STORYLINE: Fourteen year old Zane gets a dog for
his birthday, but this is no ordinary dog. The dog dies on arrival at Zane’s
home, but comes back from the grave and that’s where things become complicated.
The dog’s symptoms—which include undead-like behavior and smelliness—spread to
other people once they’ve been bitten.
I LIKED: a lot of things about this book, but most of all the
fact that it makes for laugh-out-loud funny reading—which is not recommended
when you take public transportation as I do.
I enjoyed Zane’s voice and his relationship with his
little sister. It’s not often I read a book where a teenaged protagonist doesn’t
think his younger sibling is a full-time nuisance.
The growing complications kept me reading and
wondering how Zane would escape the bizarre situation that developed around his
home, compliments of his undead birthday present.
I COULD HAVE LIVED WITHOUT: Zane’s all
too vivid descriptions of the smells emanating from Fluffy, but I understand
the necessity. It made for a richer experience in the sensory department, if
you get my drift.
OVERALL COMMENTS: Although the book is humorous, there
are things to be learned about family and relationships. Zane realizes that his
mother is going through a stressful time after separating from his Dad and
makes allowances for that. Zane is portrayed as protective of his family and
although he cares for his best friend Kevin, conflicts arise because Kevin is
not so fond of Zane’s love interest. Tolerance is another subtle lesson taught
by this book.
The
writer does a great job of taking a serious situation, injecting a lot of humor
and then solving a potential epidemic. There’s an insert for the next story in
the back of My
Zombie Dog. I’ll be keeping an eye out for that book.
COVER NOTE: The cover works well, in that it tells
the reader what to expect without being gruesome.
Book blurb
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