By: David Lubar
Nathan Abercrombie had the worst day ever. He had his hopes lifted and then neatly shattered by the prettiest girl in school. He got picked last during P.E. And after a humiliatingly fast defeat on a friend's Nintendo DS, he received the unfortunate nickname of "Vidiot" or Video Game Idiot. And that's not even to mention that he ended the day with an experimental potion poured all over him, his shirt in ruins, and his body slowly turning itself into a zombie. This book is a story of friendship, fifth-grade popularity contests, rotting flesh, and second bests.
If the description didn't give it away, I absolutely loved this book. It was poignant, but not sickeningly so and full of way more tongue-in-cheek wit than I expected. I found myself literally laughing out loud at several parts of the book, but equally, was moved but heart warming displays of friendship.
When Nate is transforming into his zombie state (a fact he became aware of when his extremely clumsy best friend stabbed him in the face with a fork), his best friend (Mookie) and his new friend (Abigail), stood by him. Mookie has a big heart, a huge appetite, and charmingly ridiculous comments. For example, probably one of my favorite Mookie quotes was shortly after the fork incident. "Maybe you're in shock...Like once, I read about a guy who lost both arms in an accident and managed to carry them to the hospital. Wait-something about hat story doesn't sound right." Nate's comments tend to be more witty, but are equally entertaining. A great example of this is when he is explaining that his mother often tries care for plants, but "she sort of forgets to water them. I call it 'death row.' Mookie responded with, "I guess it's a good thing your Mom oesn't want to raise kittens or puppies...You're lucky she didn't let you dry up when you were little- or starve you to death." Of course Nate, was quick with a response, "The way my mom cooks, that might have been less cruel."
However, this book has more going for it than clever lines, witty thoughts, and slapstick comedy (really, what zombie book would be complete without some slapstick?). Most of the book is spent searching for ingredients needed to save Nathan from fully transforming into a zombie (it's a gradual process, don't you know, that is based on chemistry and maybe a little magic). However, in the very last chapter, when he is almost completely human again, he rips off the solution before the final affects are felt (something that he was warned would make him a full zombie permanently) because his zombie skills are needed to save Abigail from a house fire. In the end, he makes a huge sacrifice, on instinct alone, because a friend was in trouble, and his living life alive, wasn't worth her death. If he had to live life dead, he would. And if that's confusing, you should read the book. It's well worth it.
Zombies! How cool! I love books with good humor in it and this seems to be right up my alley. It seems to have a good mix of awesomeness (zombies!), humor, and a great message. I am absolutely going to read this book now. I also really enjoyed your introduction. Great job. I take it this book is for older kids, right? With the fork stabbing and the dismembered body story. Do you think this book would be a good read-aloud or would it be better for independent reading? I think some good discussions can come from this story.
ReplyDeleteOK, everything I have known about zombies has just been turned upside down. I thought that zombies were bent on feasting on non-zombies....who then turned into zombies...whom all together work to achieve world domination. In this story, we are introduced to a boy, who is becoming a zombie, but then, uses is super amazing zombie powers for the greater good! I like it! I think that upper elementary boys will also like this story too. Bonus. Can't you just hear them having a pair-share about the accidental fork-stabbing-part?! This book sounds hilarious. I think my holiday reading list just got one book longer!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post, Courtney! Who knew something about zombies could have a protagonist with such a big heart, who also turns out to be a zombie! The book also sounds hilarious, which is always a nice addition to an already good book. Overall it sounds wonderful, and I'll have to get my hands on a copy to read. Do you see it being used well in a classroom setting? It seems like it's more of an individual book than a read aloud or book group book, but then again, I haven't read it ... yet!
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