published by: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
publish date: October 16, 2012
When news reports start appearing of a zombie outbreak in Ireland, B's racist father thinks it's a joke-- but even if it isn't, he figures, it's ok to lose a few Irish. B doesn't fully buy into Dad's racism, but figures it's easier to go along with it than to risk the fights and abuse. When dodging his fists doesn't work, B doesn't hesitate to take the piss out of kids at school with a few slaps or cruel remarks. That is, until zombies attack the school. B is forced on a mad dash through the serpentine corridors of high school, making allegiances with anyone with enough gall to fight off their pursuers.
I picked up the audiobook for Zom-B at the library because it sounded like a good story. I was happy to hear that Emma Galvin was the narrator for the audiobook. If you haven't listened to one of her audiobooks I highly recommend them. I've listened to Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth and Graveminder by Melissa Marr. All of them were well done, including Zom-B.
Zom-B is a really short book. The audiobook was only about 3 1/2 hours long. It tells the story of B. Who is a girl by the way. That little tidbit is a little unclear at times because she's shaving her head and beating people up a lot. She lives in London with her racist father and complacent mother. She BSes her way through school until the zombies show up. Then she has to make the tough decisions. Is she going to fall back on the racist teachings of her father or is she going to follow what she knows is right in her head and heart?
I've read a lot of negative comments about this book regarding the issue of racism. It would be one thing if B was a straight up racist because her dad was. Then it might be politically incorrect. However, I think the writer does a great job with her struggle between wanting to please her dad and wanting to take her own path. A lot of kids have that issue, maybe not with racism, but maybe religion or career.
Zom-B is the first book in a series. There's a fantastic twist right at the very end so I can't wait to read the next book to see where the story of B goes next.
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