My Rotten Life

August 24, 2009
In the first book in the Nathan Abercrombie, Accidental Zombie series, fifth-grader Nathan knows what it's like to be an outcast: he sits at the Second Besters table at school with kids who “score somewhere around minus two on a popularity scale of one to ten.” Then, he is doused with “Hurt-Be-Gone, the world's first all-natural, totally safe emotion killer,” which turns him into an almost-zombie. Unable to sleep or feel pain, Nathan masters the toughest video game on the market and leads his school to a track meet victory by doing hundreds of pull-ups. Lubar (True Talents
) entertains with a “Wouldn't it be cool if...” kind of story that kids often try to write and especially love to read. Gross-out moments abound, such as when Nathan gets a fork stuck in his nose and later watches as his thumb pops off and is almost eaten by a dog. The over-the-top narrative will appeal to readers who like their humor twisted, and might even have some wishing that they, too, could be a half-dead zombie. Maybe. Ages 8–12.

The gross-out factor is high, but so is the laugh meter as 10-year-old Nathan suffers so much middle-grade angst that he volunteers to try a mad scientist's "Hurt No More" formula. In this first book of Lubar's new series, Nathan accidentally gets drenched with the whole beaker and finds he can no longer eat, breathe, or summon a pulse. Luckily, his brain keeps churning out funny observations. Matthew Brown voices a wry Nathan, and Kathleen McInerney gives spark to shy Abigail, the mad scientist's niece and Nathan's only hope for reanimation. Both narrators have a nice range of middle-grade voices, including those of a snooty princess and a lummox of a bully. Who knew a zombie could be part living dead and part superhero? Forget vampires. Zombies are the new cool kids. M.M.C. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

February 1, 2010
Gr 4-6-Fifth-grader Nathan Abercrombie suffers the usual humiliations of middle-grade life: rejection, teasing, gym class. Then one day his friend Abigail's scientist uncle uses Nathan as a test subject for Hurt-Be-Gone, a serum that makes bad feelings disappear. The unexpected side effect is that Nathan turns into a 10-year-old zombie who must weigh the pros and cons of being undead while his friends engage in zany hijinks to find a cure for his condition. Matthew Brown and Kathleen McInerney provide excellent performances, using different vocal inflections to give each character in David Lubar's humorous tale (Starscape, 2009) a unique personality. For instance, Nathan's friend Mookie speaks in a slow, slightly nasal tone that reflects his dopey, if well-meaning, personality. Abigail's dialogue is rendered in a confident, matter-of-fact tone. Although Brown often changes his pitch to indicate Nathan's feelings, he generally reads in a calm, resigned tone. Nathan's adventures are introduced with mock-eerie, synthesized harpsichord music which recalls cheesy, B-grade horror film scores. At the end of the novel, the author reads his short story, "Frankendance." This audiobook serves as an excellent introduction to Lubar's mildly creepy tales and is sure to appeal to reluctant readers. A first-purchase for public libraries where audiobooks are popular."Mary Landrum, Lexington Public Library, KY"

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