Book Review: Undead and Unfed by Kirsty McKay

Undead by Kirsty McKay
Genre: Horror, Young Adult
Source: Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Summary: Out of sight, out of their minds: It's a school-trip splatter fest and completely not cool when the other kids in her class go all braindead on new girl Bobby.

The day of the ski trip, when the bus comes to a stop at a roadside restaurant, everyone gets off and heads in for lunch. Everyone, that is, except Bobby, the new girl, who stays behind with rebel-without-a-clue Smitty. 

Then hours pass. Snow piles up. Sun goes down. Bobby and Smitty start to flirt. Start to stress. Till finally they see the other kids stumbling back. 

But they've changed. And not in a good way. Straight up, they're zombies. So the wheels on the bus better go round and round freakin' fast, because that's the only thing keeping Bobby and Smitty from becoming their classmates' next meal. It's kill or be killed in these hunger games, heads are gonna roll, and homework is most definitely gonna be late.

Combining the chill of THE SHINING, the thrill ride of SPEED, the humor of SHAUN OF THE DEAD, and the angst of THE BREAKFAST CLUB, Kirsty McKay's UNDEAD is a bloody mad mash-up, a school-trip splatter-fest, a funny, gory, frighteningly good debut!

Review

A ski trip goes wrong in a horrible comedic way in this novel that crosses zombies and comedy into the perfect read that will make you both laugh and cringe. Bobby can't get a break this London transplant is made fun of in America for her accent then when she gets the hang of an American accent her family moves to Scotland where her accent is yet again a reason for laughs. This school trip starts with her staying on the bus while the rest of the class goes in for a bite to eat at the Cherry Chomper. But she's not alone, trouble making Smitty is sentenced to stay on the bus after causing one annoyance too many. Then the antics between the two are broken by Alice who runs in to say everyone is dead. Too bad she's wrong, when the undead start coming these kids have to go on the run and their numbers increase it includes the shifty Pete who unlike Popular Alice proves useful as more than a screamer and a me-first survivalist. As the mystery behind the zombies, often called zoms in this novel, it's found out that a company Xanthro is behind the outbreak and worse Bobby's mother is smack dad in the middle. As trust gives way to betrayal and additional numbers flit between advantage to mistakes can these teens make it to the other side not just zombie free but with any semblance of their old selves left?

I really enjoyed this book. Bobby shines as she tries to survive like any typical teenager would when being chased by zombies, she's no genius or has some secret special power. She's a real girl who won;t go down without a fight and has humor to spare. Smitty brings a new level of comedic gold and attitude which comes in handy when you're trying not to get bit by zombies and save the girl you've fallen for. Peter and Alice each have their uses. Pete can drive a bus and is also really smart, even though he's a scaredy cat, that doesn't stop him from trying to help when he can. Alice is Miss Popular and pretty much will stick with you as long as you're not bit. She is the Queen of Sarcasm in this book and won't let anyone tell her what to do, unless a zombie is about to bite her then she's ready for some good run-for-life advice.

In closing this book is for anyone who is a fan of comedic horror and even if you're not this book might just convince how great it is to read. It converted me.

Rating: 4 Stars

Unfed by Kirsty McKay
Genre: Horror, Young Adult
Source: Netgalley
Purchase: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Summary: Fresh meat! From a hospital of horrors to a runaway zombie train, it's an all-new onslaught of the slavering undead in the sequel to Kirsty McKay's killer debut!

Just when you think you're out...it's the morning after the night of the return of the living dead. Or something like that. After running/bus-driving/snowboarding for her life alongside rebel Smitty, geeky Pete, and popular Alice, Bobby thought she'd found the antidote to the Carrot Man Veggie Juice that had turned the rest of their classmates into zombies. When Smitty (mmm...nom, nom) got chomped, Bobby pumped a syringe full of it into him herself.

But now Bobby's a prisoner in some hospital of horrors, with no clue how she got there. And Smitty is missing. What if he isn't cured after all? Bobby knows she's got to find him, even if it means facing Scotland's hungry hordes -- plus Alice's buckets of snark -- again. And this time, zombies aren't the only evil stressing her out. The brain-dead are bad enough, but how can Bobby stop the big pharma business behind the epidemic? Especially when her own mom works for the company?

Review

They're back! Just when Bobby wakes up in a hospital it seems that maybe she can finally catch a break. Yeah right! Now bald, Bobby finds herself yet again on the run from the undead and who should be her first running mate? None other than popular Alice. Thankfully she soon finds Pete and new comer Russ 'from the bus'. Smitty is missing and even better he carries the antidote to zombie-dom in his veins. This terrific starts goes deeper into helldom when it's discovered that not only is the hospital some secret underground zombie experiment station but also that zombies are not all they have to worry about. As they make their way out with clues Bobby's mom left behind, help comes in the form of traitor Grace. Then she dies and the teens are left running from soldiers clearly working for Xanthro who wants Bobby's mom and the antidote. As terror and hilarity ensues these teens fight their way above ground only to find out Scotland is quarantined and that humans are not the only thing to go zombie in this crazy world of theirs.

When I saw this book available on netgalley I knew I had to have it. I didn't even know there was a sequel coming at all. Poor Bobby goes from Bobby outsider no care to Bobby Oh Crap I'm Bald and stuck next to Perfect Alice with lots of hilarity and of course zombies in the mix. Happy bald girl she is not but what she always will be is a girl not willing to go down without a fight or take Alice's crap (or whining, you pick). Pete is back and ready to help with anything typical teens will go huh? about. Anybody remember basic geography? Can you read the degrees on a map, use longitude and latitude to help find your way around and....gibberish? No? Neither can I but Pete can! Yay Pete. Russ is all muscle and if you find yourself in a pinch, he can punch, push, jump, rappel down...is he a robot? No but he definitely is useful and there is some friction between him and Bobby who likes to help herself. Alice on the other hand wouldn't mind some help and boy does she need it. Falling off stuff (with zombies around), getting herself knocked out (while being chased by soldiers) and other calamities would have you thinking she's doing it on purpose except for the fact that there are zombies trolling around and Alice aint getting bit for no guy, no matter how handsome. 

As things go even more insane and Smitty is found there's a new level of nuts as a train gets involved and gets into a disagreement with zombie freeloaders on the track and on yeah a helicopter filled with deadly trained soldiers. Oh goody. Can Bobby and the group find her mother and get the hell out of Scotland? How did Kirsty actually make a zombie goat horrifying? Yes you read right, the scene with the zombie goat wasn't funny at all. You'll have to read to find out and I must say that this sequel is better than the original and has so many resurrections of assumed dead characters from book one and this one that you'll wonder if Jesus was one of the editors. A must read of anyone who loves zombies, comedies and the crazy. Oh yes, the crazy.

Rating: 4.5 Stars and a WTF where's the next book!