Rise of the Zombie Scarecrows

April 6, 2015
Despite the title, readers will find this book to be a perky Halloween prank–filled mystery, rather than an exploration of brain-chomping monsters. Written at a third-grade reading level, Loughead’s third Orca Currents book about 15-year-old Dylan (after The Snowball Effect and Caught in the Act) finds him directing a class film project inspired by his favorite zombie flicks and his town’s annual scarecrow contest. As Dylan, his pals, and his girlfriend prepare for a Halloween-night shoot, they get caught up in a real-life mystery that involves a local elderly man being spooked by, yes, zombie scarecrows. Snappy dialogue, a fun premise, and a not-too-obvious ending keep this tale moving briskly. Ages 10–14.

February 15, 2015
The subject of a teenage filmmaker's horror flick transitions from fiction to fact.Dylan's itching to make his own zombie movie, and he's got the perfect spin on the ubiquitous subgenre: zombie scarecrows. With his best friend, Cory, and girlfriend, Monica, at his side, he's confident he'll make an excellent movie on Halloween-the perfect night to shoot a film filled with terror. But then Dylan sees a real, live-err, undead-zombie scarecrow attack one of his neighbors. As the attacks and tension increase, it's up to Dylan and his friends to figure out who's behind it all. There's a solid-enough premise here but very little else. The characters are all flat figures, spouting awkward dialogue and sounding improbably similar to one another. The novel is also incredibly short, clocking in at just 123 pages, but even there it feels like a short story stretched far beyond its limits. But these issues pale in comparison to the book's biggest sin: It's not scary. There's no suspense or intrigue or danger on hand, not even any gore or guts or blood. Great title, not-so-great book. (Horror. 12-16)

May 1, 2015
Grades 6-9 In his third outing, 15-year-old Dylan is making a movie for class credit. Along with his best friend Cory and girlfriend, Monica, he is planning to film a zombie movieRise of the Zombie Scarecrowson Halloween night. In a bizarre coincidence, Dylan learns about a prank involving an apparent zombie scarecrow attack on an elderly neighbor, and he is ordered by the police to cancel his movie project. Determined to save his film, Dylan decides to solve the crime, straining his relationship with Monica and invariably casting suspicion on himself after he is found at the scene of a subsequent attack. Like previous entries in the Orca Currents series, this slim volume is nonstop plot with little attention paid to character development. In spite of the somewhat stilted dialogue, the mystery is solidly executed, if not very scary, and will interest reluctant readers with a bent toward crime solving.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)