MIDDLE GRADE BOOK REVIEW: Zombie Kid by J. Scott Savage

February 26, 2013

ZOMBIE KID
Case File 13 Volume 1
by J. Scott Savage
HarperCollins, 2012
ISBN: 780062133250
Middle Grade Fantasy
Reviewed from purchased copy.

ABOUT THE BOOK

You hold in your hands a very dangerous record.

I have collected every side of the story and every piece of evidence on case number 13. Now, in this file, you will find all you need to follow the dark adventures of Nick, Carter, and Angelo, three boys who possess an unhealthy obsession with monsters, in a town so grisly, so horrific—

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're telling it all wrong, dude. You make it sound like it's a scary story.

Ahem. Well, Nick, it is a scary story. In this volume alone, there are voodoo queens, graveyards—even the dreaded Zombie King himself.

Yeah, but there's also the part where Angie gets mashed potatoes all in her face, and the part where I use my cool zombie powers to—

All right, point taken. Now, if you don't mind . . .

You hold in your hands a very dangerous, very funny record, detailing the hilarious adventures of three boys who have an awesome obsession with monsters. This is the first volume. Read on if you dare. . .

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J. Scott Savage is the author of the Farworld series and the Case File 13 middle grade series. He grew up in Northern California and now lives in Utah with his wife and four children.

Scott has held too many jobs to count, including: a mall Santa, French chef, CEO of a dot com, plumber, radio station talk show host, and the guy who sits in the little photo developing booth. He has completed one marathon and hopes to complete another when the memories finally fade away. He loves reading, writing, camping, playing games with his family, and especially hearing from and meeting his readers. To e-mail him or schedule a visit, come to his website www.jscottsavage.com.

REVIEW

Now I'll admit right off the bat that I am not a huge fan of zombie/werewolf/vampire stories. It's the one genre I usually stay far away from. But with Scott coming to my school for an author visit, I felt like I should read Zombie Kid, since that would be the focus of his presentation. Surprisingly, I quite liked it. Now the book does have a strong gross factor (we are talking zombies here, not to mention 6th grade boys), especially once Nick turns into a zombie. But it wasn't too bad and none of the kids I shared it with seemed bothered by it. I liked the three main characters, who had enough depth to be interesting, but the focus here is on plot, which for most middle grade readers is exactly where the focus ought to be. Not only does Nick have to deal with his body falling apart, but he also has a bully after him and three girls who are very suspicious about his changing behavior/appearance. I liked the strong element of humor inserted throughout the book, it lessened the creepiness of the book, making it appropriate for most middle grade readers.