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Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie
Jay was a perfectly normal teenager. Awkward, antisocial, and homosexual. He had friends, but only a few. His family were troubled, and he wasn't entirely happy. He was like any other awkward, antisocial, homosexual teenager.
Then he was bitten.
Now, Jay has far more on his mind than he can handle. Not only is he struggling to keep his family apart and deal with his unfulfilled love for the hottest guy in school, but he now has to struggle to keep in check his urge to devour human flesh. Decomposition is bad enough, but he can almost deal with that.
But how can he deal with life when he's this much of an outsider?
"Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie" is a young adult LGBT coming-of-age story by acclaimed horror and dark fantasy author Justin MacCormack, creator of "Return to 'Return to Oz'" and "Cthulhu Doesn't Dance".
This unique tale deals with themes of growing up as an outsider. Shockingly aware and witty, this thrilling story dishes up side-splitting laughter, stomach-churning horror, heart-rending drama and everything you'll need to know about growing up when you just don't feel that you fit in.
Then he was bitten.
Now, Jay has far more on his mind than he can handle. Not only is he struggling to keep his family apart and deal with his unfulfilled love for the hottest guy in school, but he now has to struggle to keep in check his urge to devour human flesh. Decomposition is bad enough, but he can almost deal with that.
But how can he deal with life when he's this much of an outsider?
"Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie" is a young adult LGBT coming-of-age story by acclaimed horror and dark fantasy author Justin MacCormack, creator of "Return to 'Return to Oz'" and "Cthulhu Doesn't Dance".
This unique tale deals with themes of growing up as an outsider. Shockingly aware and witty, this thrilling story dishes up side-splitting laughter, stomach-churning horror, heart-rending drama and everything you'll need to know about growing up when you just don't feel that you fit in.
- GenresLGBTYoung Adult
202 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 13, 2015
3 people are currently reading
82 people want to read
About the author
Justin MacCormack
23 books45 followersBorn in Glasgow, Justin MacCormack lives on the South coast of England in the city of Portsmouth. His hobbies include alternative cinema, comic books, tabletop roleplaying games and photography.
I have crafted three anthologies of short dark fantasy and horror stories. They are "Return to 'Return to Oz'", "Cthulhu Doesn't Dance", and "Blood Orgies of the Whores of Dracula." If you like my short stories, you can also pick up the collected works, "Don't Buy This Book."
If you are interested in young adult LGBT fiction, my book "Diary of a gay teenage zombie" is fresh and new off the presses. Lastly, why not stick around for my upcoming dark fantasy series, "Twilight of the faerie", coming soon!
I have crafted three anthologies of short dark fantasy and horror stories. They are "Return to 'Return to Oz'", "Cthulhu Doesn't Dance", and "Blood Orgies of the Whores of Dracula." If you like my short stories, you can also pick up the collected works, "Don't Buy This Book."
If you are interested in young adult LGBT fiction, my book "Diary of a gay teenage zombie" is fresh and new off the presses. Lastly, why not stick around for my upcoming dark fantasy series, "Twilight of the faerie", coming soon!
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 1, 2015
Jay has a major problem. It's not that he's a teenager. Or that he's gay. Or even that his parents are not getting along at all, causing him great stress. No, it's the fact that he's a zombie. Granted, he's highly functioning, and all. But, well, what if his boyfriend, Archer, finds out?
That would be a major bummer -- particularly if his nose falls off in the middle of a passionate kiss.
This is a very funny book, although you wouldn't think it should be, given the political incorrectness of the subject matter. But the author, instead of poking fun at teenaged gay boys, or even zombies, manages to pull off a protagonist who is thoroughly likeable -- even lovable.
The book starts innocently enough, with Jay's father giving him a diary as a present. In this age of online journaling via Facebook and other social media, Jay is not impressed with the blank book. Then, he begins to record his daily thoughts in it, and this is how we follow the sixteen-year-old young man through the predictable predicaments that normally befall an out-of-the-inner-circles teen in high school.
He must slather on loads of flesh-colored makeup each day to mask the deathly pallor of his skin, which is now gray -- the result of being bitten by a zombie at the beach the summer before. He worries how his condition will now affect his daily life, recalling the movie Return of the Living Dead:
"One line did stick out with this film, though, the idea that zombies eat brains because it takes away the pain of feeling their bodies dying. I wonder how much of this now applies to me?"
He soldiers on, through many teenaged tribulations, and dreads the coming of the Christmas season with a droll sense of humor:
"It is almost March, which means I have only nine more months before I am inundated with Christmas songs again everywhere I go. I might go into politics and have excessive Christmas songs classed as a form of torture."
His budding romance with Archer is depicted with deft restraint by the author, who manages to bring off this quirky coming-of-age, young adult read with an almost plausible aplomb.
Indeed, at one point, Jay's ostracism at the high school is brought home with an achingly sincere quote: "I'm not sure I ever will fit in. I'm not sure I even want to. But I do want people, someone, anyone, just to accept me."
There's a happy ending, though it's not what you might expect. This is a unique new twist to zombie books and the first one I can recall where the lead character, as a zombie, command attention as a real person.
I give Diary of a Dead Teenage Zombie five stars. It is a courageous and trend-setting book.
That would be a major bummer -- particularly if his nose falls off in the middle of a passionate kiss.
This is a very funny book, although you wouldn't think it should be, given the political incorrectness of the subject matter. But the author, instead of poking fun at teenaged gay boys, or even zombies, manages to pull off a protagonist who is thoroughly likeable -- even lovable.
The book starts innocently enough, with Jay's father giving him a diary as a present. In this age of online journaling via Facebook and other social media, Jay is not impressed with the blank book. Then, he begins to record his daily thoughts in it, and this is how we follow the sixteen-year-old young man through the predictable predicaments that normally befall an out-of-the-inner-circles teen in high school.
He must slather on loads of flesh-colored makeup each day to mask the deathly pallor of his skin, which is now gray -- the result of being bitten by a zombie at the beach the summer before. He worries how his condition will now affect his daily life, recalling the movie Return of the Living Dead:
"One line did stick out with this film, though, the idea that zombies eat brains because it takes away the pain of feeling their bodies dying. I wonder how much of this now applies to me?"
He soldiers on, through many teenaged tribulations, and dreads the coming of the Christmas season with a droll sense of humor:
"It is almost March, which means I have only nine more months before I am inundated with Christmas songs again everywhere I go. I might go into politics and have excessive Christmas songs classed as a form of torture."
His budding romance with Archer is depicted with deft restraint by the author, who manages to bring off this quirky coming-of-age, young adult read with an almost plausible aplomb.
Indeed, at one point, Jay's ostracism at the high school is brought home with an achingly sincere quote: "I'm not sure I ever will fit in. I'm not sure I even want to. But I do want people, someone, anyone, just to accept me."
There's a happy ending, though it's not what you might expect. This is a unique new twist to zombie books and the first one I can recall where the lead character, as a zombie, command attention as a real person.
I give Diary of a Dead Teenage Zombie five stars. It is a courageous and trend-setting book.
July 6, 2015
Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie
Jay is an average teenager but he is a bit antisocial and homosexual, and feels he doesn't fit in with society. He has problems at home, like a lot of other teens, but he is different in one way , he is a zombie.
He doesn't want his family to know he is a zombie, and he is not sure he should let his secret out about his sexuality. Every day he fights the urge to bite and "turn" someone. Add the cute new boy in school, which adds more troubling thoughts to his already complicated life.
A fast paced new twist on zombie stories. It is hard not to like Jay, he is a bit of a social "misfit" yet he is so likable and his problems are totally understandable. Add the fact he is a zombie and the drama gets intense. We see him struggle to accept who he is, try to control his zombie urges, and life as a young teen homosexual.
I highly recommend Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie to young/adult & adult readers who love a great zombie story. I also like the cover, it really adds to the story.
Jay is an average teenager but he is a bit antisocial and homosexual, and feels he doesn't fit in with society. He has problems at home, like a lot of other teens, but he is different in one way , he is a zombie.
He doesn't want his family to know he is a zombie, and he is not sure he should let his secret out about his sexuality. Every day he fights the urge to bite and "turn" someone. Add the cute new boy in school, which adds more troubling thoughts to his already complicated life.
A fast paced new twist on zombie stories. It is hard not to like Jay, he is a bit of a social "misfit" yet he is so likable and his problems are totally understandable. Add the fact he is a zombie and the drama gets intense. We see him struggle to accept who he is, try to control his zombie urges, and life as a young teen homosexual.
I highly recommend Diary of a Gay Teenage Zombie to young/adult & adult readers who love a great zombie story. I also like the cover, it really adds to the story.
May 28, 2015
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
The book talks about a teenager called Jay that gets bitten by a guy after he gets his first kiss, while he’s in Florida on vacation with his parents. When he comes back home, he knows that he’s changed. He’s a Zombie. He wears make up to hide his new status, hides raw food in his room but he’s an emo guy so, for the other people, he’s just being himself when he do something strange. He has one friend called CC and he’s very close to her but still, nobody knows about his new life. His father is a really good man and he gives to Jay a journal. And from there, we have a very good opportunity to see the hidden Jay: his family, his wishes, his life as a zombie, his first love but the most important thing is him trying to “survive” his life as a teen.
I really liked this book because Jay finds a way to deal with his problems as a zombie and as a gay guy, and that sometimes, we are not alone. Sometimes we just need to ask.
4.5 to 5 stars
The book talks about a teenager called Jay that gets bitten by a guy after he gets his first kiss, while he’s in Florida on vacation with his parents. When he comes back home, he knows that he’s changed. He’s a Zombie. He wears make up to hide his new status, hides raw food in his room but he’s an emo guy so, for the other people, he’s just being himself when he do something strange. He has one friend called CC and he’s very close to her but still, nobody knows about his new life. His father is a really good man and he gives to Jay a journal. And from there, we have a very good opportunity to see the hidden Jay: his family, his wishes, his life as a zombie, his first love but the most important thing is him trying to “survive” his life as a teen.
I really liked this book because Jay finds a way to deal with his problems as a zombie and as a gay guy, and that sometimes, we are not alone. Sometimes we just need to ask.
4.5 to 5 stars
March 12, 2018
Disappointing. If this is intended as a prequel to Jay and Archer's story, well and good. As a standalone? Meh.
March 12, 2018
It was.... Good....
January 15, 2016
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
(Spoilers within)
I should start this off by saying it wasn't exactly the type of book I was interested in reading. I do like material that features gay men in particular, but I usually look more for stories where the character happens to be gay, rather than the story revolving around the character being gay. I'm also not into the zombie craze. I wouldn't say I went into this book with something against it, but it wasn't something that quite lined up with what catches my attention.
Since it wasn't a subject I was attracted to, the beginning didn't really catch me right away. Jay was very much a spoiled teenager, so he started off not being the most pleasant person to be around. Not that he was particularly horrible, but it had the sort of stuff where he complains that he didn't get a car for his birthday as he plays on his new X-box. That sort of attitude that can be insufferable pretty quickly.
Luckily it didn't become the main subject, but there was also a mention of him thinking he'd be the only virgin left at school. He's 16. It reminded me of 90's films like "Hocus Pocus" where there is a strange fixation on teenagers not having had sex yet. But, I'm glad this subject was abandoned early.
It took a while with some frustration for it to get started. Mostly entries about Jay hiding that he's a zombie and sometimes saying he should tell someone, but he doesn't. I'd say at around the 50% mark it gets better. As he runs into more and more problems with being a zombie, he has to make many decisions about if it's safe for him to be around people, if he should bite his boyfriend, if he should attack an abusive man, among other things. In the later part his thoughts felt less shallow and he took greater consideration in what people around him were going through.
The character's were fine. I was glad that CC, Jay's 'goth' friend, didn't follow stereotypes and acted like a pretty typical teenager, with smiles and jokes. Jay grows from the beginning to the end, and his parents felt like real people. When he complained about his mother, I felt more like they were "teenage complaints" than that his mother was a bad person. His mother is also shown taking in an abused woman and protecting her.
I'd say the only other character we see a lot from is Archer. Because Jay idolized him, it might have made it more difficult to put a finger on exactly what type of person he was, other than he liked Jay, too.
There were some errors in it. A little much for such a short book, I think.
...I was sure that already been drinking.
There was no way that Jay would be seen with me... (The character narrating is Jay)
...he didn't show up f for work...
There are a few times it says "patents" instead of "parents", as well as many times that there's no period or comma when a character is speaking, like:
"Mom didn't even ask me" I reminded him.
Some of the symbolism is a bit too hammered in, but it isn't a bad read. If the summary for the story interests you, you'll likely enjoy it. I didn't have the excitement for it, but I found it to be an overall enjoyable story.
Read more reviews here.
(Spoilers within)
I should start this off by saying it wasn't exactly the type of book I was interested in reading. I do like material that features gay men in particular, but I usually look more for stories where the character happens to be gay, rather than the story revolving around the character being gay. I'm also not into the zombie craze. I wouldn't say I went into this book with something against it, but it wasn't something that quite lined up with what catches my attention.
Since it wasn't a subject I was attracted to, the beginning didn't really catch me right away. Jay was very much a spoiled teenager, so he started off not being the most pleasant person to be around. Not that he was particularly horrible, but it had the sort of stuff where he complains that he didn't get a car for his birthday as he plays on his new X-box. That sort of attitude that can be insufferable pretty quickly.
Luckily it didn't become the main subject, but there was also a mention of him thinking he'd be the only virgin left at school. He's 16. It reminded me of 90's films like "Hocus Pocus" where there is a strange fixation on teenagers not having had sex yet. But, I'm glad this subject was abandoned early.
It took a while with some frustration for it to get started. Mostly entries about Jay hiding that he's a zombie and sometimes saying he should tell someone, but he doesn't. I'd say at around the 50% mark it gets better. As he runs into more and more problems with being a zombie, he has to make many decisions about if it's safe for him to be around people, if he should bite his boyfriend, if he should attack an abusive man, among other things. In the later part his thoughts felt less shallow and he took greater consideration in what people around him were going through.
The character's were fine. I was glad that CC, Jay's 'goth' friend, didn't follow stereotypes and acted like a pretty typical teenager, with smiles and jokes. Jay grows from the beginning to the end, and his parents felt like real people. When he complained about his mother, I felt more like they were "teenage complaints" than that his mother was a bad person. His mother is also shown taking in an abused woman and protecting her.
I'd say the only other character we see a lot from is Archer. Because Jay idolized him, it might have made it more difficult to put a finger on exactly what type of person he was, other than he liked Jay, too.
There were some errors in it. A little much for such a short book, I think.
...I was sure that already been drinking.
There was no way that Jay would be seen with me... (The character narrating is Jay)
...he didn't show up f for work...
There are a few times it says "patents" instead of "parents", as well as many times that there's no period or comma when a character is speaking, like:
"Mom didn't even ask me" I reminded him.
Some of the symbolism is a bit too hammered in, but it isn't a bad read. If the summary for the story interests you, you'll likely enjoy it. I didn't have the excitement for it, but I found it to be an overall enjoyable story.
Read more reviews here.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2016
Bummer. I had such fantastic hope for this. The premise, the title...ARC in exchange for review.
Jay is a teen. Jay is gay. Jay is a zombie. And this is his diary.
I kind of have to review this in two parts. I mean like literally, two parts almost down to the 50% mark.
The first 53% (according to the percentage meter in my Kindle app) was all over the place. One minute you're getting attitude about Jay's mom, which yes, can be very teen like, the next you're reading a random entry that had nothing to do with the story. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure how it fits in the story. I know for a fact it had something to do with Johnny Depp. But it was random, felt all over the place, some of it really doesn't belong. ONE STAR FOR THIS PORTION.
The last 47% of the book, I liked. It's the point where Jay came into his own. He met a new guy at school named Archer. The character seemed focused on being the gay, teen, zombie he is. He contemplates doing those things Zombies do. He contemplates being in love with a guy. It had substance and heart in most places. This is what the whole book should have been about. FOUR STARS FOR THIS PORTION.
I really wanted to love this so much. There aren't many YA zombie finds out there. Maybe my hopes were too high? IDK. Maybe there's a language barrier because this is more British? No, I get Brit. Maybe run this through another rewrite. Make it more about Jay and Archer and zombie-ism than entries of how his mom is a royal b*tch. Maybe cut back on the zombie disease equating to AIDS, which I can see the parallels, but zombie stuff should be fun not depressing.
So bummed right now.
Jay is a teen. Jay is gay. Jay is a zombie. And this is his diary.
I kind of have to review this in two parts. I mean like literally, two parts almost down to the 50% mark.
The first 53% (according to the percentage meter in my Kindle app) was all over the place. One minute you're getting attitude about Jay's mom, which yes, can be very teen like, the next you're reading a random entry that had nothing to do with the story. Honestly, I'm still trying to figure how it fits in the story. I know for a fact it had something to do with Johnny Depp. But it was random, felt all over the place, some of it really doesn't belong. ONE STAR FOR THIS PORTION.
The last 47% of the book, I liked. It's the point where Jay came into his own. He met a new guy at school named Archer. The character seemed focused on being the gay, teen, zombie he is. He contemplates doing those things Zombies do. He contemplates being in love with a guy. It had substance and heart in most places. This is what the whole book should have been about. FOUR STARS FOR THIS PORTION.
I really wanted to love this so much. There aren't many YA zombie finds out there. Maybe my hopes were too high? IDK. Maybe there's a language barrier because this is more British? No, I get Brit. Maybe run this through another rewrite. Make it more about Jay and Archer and zombie-ism than entries of how his mom is a royal b*tch. Maybe cut back on the zombie disease equating to AIDS, which I can see the parallels, but zombie stuff should be fun not depressing.
So bummed right now.
August 6, 2015
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I enjoyed the read it was different . See how he deals with change and of being a zombie and gay teen.
Not much of a gore zombie book but that did not take away from it any. While reading it it gave me a perks of being a wildflower vibe
I enjoyed the read it was different . See how he deals with change and of being a zombie and gay teen.
Not much of a gore zombie book but that did not take away from it any. While reading it it gave me a perks of being a wildflower vibe
December 29, 2016
*Review copy received from publisher*
DNF
DNF
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews