Review: My Life As a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland

My Life As a White Trash Zombie by Diana Rowland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



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I'm going to start this review off by saying that I don't normally read zombie books. Zombies creep me out and face it, if there ever was a zombie apocalypse, I'd be one of the first to die because I'd run out of people to trip as bait.

That being said, I thought I'd give this book a chance after reading the summary on Amazon. It sounded cute - well, as cute as a brain-eating zombie could be. And I was also sold on two other things: one, the main character's name is Angel, which just so happens to be the name of one of my best friends and two, it took place in Louisiana, my home state. And come on, I needed a break after the headache of the last book I read - one that preferably didn't involve an inner goddess fretting about the Red Room of Pain.

So, let's get down to the summary via Goodreads (seriously, you really should join this site):

Angel Crawford is a loser

Living with her alcoholic deadbeat dad in the swamps of southern Louisiana, she's a high school dropout with a pill habit and a criminal record who's been fired from more crap jobs than she can count. Now on probation for a felony, it seems that Angel will never pull herself out of the downward spiral her life has taken.

That is, until the day she wakes up in the ER after overdosing on painkillers. Angel remembers being in an horrible car crash, but she doesn't have a mark on her. To add to the weirdness, she receives an anonymous letter telling her there's a job waiting for her at the parish morgue—and that it's an offer she doesn't dare refuse.

Before she knows it she's dealing with a huge crush on a certain hunky deputy and a brand new addiction: an overpowering craving for brains. Plus, her morgue is filling up with the victims of a serial killer who decapitates his prey—just when she's hungriest!

Angel's going to have to grow up fast if she wants to keep this job and stay in one piece. Because if she doesn't, she's dead meat.

Literally.

The Characters:
I would like to start off the review by saying that I absolutely adored Angel from the start, despite the whole loser drop-out status. She was quick-witted, sharp and stood her ground. Sure, she was a bit stubborn but so am I so I don't see this as being a real fault. Don't argue with me - I won't listen.

I loved how Angel matured throughout the book. You could tell just from the way she reacted to things that she was learning how to not just jump into things but rather think them out logically. She was quick on her feet and very observant about her environment. And most of all, you could tell that Angel wanted to change, that she wanted to better her life. That she truly was trying. For that, I respected her greatly.

As for Marcus, to be honest, I wasn't all that crazy about him. Yeah, he seemed like a great guy but it always came off to me like he didn't really put a lot of faith in Angel. I knew something was up with him throughout the book although I didn't want to jump to conclusions (I was right, though) and when I found out in the end, I still wasn't crazy about him. I hoped this would change with the second installment.

The other characters were well-written. I think they played well off of Angel. Angel disliked her father for the way he treated her and you got that vibe while reading about him. Ed came off as someone who seemed like the good guy yet you were still a bit wary around him. Derrell was like the supportive older brother who also doubled as the personal cheerleader. I even started to like Nick even though he could still be a jerk when he wanted to be. All in all the characters were well-rounded, well-written and entertaining.

9 out of 10.

The Plot:
I have to honestly say that I've never sat down and wondered just what would make a good zombie plot as most of the zombies I've read about just slink along going "braiiiiins" and trying to eat every human in sight. See what Nintendo games do to you? So I can definitely say that I wasn't expecting such an entertaining plot upon seeing this was a zombie book.

I love how it was a story of discover (an amusing one at that) as Angel tried to get used to the idea that she was in fact a zombie but on another note it was a mystery plot. Someone was going about killing people and beheading them and Angel took it upon herself to find out who. The story was full of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting and therefore made it impossible for me to put the book down. It's rare I finish a book within a day but I had this one completed in under 24 hours and was off to purchase the second one.

I will, however, say that I could have done without the image of her mixing her brains with tomato soup. I've completely lost the urge to eat tomato soup from now on.

9 out of 10.

Miss Rowland is by far one of the better YA writers I have read. She's entertaining, has a way with words (and descriptions - ugh, tomato soup) and knew how to write the twists and turns in the story that held your attention. I look forward to reading many more of her books and I will definitely be checking out the second book to this series as I can't wait to see what happens to Angel the zombie next.

And I now know that not all zombies are bad. Well, as long as they stay away from my brain, that is.