Title: Playing DeadAuthor:Fred Perry
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
Publication: July 3rd 2012, Antarctic Press
Pages: 128 pages, Paperback
Source: Thank you to Antarctic Press and Netgalley for providing me with this book to review
Middle school is horrific enough for any 5th grader's first day. But for Bill Dookes, it's a festering, rotting, undead nightmare! Since Bill's deadbeat dad got arrested trying to burn the house down for the insurance, Mom's had to make ends meet by volunteering to various medical research companies for cash. This would be fine if she hadn't brought home a mysterious zombie virus! Now Bill has to deal with skin problems and body chemistry changes that make puberty look like a walk in the park! And then there's his ever-growing appetite for BRAINS!When I requested the Zombie Kid Diaries via Netgalley, I thought it looked super-cute, funny and interesting. It wasn't one of those things. I finished it in less than two hours and when I finished It, I felt like I had not read or accomplished anything by reading this book.
It was way too fast-paced and nothing was explained. When he realized he was a zombie, he just had a few symptoms and then it was sprung upon us that he figured out he was a zombie. The main character, Billy, just took it with ease, I know this is middle-grade fiction' but the author could have put a bit more effort into the character's thoughts and emotions. Also, there are some brilliant Middle-grade novels out there that I treasure and that I really enjoyed, but this felt like listening to a blank piece of paper ramble on about his life, which only contained of video games and "road kill" meals. From the blurb, I expected the book to be about him adjusting to life as a zombie, but no, the book only talked about him playing video games with a few extra happenings thrown in here and there.
There was no plot structure, no third-dimensional characters, no involved supporting characters and nothing humorous at all involved in the book. There wasn't much I liked about it, the one positive thing is the drawings. The drawings were quite cute, but unfortunately I'm not judging it by its illustrations, but by the written word. This book shouldn't be compared to the fabulous Diaryof A Wimpy Kid series, at all! It wasn't funny or as well-written as the Diary of A Wimpy Kid series.
Overall, a good idea that wasn't brought to its full potential. Could have been so much more. The plot stayed the same, the characters were boring and it wasn't what I was expecting. I would recommend this to boys 7-9 years of age.
I give it: 1 CUPCAKE!
