem.
The book, Zombie a Novel, written by J.R. Angelella is a phenomenal book. If you have not read it I beg you to. There is really no excuse for you not to read this. If you want to laugh then this is the book for you. This book has nothing wrong with it. It is really well written. Also, the book is captivating. This book will astonish the reader in so many ways, I can’t even count them. This story is truly amazing. J.R. Angelella sure does know how to right a hysterical book.
Zombie a Novel was well written. The author knew when to make a joke and when not to. The book levels the funniness, meaning that the book is not always jokes. The book gets tense sometimes. For example there is a point in the book where Jeremy mentions two boys “punching each other in the arm hard, screaming Dead Arm” (Angelella 27). Even though the book included curse words, it was still well written. The curse words make this book more for mature people that can handle it. The part that made me laugh the most was when the father of Jeremy, the main character said “the size of a man’s knot. His bastion of strength” (Angelella 3). The story knows know to entertain people.
The book was extremely captivating. There is no other book in the world that can make a person laugh as much as this one. This story knows how to make the reader laugh his butt off. I related to Jeremy so much. It’s we both had the same life. His father in the story is always trying to make jokes just like my mother. This book was not boring at all. There will never be a chapter where I would not laugh. This book was funny. The impact that this book can have on its audience is indescribable. This book will never be forgotten by any of its readers, that how much this book can impact the reader. This book will have a lasting value because it sticks in the readers like glue on paper. This book makes the reader feel like he is in a movie. The way the author wrote this book can be compared with the best movie out there.
This book is just so mind blowing that the reader will want to read it again and again. I would recommend this book to the whole world if I could. I would recommend it to the whole world because it just makes the reader laugh so much that it starts hurting their cheek bones. For example when Dirtbag Boy, one of the characters in the book, doesn’t know how to swim he tells his coach and his coach says “Don’t care. Show me that you’re not some artsy, fartsy, ballshwank. Show me you got a pair of stones. Now dive” (Angelella 191). This book is really one of a kind. I think the greatest strength of this story is that it never stops making the reader laugh. There is not one page that won’t make the reader laugh. This book makes a connection with the reader. I think that this book doesn’t really have a weakness unless the reader hates laughing. This story really doesn’t show any type of problem.
The book, Zombie a Novel, written by J.R. Angelella is a phenomenal book. If you have not read it I beg you to. There is really no excuse for you not to read this. If you want to laugh then this is the book for you. This book has nothing wrong with it. It is really well written. Also, the book is captivating. This book will astonish the reader in so many ways, I can’t even count them. This story is truly amazing. J.R. Angelella sure does know how to right a hysterical book.
August 14, 2012
I got my copy at Zombie because of Book Expo. It was mailed to me after Book Expo because they ran out on the day. That was how popular it was. I think it is pretty clear that a Zombie book is right up my alley. This book is not about Zombies though. It is a coming-of-age for boys novel. How do Zombies fit into this? Our hero, Jeremy, has a code for life and his code comes from the Zombie movies he loves. He deals with his fellow teenagers as he would with zombies. He uses zombie movies as his filter on how he sees the world, but as his way to connect with other people. I think this is something we all do and I liked that Jeremy takes the time to explain why he loves each specific movie he loves and how it connects with his memories of growing up (so far). His story about watching Thriller for the first time as a kid reminded me of how my own friends reacted at the same time.
While I did enjoy this book, I had two glaring problems. One simply had to do with me. I was not a teenage boy and I couldn't find any common ground for help me relate. Other than how much I too hated high school, I found teenage boys to be more than I ever had to experience. Girls can be horrible people too, but there is something about the boys at this catholic high school that really reminded me that I made the right decision not to have kids. I typically can identify with themes in fiction written for men, but this one just made me so glad to be a girl. From the abuse they inflict on each other to the way adults treat them made me think the world has not and never will change. I felt almost hopeless after I finished this book.
The second problem I had rests with our author. The one thing I could not get over was the father and what time period we are dealing with. If this story had taken place in the early 1990s then I wouldn't have this problem. The main problem is that this book takes place in 2011/12 and that doesn't work with the details of the story. This is because the father is a Vietnam veteran. Vietnam happened almost 50 years ago. My father is the age Ballentine should be: mid-60s. I am not saying it is impossible, but the parents are suppose to be the same age. To fit the time line, they had kids about 21 years before. There was no explanation as to why this much time passed before the couple had children. This means they would have had their first kid in their early 40s and Jeremy in their late 40s/early 50s. This is needs an explanation. This would have helped with the understanding both parents a bit better. I would have had a bit more sympathy for their flaws if I understood them better (even if Jeremy didn't make the connection himself). It would have made more sense if Dessert Storm had been selected as the war. PTSD, which is what I think was going on with the father, was just as big of an issue for Dessert Storm.
Finally, I didn't love the way the book ended. I get no sense of what actually happened to the father. Why were these men doing what they did? Were they trying to make up for sins? Was this a take off on Fight Club? Was this for shits and giggles? I like to understand motivations, even if our narrator is unsure of them. I wish there was a stronger conclusion rather just a scene a few months later.
While I did enjoy this book, I had two glaring problems. One simply had to do with me. I was not a teenage boy and I couldn't find any common ground for help me relate. Other than how much I too hated high school, I found teenage boys to be more than I ever had to experience. Girls can be horrible people too, but there is something about the boys at this catholic high school that really reminded me that I made the right decision not to have kids. I typically can identify with themes in fiction written for men, but this one just made me so glad to be a girl. From the abuse they inflict on each other to the way adults treat them made me think the world has not and never will change. I felt almost hopeless after I finished this book.
The second problem I had rests with our author. The one thing I could not get over was the father and what time period we are dealing with. If this story had taken place in the early 1990s then I wouldn't have this problem. The main problem is that this book takes place in 2011/12 and that doesn't work with the details of the story. This is because the father is a Vietnam veteran. Vietnam happened almost 50 years ago. My father is the age Ballentine should be: mid-60s. I am not saying it is impossible, but the parents are suppose to be the same age. To fit the time line, they had kids about 21 years before. There was no explanation as to why this much time passed before the couple had children. This means they would have had their first kid in their early 40s and Jeremy in their late 40s/early 50s. This is needs an explanation. This would have helped with the understanding both parents a bit better. I would have had a bit more sympathy for their flaws if I understood them better (even if Jeremy didn't make the connection himself). It would have made more sense if Dessert Storm had been selected as the war. PTSD, which is what I think was going on with the father, was just as big of an issue for Dessert Storm.
Finally, I didn't love the way the book ended. I get no sense of what actually happened to the father. Why were these men doing what they did? Were they trying to make up for sins? Was this a take off on Fight Club? Was this for shits and giggles? I like to understand motivations, even if our narrator is unsure of them. I wish there was a stronger conclusion rather just a scene a few months later.
June 13, 2012
Life for 14-year-old Jeremy Barker has been something of a suckfest lately. His parents are divorced and his pill-popping mother has moved in with her new boyfriend, his older brother is, according to himself, a sex-addict and, according to Jeremy, a major douche, and his ex-marine father disappears every night without explanation. As well, Jeremy has secretly stopped taking his medication. We are never told what the medication is for and so it is hard not to wonder how much of what happens is real and how much takes place only in Jeremy's head.
Jeremy is a huge fan of zombie movies and lives by a list of zombie survival codes he has cobbled together from his favourites:
1-avoid eye contact
2-remain quiet
3-forget the past
4-lock & load
5-fight to survive
He has just started as a freshman at an all boys Catholic school and has, almost as soon as he passes through the doors, become the target of bullies. Fortunately, his codes help him survive. Actually, he just mostly hangs out in the washroom but it is survival of a sort.
Then, one night after his dad leaves, Jeremy searches his room for clues to where he goes. He finds a homemade DVD entitled Sublimation. A man is strapped to a gurney as if for surgery. In the background, chanting can be heard. When Jeremy confronts his dad, he refuses to explain other than to say it is not what he thinks. Frankly, Jeremy has no idea what he thinks but he's pretty sure it's linked to Mr Rembrandt, a teacher at school who is missing the pinkies on both of his hands.
Still, Jeremy does his best to put the mystery aside, tries to make friends while sticking to the zombie survival codes and he even meets a girl. After their first date, they spot Mr Rembrandt and decide, just for a joke, to follow him - and that's when things get really strange.
I have to say, this is a bit of an odd story. For most of the book, it is a fairly typical but quite enjoyable coming-of-age tale, full of teen angst and budding male hormones. However, in the last few pages, it makes a huge turn into some pretty extreme violence. It almost felt like two stories pushed together and they didn't quite mesh.
I also felt that the author introduced some interesting characters like Zinc and Frankie who looked like they would (and should) play a big role only to let them drop.
Still, this was a fun book. As a huge Zombie movie fan myself (well, except Zombie Strippers), I loved the idea of the code and enjoyed how author Angelella used Jeremy's favourite films to move the story along. Zombies is definitely not for everyone - like I said, there is some extreme violence and some equally strong language - but for those out there who enjoy their reading a little on the odd side, this one's for you.
Jeremy is a huge fan of zombie movies and lives by a list of zombie survival codes he has cobbled together from his favourites:
1-avoid eye contact
2-remain quiet
3-forget the past
4-lock & load
5-fight to survive
He has just started as a freshman at an all boys Catholic school and has, almost as soon as he passes through the doors, become the target of bullies. Fortunately, his codes help him survive. Actually, he just mostly hangs out in the washroom but it is survival of a sort.
Then, one night after his dad leaves, Jeremy searches his room for clues to where he goes. He finds a homemade DVD entitled Sublimation. A man is strapped to a gurney as if for surgery. In the background, chanting can be heard. When Jeremy confronts his dad, he refuses to explain other than to say it is not what he thinks. Frankly, Jeremy has no idea what he thinks but he's pretty sure it's linked to Mr Rembrandt, a teacher at school who is missing the pinkies on both of his hands.
Still, Jeremy does his best to put the mystery aside, tries to make friends while sticking to the zombie survival codes and he even meets a girl. After their first date, they spot Mr Rembrandt and decide, just for a joke, to follow him - and that's when things get really strange.
I have to say, this is a bit of an odd story. For most of the book, it is a fairly typical but quite enjoyable coming-of-age tale, full of teen angst and budding male hormones. However, in the last few pages, it makes a huge turn into some pretty extreme violence. It almost felt like two stories pushed together and they didn't quite mesh.
I also felt that the author introduced some interesting characters like Zinc and Frankie who looked like they would (and should) play a big role only to let them drop.
Still, this was a fun book. As a huge Zombie movie fan myself (well, except Zombie Strippers), I loved the idea of the code and enjoyed how author Angelella used Jeremy's favourite films to move the story along. Zombies is definitely not for everyone - like I said, there is some extreme violence and some equally strong language - but for those out there who enjoy their reading a little on the odd side, this one's for you.
January 26, 2012
I felt a dedication to finish this book, as I was given a prerelease copy as part of Goodreads' First Reads program. If it weren't for the nature of this program (to elicit reader reviews from Goodreads members), I probably would have never finished this book. The problem I have with this novel is that it doesn't seem to know what it wants to be. Most of the book is about an awkward, friendless teen coping with entering high school and his dysfunctional family. Near the end of the book, it drastically shifts to a gore-filled horror story. When you have 200+ pages of a kid avoiding bullies and acting awkward around girls and suddenly he's in an abandoned building watching masked men masturbate as live bodies get mutilated, it makes me, as a reader, feel deceived. I thought I was reading a Young Adult novel about how awful high school is. What does this horror show have to do with a kid who uses zombie movie survival tactics to get through his adolescence? Maybe I missed something. I can't recommend this book to someone who wants a coming of age story, as the ending is too far removed from that genre. I also can't recommend it to fans of horror stories, as all of the teen angst that makes up a majority of the book is too difficult to get through.
I will say that taken on its own, I did enjoy the horror portion of the book. It was disturbing and twisted in a way that reminds me of Chuck Palahniuk. I would have preferred a story geared to adults that focused on a son trying to discover what has happened to his father that leads to the confrontation with the mutilation cult; everything dealing with the high school and the Zombie Survival Code could be dropped and I wouldn't miss it. I know that would completely alter this novel and remove it's gimmick ("Jeremy lives his life like a character in the zombie movies he loves"), but it's what I would have liked to have read. Maybe someday Mr. Angelella will write a pure horror novel geared for an adult audience, and when he does, I will want to read it, but until then, I think I'll let his YA books stay on the shelf.
Lastly, I do have to mention the use of the biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told as a zombie film. That's a wickedly funny idea. The part where Jeremy and Father Vincent discuss this film was one of my favorite parts of the book.
I will say that taken on its own, I did enjoy the horror portion of the book. It was disturbing and twisted in a way that reminds me of Chuck Palahniuk. I would have preferred a story geared to adults that focused on a son trying to discover what has happened to his father that leads to the confrontation with the mutilation cult; everything dealing with the high school and the Zombie Survival Code could be dropped and I wouldn't miss it. I know that would completely alter this novel and remove it's gimmick ("Jeremy lives his life like a character in the zombie movies he loves"), but it's what I would have liked to have read. Maybe someday Mr. Angelella will write a pure horror novel geared for an adult audience, and when he does, I will want to read it, but until then, I think I'll let his YA books stay on the shelf.
Lastly, I do have to mention the use of the biblical epic The Greatest Story Ever Told as a zombie film. That's a wickedly funny idea. The part where Jeremy and Father Vincent discuss this film was one of my favorite parts of the book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 6, 2012
Yeah, I hung in there, but I'm pissed. This is one of the WORST books I've ever read. First and foremost, it's rife with grammatical and spelling errors, which is unforgivable, especially in a YA novel. For example: She saw me, peaking through the blades of my blinds, two white eyes watching her. and His neck turns, pulling away, gagging, chocking. These are not the only occurrences, nor are they the only errors.
Secondly, the characters are so offensively, stereotypically one note. An Asian character, Brother Lee, speaks in broken English, and is described by the protagonist as "some kind of mini-ninja." The one black character, Mykel, refers to the protagonist, Jeremy, as "J-Dog." In fact, all of the language/dialect in this book made me wonder if J.R. Angelella actually knows any teenagers, as it's so dated. And then I read the acknowledgments, in which he reveals that the book was ten years in the making. So there's that.
I'm no prude, but there are THREE HUNDRED AND THREE instances in which the word "fuck" or variations thereof are used; 72 for the word "dick," but I can't even be bothered to count how many penis references overall there are. This isn't titillating--it's just lazy writing. Fourteen year old Catholic school boys the world over should be offended. I feel like they have way more substance than they've been given here.
The misogyny ABOUNDS. The women are either "whores" or "pillheads" or mentally ill masturbatory fantasy material. Not a strong female character in the bunch.
And finally--it took so long to get to the big reveal that I just didn't give a shit. I found myself skimming over the climax.
In short, if I'd read this as a paperback rather than a Kindle book, I would have wiped my ass with it and then set it on fire.
ETA: Oh, yeah. And all the "faggot" and derivatives. Come on. REALLY?! A damn shame. And for anyone who thinks it's not a big deal, substitute the N word and then talk to me.
Secondly, the characters are so offensively, stereotypically one note. An Asian character, Brother Lee, speaks in broken English, and is described by the protagonist as "some kind of mini-ninja." The one black character, Mykel, refers to the protagonist, Jeremy, as "J-Dog." In fact, all of the language/dialect in this book made me wonder if J.R. Angelella actually knows any teenagers, as it's so dated. And then I read the acknowledgments, in which he reveals that the book was ten years in the making. So there's that.
I'm no prude, but there are THREE HUNDRED AND THREE instances in which the word "fuck" or variations thereof are used; 72 for the word "dick," but I can't even be bothered to count how many penis references overall there are. This isn't titillating--it's just lazy writing. Fourteen year old Catholic school boys the world over should be offended. I feel like they have way more substance than they've been given here.
The misogyny ABOUNDS. The women are either "whores" or "pillheads" or mentally ill masturbatory fantasy material. Not a strong female character in the bunch.
And finally--it took so long to get to the big reveal that I just didn't give a shit. I found myself skimming over the climax.
In short, if I'd read this as a paperback rather than a Kindle book, I would have wiped my ass with it and then set it on fire.
ETA: Oh, yeah. And all the "faggot" and derivatives. Come on. REALLY?! A damn shame. And for anyone who thinks it's not a big deal, substitute the N word and then talk to me.
August 9, 2015
Wait, this is how teenagers grow up in the States? Or is it boyhood that seems so alien, violent and misogynistic? Or is the author trying to be "edgy", like a YA Palahniuk? I don't know. So many racist and sexual stereotypes, a climax that felt like it was from a completely different book, and so many spelling errors I started skimming in parts. I see the author is offering his editing skills in a new business venture. That's nice. In a backing away slowly kind of way.
But the book referenced Dostoyevsky! So....horrible, and pretentiously trying way too hard to be "deep", as a final cherry on my cranky cake of Why The Hell Did I Waste Three Hours Of My life Reading This Crap?!
But the book referenced Dostoyevsky! So....horrible, and pretentiously trying way too hard to be "deep", as a final cherry on my cranky cake of Why The Hell Did I Waste Three Hours Of My life Reading This Crap?!
December 24, 2015
Not what I expected.
Very thoughtful, this author has a beautiful way with words.
I highly recommend this book.
If this author has anything else I will be reading!
Very thoughtful, this author has a beautiful way with words.
I highly recommend this book.
If this author has anything else I will be reading!
September 27, 2016
?!?!?!?!
I want the last 17 days back.
I want the last 17 days back.
May 18, 2023
I don’t really know what to say about this book. It was entertaining enough throughout but it’s not what I thought it would be at all. And once it ended it felt like I didn’t really understand what had happened. That being said, I didn’t dislike it, just confused.
February 3, 2017
I enjoyed this book. Being a zombie fan myself helped me connect to Jeremy and all his zombie movie based outlines on life.
I feel however that the whole mysterious tape thing took a while to come into light. This book seemed more about Jeremey, growing up in a dysfunctional family and starting freshman year at an all boys private school. It was entertaining in that sense by itself.
The tape was that something extra that makes you want to keep reading to see what it's all about, but nothing really seems to come of it until the last 30 pages or so. You can't help but wonder if Jeremy's dad is part of the crowd, or he's up to something else with all his disappearances. The ending took a turn, and I saw it coming 5 pages away, because why not? It'd make for an even greater finale.
I'm glad there was an epilogue. It felt needed after that intense ending.
I'm not sure how this really qualifies as a teen book though.
I feel however that the whole mysterious tape thing took a while to come into light. This book seemed more about Jeremey, growing up in a dysfunctional family and starting freshman year at an all boys private school. It was entertaining in that sense by itself.
The tape was that something extra that makes you want to keep reading to see what it's all about, but nothing really seems to come of it until the last 30 pages or so. You can't help but wonder if Jeremy's dad is part of the crowd, or he's up to something else with all his disappearances. The ending took a turn, and I saw it coming 5 pages away, because why not? It'd make for an even greater finale.
I'm glad there was an epilogue. It felt needed after that intense ending.
I'm not sure how this really qualifies as a teen book though.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2012
I would like to thank SoHo Press for letting me read and review this book.
Jeremy Barker is a somewhat typical high school freshman. He loves zombie movies, girls make his nose bleed, and he’s not a big fan of authority. His parents are separated and he lives with his dad and Dog. Most of this book follows Jeremy and what goes on inside his head as he starts high school, has troubles with his family, and meets his first girlfriend.
One day, Jeremy sees his pinky-less English teacher slip his father a DVD in the school parking lot. The first chance Jeremy gets, he watches the DVD, which contains a strange and gruesome kind of ritual surgery. Jeremy confronts his dad about the DVD, but the confrontation ends up like a lot of scenes in this book – fractured and distracted. Jeremy gets only a few sentences out and his dad switches the conversation to something much more mundane (calling a girl, bad-mouthing Jeremy’s mother, asking him how his day at school was, etc.)
I enjoy a good coming-of-age story, but I just kept waiting for something, ANYTHING to actually happen in this one. The author spends almost the entire book on day-to-day Jeremy and never really pushes any kind of plot. “The mystery of the surgery DVD” could have been presented in a much more compelling manner that could have turned this into a serious contemporary page-turner. But it wasn’t, the DVD gets found, then mentioned a time or two to no serious effect, until the end when the “something” finally happens…and unfortunately by then it’s a highly predictable “something.”
The language and sexual humor in this book will turn off a lot of readers, so don’t even bother trying to read this if you can’t handle every swear word and homophobic insult that you can think of repeated many times throughout the book. I am not a reader who is sensitive to language, and some of the writing in this book was absolutely hilarious and witty. Unfortunately an equal amount came across as simply trying too hard to be “that way.”
I’m curious to see how this author writes his next (adult) novel. I really did like a lot of the things about his style and creativity; I just think that this story wasn’t told quite the way I wanted it to be.
Jeremy Barker is a somewhat typical high school freshman. He loves zombie movies, girls make his nose bleed, and he’s not a big fan of authority. His parents are separated and he lives with his dad and Dog. Most of this book follows Jeremy and what goes on inside his head as he starts high school, has troubles with his family, and meets his first girlfriend.
One day, Jeremy sees his pinky-less English teacher slip his father a DVD in the school parking lot. The first chance Jeremy gets, he watches the DVD, which contains a strange and gruesome kind of ritual surgery. Jeremy confronts his dad about the DVD, but the confrontation ends up like a lot of scenes in this book – fractured and distracted. Jeremy gets only a few sentences out and his dad switches the conversation to something much more mundane (calling a girl, bad-mouthing Jeremy’s mother, asking him how his day at school was, etc.)
I enjoy a good coming-of-age story, but I just kept waiting for something, ANYTHING to actually happen in this one. The author spends almost the entire book on day-to-day Jeremy and never really pushes any kind of plot. “The mystery of the surgery DVD” could have been presented in a much more compelling manner that could have turned this into a serious contemporary page-turner. But it wasn’t, the DVD gets found, then mentioned a time or two to no serious effect, until the end when the “something” finally happens…and unfortunately by then it’s a highly predictable “something.”
The language and sexual humor in this book will turn off a lot of readers, so don’t even bother trying to read this if you can’t handle every swear word and homophobic insult that you can think of repeated many times throughout the book. I am not a reader who is sensitive to language, and some of the writing in this book was absolutely hilarious and witty. Unfortunately an equal amount came across as simply trying too hard to be “that way.”
I’m curious to see how this author writes his next (adult) novel. I really did like a lot of the things about his style and creativity; I just think that this story wasn’t told quite the way I wanted it to be.
January 16, 2013
I enjoyed this teenage crisis novel for its believable, snappy voice and well drawn characters. The central mystery - where does Jeremy's father go at night, and is he involved in something sinister - is engrossing as the details play out slowly, alongside the narrator's more typical troubles with bullies and girls. The zombie movie code of conduct sounds like something your friends would come up with over late night coffee and so seems authentic, if a bit obvious and overdone from films like Zombieland, which the author owns up to.
I had a recurrent problem of timeline, where the novel is present day (2012), yet the father of the 14-year-old served in the Vietnam war. This makes the father, a central character who is drawn with a lot of detail, quite old, at the youngest pushing 60. Yet he is not called old, isn't physically described as such, doesn't act like someone nearing retirement, and this fact is entirely overlooked. A minor case of bad author math, but since Vietnam is mentioned so many time, this niggled me.
In the end, I enjoyed this novel, but felt a bit robbed by the denouement. I don't need everything tied up with a neat bow or all questions answered at the end of a story, but surely a few more of them could have been given to us than this. We see what the father is involved in but it isn't explained. Surely there would have been a scene between Jeremy and his father can ask more specific questions than "where do you go at night." The father says at one point he wants to explain, but in scene doesn't get the chance. Surely the father wants Jeremy to understand why he has been doing this bizarre ritual, now that the secret is blown, that even if it's another lie there would be something to be said about it.. We are left to wonder if this is a cult or a coercion, a religious act trying to attain divinity or an artificial obstacle for the participants to overcome in order to achieve greatness, or ... invent what you want about what this group was for, how they formed, why anyone in their right mind would think it was a good idea, because absolutely none of that is explained or even implied. We are not enlightened on the central mystery of this book, and with a few more pages, I would have gone from liking to loving it.
I had a recurrent problem of timeline, where the novel is present day (2012), yet the father of the 14-year-old served in the Vietnam war. This makes the father, a central character who is drawn with a lot of detail, quite old, at the youngest pushing 60. Yet he is not called old, isn't physically described as such, doesn't act like someone nearing retirement, and this fact is entirely overlooked. A minor case of bad author math, but since Vietnam is mentioned so many time, this niggled me.
In the end, I enjoyed this novel, but felt a bit robbed by the denouement. I don't need everything tied up with a neat bow or all questions answered at the end of a story, but surely a few more of them could have been given to us than this. We see what the father is involved in but it isn't explained. Surely there would have been a scene between Jeremy and his father can ask more specific questions than "where do you go at night." The father says at one point he wants to explain, but in scene doesn't get the chance. Surely the father wants Jeremy to understand why he has been doing this bizarre ritual, now that the secret is blown, that even if it's another lie there would be something to be said about it.. We are left to wonder if this is a cult or a coercion, a religious act trying to attain divinity or an artificial obstacle for the participants to overcome in order to achieve greatness, or ... invent what you want about what this group was for, how they formed, why anyone in their right mind would think it was a good idea, because absolutely none of that is explained or even implied. We are not enlightened on the central mystery of this book, and with a few more pages, I would have gone from liking to loving it.
August 20, 2012
Zombie was pitched to me as a coming-of-age story about a boy who is unable to relate to his father except through their mutual love of zombie movies. While that much is true, it does not even come close to really capturing this book. Believe me when I say that this is one seriously messed up novel. Parts of it reminded me of one of the Dexter books, although I won't say which one due to the risk of spoilers.
Zombie is told through the first-person perspective of Jeremy, a boy who is beginning private Catholic school after the breakdown of his family. His parents have separated, his mother is addicted to prescription painkillers, and his older brother is a womanizing drug addict with a penchant for stripping down while high. Jeremy's dad is also increasingly more absent, leaving for entire nights at a time with no real explanation. School is proving to be tougher than anticipated for Jeremy, and freshmen are routinely beat up and humiliated. Also, Jeremy's started having nosebleeds at the most inopportune times. The things going on in Jeremy's life made me want to scream at the book, "Where are all the grownups!?" Because there is really nobody reliable for Jeremy to turn to. Then, he finds a bizarre video in his dad's room, which might or might not be a snuff film. Things just got worse for poor Jeremy.
I did enjoy reading this book, although I didn't always understand why some things were happening. The plot is not nearly as tight as it could have been, but you can't help by feel for Jeremy and want to keep reading to find out what the heck is going on. The ending also felt a bit rushed, but it is quite a climax. I feel sorry for anyone who reads this and doesn't finish the book, because it's a doozy.
Want to feel better about your own life, think about your favorite zombie films, and have your mind blown at least a little? Read this one.
Zombie is told through the first-person perspective of Jeremy, a boy who is beginning private Catholic school after the breakdown of his family. His parents have separated, his mother is addicted to prescription painkillers, and his older brother is a womanizing drug addict with a penchant for stripping down while high. Jeremy's dad is also increasingly more absent, leaving for entire nights at a time with no real explanation. School is proving to be tougher than anticipated for Jeremy, and freshmen are routinely beat up and humiliated. Also, Jeremy's started having nosebleeds at the most inopportune times. The things going on in Jeremy's life made me want to scream at the book, "Where are all the grownups!?" Because there is really nobody reliable for Jeremy to turn to. Then, he finds a bizarre video in his dad's room, which might or might not be a snuff film. Things just got worse for poor Jeremy.
I did enjoy reading this book, although I didn't always understand why some things were happening. The plot is not nearly as tight as it could have been, but you can't help by feel for Jeremy and want to keep reading to find out what the heck is going on. The ending also felt a bit rushed, but it is quite a climax. I feel sorry for anyone who reads this and doesn't finish the book, because it's a doozy.
Want to feel better about your own life, think about your favorite zombie films, and have your mind blown at least a little? Read this one.
December 4, 2013
Jeremy Barker dwells in the unhappy place often occupied by angsty narrators of young adult novels. His dad is a traumatized Vietnam vet with whom he bonds over zombie movies and life advice (like which tie knot is the best — full windsor, by the way), but who can’t really hold it together enough to give Jeremy the guidance he really needs. Meanwhile, mom means well but has left the house and is strung out on prescription pills. Jeremy wades through life as if it were a zombie movie, living by codes not unlike those offered in the opening sequence of Zombieland.
Into this compelling (if conventional for a y.a. novel) narrative drops a horrifying enigma, a mysterious video that makes Jeremy dig deeper into his father’s psychosis, and try to find his own way in a world where the adults are as useless as zombies.
A few thoughts:
- I like Jeremy’s voice, the bothered, annoyed aspect of teen mediocrity, where he’s not the standout and not quite the freak, just one of the many bullied. I thought the school was a bit extreme in its terrors, but I suppose the magnifying glass of fiction does that.
- Angelella does a nice job with the side characters, giving them distinct voices and personalities. At the same time, they’re an awfully unbelievablly cool bunch of folks. One wonders why they latch onto Jeremy.
- Up until the last 30 pages, this could have been a very different book. I’m still not sure what to make of it, but the conclusion of the story is both somewhat predictable and quite stark.
All in all, Zombie is an interesting novel that wrestles with youth and friendship and parenting and identity, and with trying to understand horror movies without forgetting that real horror is all around us.
Into this compelling (if conventional for a y.a. novel) narrative drops a horrifying enigma, a mysterious video that makes Jeremy dig deeper into his father’s psychosis, and try to find his own way in a world where the adults are as useless as zombies.
A few thoughts:
- I like Jeremy’s voice, the bothered, annoyed aspect of teen mediocrity, where he’s not the standout and not quite the freak, just one of the many bullied. I thought the school was a bit extreme in its terrors, but I suppose the magnifying glass of fiction does that.
- Angelella does a nice job with the side characters, giving them distinct voices and personalities. At the same time, they’re an awfully unbelievablly cool bunch of folks. One wonders why they latch onto Jeremy.
- Up until the last 30 pages, this could have been a very different book. I’m still not sure what to make of it, but the conclusion of the story is both somewhat predictable and quite stark.
All in all, Zombie is an interesting novel that wrestles with youth and friendship and parenting and identity, and with trying to understand horror movies without forgetting that real horror is all around us.
March 29, 2012
I won this ARC.
I am still uncertain on how i feel about this book. the first 50 pages were great. i laughed out loud on a handful of occasions. The whole story is about a coming of age character named Jeremy who goes to an all boy catholic school where he is picked on daily. He is a fanatic about everything zombie. He has a very dysfunctional family. Mom is a pillhead, older brother is a sex addict and doesnt care about anything other than that, and his dad is a war vet who disappears at night. The whole story had very harsh and vulgar humor/language, which is not for everyone...but i enjoyed that the most. He lives his life through his 5 zombie survival codes. There are certain points here and there where i got lost...It seemed like the author had a great idea, but didnt quite get the whole point across to the readers, which left me scratching my head a few times. At first i thought this book was great. I was hooked, waiting to find out exactly where the heck his dad disappeared to at night. i kept reading and reading with no results.....finally the last 30 pages explained it all. To be honest this is the part of the book that has made me so indecisive on how i feel about the book. There were some aspects of it that i liked and other aspects that i hated. It changed the whole story for me.....it was like reading a book about cars for 300 pages and then the last 30 pages of the book are about bears. I kind of get what the author was trying to do, but he hasnt quite grasped that technique, for lack of a better word. I do look forward to reading his next book, maybe then he will capture my full praise.
I am still uncertain on how i feel about this book. the first 50 pages were great. i laughed out loud on a handful of occasions. The whole story is about a coming of age character named Jeremy who goes to an all boy catholic school where he is picked on daily. He is a fanatic about everything zombie. He has a very dysfunctional family. Mom is a pillhead, older brother is a sex addict and doesnt care about anything other than that, and his dad is a war vet who disappears at night. The whole story had very harsh and vulgar humor/language, which is not for everyone...but i enjoyed that the most. He lives his life through his 5 zombie survival codes. There are certain points here and there where i got lost...It seemed like the author had a great idea, but didnt quite get the whole point across to the readers, which left me scratching my head a few times. At first i thought this book was great. I was hooked, waiting to find out exactly where the heck his dad disappeared to at night. i kept reading and reading with no results.....finally the last 30 pages explained it all. To be honest this is the part of the book that has made me so indecisive on how i feel about the book. There were some aspects of it that i liked and other aspects that i hated. It changed the whole story for me.....it was like reading a book about cars for 300 pages and then the last 30 pages of the book are about bears. I kind of get what the author was trying to do, but he hasnt quite grasped that technique, for lack of a better word. I do look forward to reading his next book, maybe then he will capture my full praise.
July 5, 2012
Jeremy Barker is anything but your average everyday fourteen year old. He’s a zombie obsessed, medicated freshman at an all-boys Catholic school who lives in a constant state of oscillation between moments of near invisibility and outbursts of dramatic, dangerous, attention seeking behavior. Bullied by “the plaids” at his school, and unable to form anything greater than a passing bond or friendship with any of his classmates, Jeremy decides that the best course of action is to retreat into his own inner world and live by the codes he’s developed for surviving a zombie apocalypse. The problem he soon discovers is that no matter how badly you want to escape it, sooner or later real life will come around to slap you square in the face.
His home life isn’t much better. He lives with his father Ballentine, an ex-marine who disappears every night after dinner and stumbles through the front door of their home each morning in a disheveled state. He encourages his son’s zombie obsession. Each night before setting out for parts unknown he orders Chinese take-out and watches zombie flicks with Jeremy.
The boy’s mother Corrine is a pill head who is currently shacking up with her new boyfriend. She’s so doped up most on morphine most of the time that she can’t even keep her eyes open when sitting behind the wheel of an automobile. Rounding out the family is his older brother Jackson who is sex addict that recently had an eye opening epiphany which led to him name his penis Roscoe.
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His home life isn’t much better. He lives with his father Ballentine, an ex-marine who disappears every night after dinner and stumbles through the front door of their home each morning in a disheveled state. He encourages his son’s zombie obsession. Each night before setting out for parts unknown he orders Chinese take-out and watches zombie flicks with Jeremy.
The boy’s mother Corrine is a pill head who is currently shacking up with her new boyfriend. She’s so doped up most on morphine most of the time that she can’t even keep her eyes open when sitting behind the wheel of an automobile. Rounding out the family is his older brother Jackson who is sex addict that recently had an eye opening epiphany which led to him name his penis Roscoe.
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March 23, 2016
Jeremy Barker's life is falling apart. He's just started High School at an all-boys Catholic school where he has to deal with obnoxious jocks and the only friends he, kind of, managed to make are misfits.
His home life is no better as his mother is a prescription pill junkie who moved out of the family home and in with another man and his dad has suddenly started to disappear at odd
hours and won't give a straight answer when asked where it is he goes and what he is doing. There is an older brother , but, he is useless since having graduated college and moving out
on his own he now spends his days getting high and seeing how many women he can get to have sex with him.
When Jeremy witnesses an exchange in the school parking lot, during school hours, between his father and the odd English teacher missing fingers on both hands, his curiosity is piqued and
during one of his dad's mysterious disappearances searches his office until he finds what turns out to be a DVD and a book that his teacher passed on and when he watches the disturbing content
of the DVD he knows his father is into something dangerous and using the life lessons he's gathered from his beloved zombie movies he tries to find a way to save his father before something awful happens.
Interesting story. I found myself wanting to slap the ever-loving crap out of all the adult characters which is a sign of good writing, when the author gets you to care enough to do violence to imaginary people, I suppose.
His home life is no better as his mother is a prescription pill junkie who moved out of the family home and in with another man and his dad has suddenly started to disappear at odd
hours and won't give a straight answer when asked where it is he goes and what he is doing. There is an older brother , but, he is useless since having graduated college and moving out
on his own he now spends his days getting high and seeing how many women he can get to have sex with him.
When Jeremy witnesses an exchange in the school parking lot, during school hours, between his father and the odd English teacher missing fingers on both hands, his curiosity is piqued and
during one of his dad's mysterious disappearances searches his office until he finds what turns out to be a DVD and a book that his teacher passed on and when he watches the disturbing content
of the DVD he knows his father is into something dangerous and using the life lessons he's gathered from his beloved zombie movies he tries to find a way to save his father before something awful happens.
Interesting story. I found myself wanting to slap the ever-loving crap out of all the adult characters which is a sign of good writing, when the author gets you to care enough to do violence to imaginary people, I suppose.
February 18, 2012
I haven't received my copy yet, just received notice I had won. 01/17/12
Received my copy and hope to get to it soon. I have 6 plus my current reads in front. 01/26/12
Started today 2/13/12
Finished 2/17/12
Jeremy is all about the zombies. He loves zombie movies, he has zombie survival codes and the ceiling in his room is covered by zombie movie posters. He is just starting school at a boys only Catholic school, and life sucks. His mom is a morphine addict, his brother is a sex addict and his father is missing more often than not. While snooping in his fathers office, he comes upon a DVD that he saw his least favorite teacher give to his dad. The story follows Jeremy through his typical teenager life, but adds in all sorts of atypical events.
I wanted to love this book. I enjoyed the story, but felt the language was really too strong. I remember high school, and no people didn't really talk or act like these kids did. At least those I was around. I am not a prude, but inserting the f word every possible place it was overkill, and did nothing for the story. Other than that, I liked the characters, all except the father. It was interesting to see zombies related to regular life, and religion. I also wasn't too keen on the ending.
Received my copy and hope to get to it soon. I have 6 plus my current reads in front. 01/26/12
Started today 2/13/12
Finished 2/17/12
Jeremy is all about the zombies. He loves zombie movies, he has zombie survival codes and the ceiling in his room is covered by zombie movie posters. He is just starting school at a boys only Catholic school, and life sucks. His mom is a morphine addict, his brother is a sex addict and his father is missing more often than not. While snooping in his fathers office, he comes upon a DVD that he saw his least favorite teacher give to his dad. The story follows Jeremy through his typical teenager life, but adds in all sorts of atypical events.
I wanted to love this book. I enjoyed the story, but felt the language was really too strong. I remember high school, and no people didn't really talk or act like these kids did. At least those I was around. I am not a prude, but inserting the f word every possible place it was overkill, and did nothing for the story. Other than that, I liked the characters, all except the father. It was interesting to see zombies related to regular life, and religion. I also wasn't too keen on the ending.
August 23, 2014
This is an amazingly easy read. I did not think I would enjoy it much but found it very enjoyable especially because of the code. Being a fan of the movies in the book I will say that I see how they match each "chapter" almost perfectly.
As to content, I started the book disliking Jeremy very much. I considered him to be a smug and superficial high school-er more than those he was hiding from. He grew on me as I learned more of his family situation and of his life. I questioned his sexuality, his motives and his lifestyle until I realized he was very much a product of his environment. I also considered him a coward for most of the book but when it mattered he came through by besting his fears and doing what needed to be done. I will say that I doubt he will have anyone in school bothering him for a while.
The only reason I gave the book four stars is because of the constant question of Jeremy's emotions and being until the end. I remember high school and, though not a private school, I think he was a bit to proud of himself. That is my opinion anyway.
A good read though. I recommend it.
As to content, I started the book disliking Jeremy very much. I considered him to be a smug and superficial high school-er more than those he was hiding from. He grew on me as I learned more of his family situation and of his life. I questioned his sexuality, his motives and his lifestyle until I realized he was very much a product of his environment. I also considered him a coward for most of the book but when it mattered he came through by besting his fears and doing what needed to be done. I will say that I doubt he will have anyone in school bothering him for a while.
The only reason I gave the book four stars is because of the constant question of Jeremy's emotions and being until the end. I remember high school and, though not a private school, I think he was a bit to proud of himself. That is my opinion anyway.
A good read though. I recommend it.
June 2, 2012
Do you like Chuck Palahniuk? If so, then this book might be right up your alley. (Disclaimer: the short story "Guts" is the only Palahniuk work I've ever read.) I grabbed it because I enjoy a thoughtful zombie story now and then, and this sounded like it might be one. However, it's not a zombie story — it's more a testosterone-hazed coming of age novel. The adults in Jeremy's life are mostly useless, and he has turned instead to zombie movies as the foundation of his personal code.
* Avoid Contact
* Keep Quiet
* Forget the Past
* Lock-and-load
* Fight to Survive
That's how Jeremy gets by. Will it be enough for the secrets he will uncover in this book?
If you don't want to live in the mind of a sex-obsessed teenage boy, or you object to sexual material (mostly thoughts) or swearing, then this book is not for you. I received a time-limited free preview from the publisher via Netgalley.
* Avoid Contact
* Keep Quiet
* Forget the Past
* Lock-and-load
* Fight to Survive
That's how Jeremy gets by. Will it be enough for the secrets he will uncover in this book?
If you don't want to live in the mind of a sex-obsessed teenage boy, or you object to sexual material (mostly thoughts) or swearing, then this book is not for you. I received a time-limited free preview from the publisher via Netgalley.
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