Undead

October 22, 2012
An unlikely group of English teenagers work together to survive a zombie outbreak during a school ski trip to Scotland. With most of their class turned into flesh-eating monsters, Roberta, Alice, Smitty, and Pete find temporary refuge on their bus. Low on gas, surrounded by enemies, and unable to contact the outside world, they band together, taking shelter in a nearby castle. As can often be the case in zombie stories, humans threaten to become the real villains: the other inhabitants of the castle have their own malevolent agenda and may know more about the zombie outbreak than they let on. Blending comedy and violence, debut author McKay relies a bit too heavily on coincidence and convenient plot twists (out of all the castles in Scotland, the group walks into the one tied to the zombie outbreak). The charactersâwhose personalities are developed as they bludgeon their way through the novelâare the real draw in a story that otherwise covers well-shambled ground, entertaining but blending in with its gory bedfellows. Ages 14âup. Agent: Veronique Baxter, David Higham Associates.

August 1, 2012
There's no better place to begin the zombie apocalypse: a Scottish roadside convenience stop called the Cheery Chomper. Narrator Bobby doesn't actually see it happen; just returned to Britain after several years in the United States, she has holed up in the school bus for some peace and quiet while the rest of her classmates on the school ski trip pile out. But she notices it pretty darn quick in the pools of blood on the snow, the panic of her two classmates who have escaped and the shambling form of their former teacher. Loner Bobby, wiseass Smitty and popular-girl Alice are soon joined by annoying-nerd Pete and a couple of local kids, an older girl and her little brother. Together they bicker, defend their bus, bicker, try to figure out what happened, bicker and take shelter in a seemingly abandoned old stately home. Although Bobby has (mostly unplumbed) emotional depths, McKay plays her tale for maximum snark: As Bobby reflects, "you'd think that, when faced with an Undead army, random human survivors would find a really good reason to get along, but that certainly hasn't happened in our own little test group." Although humor and action keep the pages turning, readers may still find the plot dragging toward the end--which (gasp!) may not really be the end.... Blood spurts; entrails drag; body parts shed; hearts (living ones) throb--it's all good, gory, formulaic fun. (Horror. 14-18)

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October 1, 2012

Gr 6 Up-While on a field trip, four teens get snowed in at the Cheery Chomper cafe in rural Scotland. Their classmates and teachers have been turned into zombies, and the guy in the carrot costume might be responsible. Or not. Bobby, Smitty, Alice, and Pete are the only ones not infected with the zombie virus. In their efforts to get help, they end up uncovering a pharmaceutical conspiracy. With a hilarious and lively mix of cunning, bravery, and tomfoolery, the teens face explosions, projectile doughnuts, dead ends, an underground tunnel, an iced-over lake, countless drooling zombies, and that guy in the carrot costume. Bobby's narration is spiked with wit and perceptive snarkiness, revealing the personal issues she faces. Having already bound a gaping wound with the cashmere scarf her mother lent her, she responds similarly to help Pete with a wound: "I'm quick to retrieve a clean handkerchief that my mother thoughtfully placed in my jacket pocket for just such an occasion. (One of her token gestures to make up for never actually being there, I guess.)" There is a lot of blood, but the actual violence is cartoony and short-lived. Romance is limited to having a crush. Witty Briticisms and one-liners abound. With the exception of Bobby, the teens are stereotypes (tough guy, mean-girl cheerleader, geek). However, readers will get so caught up in the cliff-hanger chapter endings, endless action, and elements of surprise in this debut novel that character development will not be missed. First-rate fun.-Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Library, NC

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2012
Grades 7-10 Zombies, the monster du jour, are sure to win any current battle royal with vampires and werewolves, and this British import is packed with them. When a bus of high-school students on a class trip gets stranded at a snowed-in Scottish rest stop, most of the teens, along with other travelers, turn into the drooling, flesh-eating undead. Only Bobby (aka Roberta), the wisecracking narrator, and three others who fit neatly into stereotypesslacker, pretty bubblehead, and nerdare left standing. When McKay sticks to the comic interplay between the foursome, the novel is fun to devour, but when the plot takes a turn at the end into a conspiracy thriller, things begin to fall apart. Clearly the story is meant to be resolved in a sequel. More satiric Shaun of the Dead than dramatic The Walking Dead, this includes plenty of jump-out-of-your-seat moments with unusual venuesthe luggage hold of a bus, a Scottish castle with a wine cellar and a dungeonand should be popular with teens who can't get enough goose-bump thrills.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)