You are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay

You are So Undead to Me by Stacey Jay

author’s website: Stacey Jay
release date: January 22, 2009
appeals to: Young Adult
genre: Fantasy / Zombies
length: 272 pages
overall rating: 3.5 stars

*the back cover*
Q: How many zombies does it take to ruin a social life?
A: Not many.

Megan Berry is a Zombie Settler by birth, which means she’s part-time shrink to a whole bunch of semi-dead people with killer issues. All Megan really wants is to go to homecoming, but when you’re trailed by a bunch of slobbering corpses whenever you leav the house, it’s kinda hard to score a date. Let’s just say Megan’s love life could use some major resuscitation.

Megan’s convinced her life can’t get any worse – until someone in school starts using black magic to turn average, angsty Undead into scary, hardcore flesh-eating Zombies. Now it’s up to Megan to stop the Zombie apocalypse. Her life – and more importantly, the homecoming dance – depends on it.

*my review*
I have never really read a “zombie book” so I when I picked this up, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I didn’t have a base of knowledge about zombies to work with, so it was fun to try something new.
The story seems to have two main parts: 1 – Megan the teenager who wants to go to homecoming with the Senior boy, and 2 – Megan the Zombie Settler with incredible power. The play between the two is interesting and provides for an entertaining story. I thought that Megan’s emotional rollercoaster between Josh and Ethan would be a cute and fun story in itself, but adding in the Zombie Settler parts of the plot made the book much more action packed, especially toward the end of the book. The last third of the book is very intense with a lot of twisting plot lines coming together and a few HUGE surprises. There is enough closer to the story that this book could stand alone, but there is a sequel (Undead Much).

The characters in this story were interesting to read about. Megan seems very mature for 15 when she’s doing her Zombie Settler stuff, but she definitely shows that she is 15 when she’s interacting with or even thinking about the boys. Monica is the character to hate. She’s the mean girl, who has control over whether or not Megan will make the pom squad. Ethan and Josh were both interesting, but I preferred Ethan from the start. Josh seems to be the stereotypical “dumb jock” – a point which is supported by the fact that he (a senior) and Megan (a sophomore) have a class together!

Overall, this is a quick, fun read!

*short and snappy*
writing: quick and fun – Jay really captures the voice of the teenagers in the story
plot: fast paced – there are twists and turns – especially at the end – which I love!
characters: interesting – Megan seems pretty well developed, but since the book is from her perspective, it’s easier to learn about her.
judging by the cover: I love the cover! I think it sends a message, but is simply done.
miscellaneous: There are links for “Freebies” on Jay’s website that allow you to download computer wallpapers based on this story.