Eat, Brains, Love: A Funny and Romantic YA Zombie Horror Road Trip Novel

Eat, Brains, Love: A Funny and Romantic YA Zombie Horror Road Trip Novel

A laugh-out-loud funny, surprisingly romantic, zombie road trip novel filled with heart—and brains. Eat, Brains, Love is perfect for fans of Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies . The good news: Jake's dream girl, Amanda Blake, finally knows his name. The bad news: it's because they both contracted a mysterious zombie virus and devoured the brains of half their senior class. Now Jake and Amanda are on the run from Cass, a teen psychic sent by the government's top-secret Necrotic Control Division to track them down. As Jake and Amanda deal with the existential guilt of eating their best friends and set off in search of a cure for the zombie virus, Cass struggles with a growing psychic dilemma of her own—one that will lead all three of them on an epic journey across the country and make them question what it means to truly be alive. Or undead. Gr 9 Up-A loner and a bit of a derelict, Jake is not your typical high school student. His ideal day is playing Call of Duty-type games on Xbox. But all that changes when he turns into a zombie in the school cafeteria and consumes his best friend and many members of the senior class. When he becomes human again, he finds himself allied with the most unlikely partner-Amanda Blake. A popular and gorgeous cheerleader, she has never given Jake the time of day. Realizing that they need each other to survive as zombies, Jake and Amanda try to retain their humanity while searching for answers or a possible cure. To complicate matters, they are being hunted by a top-secret government organization that uses teen psychics to locate zombies. Cass, one of the psychics, finds herself sympathizing with Jake and Amanda's situation while discovering that members of this organization are involved in experiments that Cass considers unethical and immoral. Told from alternating chapters by Jake and Cass, Hart's action-packed plot is full of suspense and humor. Although some characters seem superficial and stereotypical, readers can't help but identify with their struggles, their principles, and, most importantly, their humanity. A captivating first installment that leaves fans eagerly awaiting its sequel.-Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NYα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. One day Jake is a happy, video-game-playing stoner struggling to complete his House of Mirth presentation for English class, and the next, he is an undead fugitive on the run from government agents bent on neutralizing the threat—him. It’s not all bad. At least he’s in the company of Amanda, one of the most popular and beautiful girls in school, even if she is a zombie as well, and she, like Jake, ate a ton of their classmates when they first turned. Meanwhile, Cass, the youngest and most powerful telepath in the Necrotic Control Division, is proving herself instrumental in hunting down Jake and Amanda. But their psychic signatures make Cass wonder how far gone all zombies truly are. Though not a precise parody of Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love (2006), the book features characters shambling toward personal identity in sweet, funny, and incisive ways. The process of zombification, the search for safety, and even Cass’ psychic abilities are well defined through skilled world building. Zombie fans will find this debut full of (undead) heart. Grades 9-12. --Courtney Jones “Features characters shambling toward personal identity in sweet, funny, and incisive ways. Zombie fans will find this debut full of (undead) heart.” - Booklist “One hell of a road trip … funny, gross and scary in equal, alternating measures. Readers will be slavering for the sequel.” - Kirkus Reviews “Debut author Hart brings a sympathetic voice to the zombie phenomenon in this offbeat adventure … with touches of humor and teenage self-awareness.” - Publishers Weekly “Hart’s action-packed plot is full of suspense and humor. A captivating first installment that leaves fans eagerly awaiting its sequel.” - School Library Journal Of all the recommendations on that stupid career aptitude test, not one of them was "undead fugitive." Jake is a slacker burnout whose idea of the perfect last night on Earth is playing video games in his basement. Amanda is the most popular girl in school, who doesn't even know Jake's name. Cass is the teen psychic sent by the government to hunt them down. Until last week, Jake, Amanda, and Cass had no reason to think their lives would ever intersect. But that was before Jake and Amanda contracted a mysterious zombie virus, devoured half their senior class, and took off for Iowa in search of a cure. As the two of them grapple with the existential guilt of eating their best friends (and their growing attraction to each other), Cass struggles with a psychic dilemma of her own—one that will lead the three of them on an epic journey across the country and make them question what it means to truly be alive. Or undead. Jeff Hart